Disclaimer: Ross and Laura belong to each other. And R5 is owned by Hollywood Records.
A/N: My take on this whole prom thing. I hope you guys like it!
(I think I take too much pleasure out of writing jealous Ross)
He can't—
He's scrolling through his mentions like he always does after dinner and then his eyes land on the words Laura and prom and date and he's hit with a wave of jealousy so intense that it doesn't even register when he drops his phone on the ground.
All he can think is LaurapromLaurapromLauraLaura Laura Laura and he's so blinded by what he's pretty positive can only be called rage that he doesn't even notice that his entire family is staring at him because his hands are clenched into fists so tight his knuckles are completely white.
It takes Rocky four tries to get his attention and it only works the last time because he grips his shoulder and shakes him.
"What?" he says, his voice deathly quiet, and they all shrink back just a little bit probably because the anger is practically radiating from his body.
He's actually kind of surprised he's even able to speak because he can't even think.
"Dude, are you okay?" Ryland finally asks, his voice hesitant. "You dropped your phone but you're just sitting there. And your face is all red."
He stares at his younger brother for a second with unfocused eyes, not really comprehending anything he's saying, and then he stands up abruptly and walks out of the restaurant and barely even hears them calling behind him.
He doesn't know where he's going but he feels like he's about to go insane because she's going to prom with someone that's not him and she's going to look gorgeous and slow dance and take pictures and slow dance and it's not with him, it's not with him, it's not with him.
If he's being honest with himself he knows he has no right to be jealous because they aren't together or even really that close to it but the wound's still fresh—hell, he's pretty sure his heart just shattered into a billion pieces and he's bleeding internally and he feels like he's about to die—and it hurts all the more because he thinks he's made it pretty obvious how he feels about her.
All of the staring and his flimsy excuses for touching her when there's absolutely no need to, not to mention the teasing and the flirting and the unmistakable tension that's been between them for the past two years. He absolutely refuses to believe that she could have misread any of it because he knows that she's been sending him signals, too.
He thinks back to the meet and greet because that wasn't even four days ago and it's all fresh in his brain—the touching, the hugging, his hands on her hands, his fingers on her bare shoulder, her arm around his waist, the teasing and the laughter and the not-so-subtle glances. But the memory only serves to make his head spin as he recalls the way she smelled, the way she felt, her skin smooth and warm under his palm, the smile on her face as she watched him lift up a little girl, the way her eyes would light up because it still blows her mind that there are fans who want to hug her and all of a sudden it's too much, it's too much.
He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath and tries to calm his pounding heart because somewhere in the back of his jealousy addled brain he's aware that his family has no idea where he is and he can't even remember what city they're in.
It takes him a second after he opens his eyes to register his surroundings and then he slowly retraces his steps back to the restaurant. They're all waiting outside for him when he gets there and he opens his mouth to say something, give some sort of explanation, but apparently they don't need one because they're all looking at him like he's a bomb that's about to go off.
"Let's just go," he mutters, not even bothering to pretend that he's okay. "Can I have my phone?"
His mom hands it to him hesitantly and the worry is plain on her face but he just shakes his head a little bit, giving her a look that he hopes is telling her that he appreciates her concern but he doesn't want to talk.
The short trip back to the bus is silent and tense and he walks ahead of everyone because he just doesn't want to deal with the pity and the pep talks because it's not okay, it's really, really not.
He gets to the bus before anyone else and heads straight for the back to take off his jeans and his jacket and climb into his bunk and then, when he finally has some semblance of privacy, he turns on his phone and takes a deep breath.
Somewhere in his mind he knows this is probably a really bad idea that he's going to regret but he's got this whole living in the moment thing going on and he's not exactly the most logical person right now so he types and sends the text without even pausing.
From: Ross Lynch
To: Laura Marano
April 24, 2013 9:04 PM
I heard you got asked to prom.
His stomach twists painfully as he waits for her response and he stares at his phone until it dims and then turns black.
The next few minutes feel like hours and his mind is racing, thinking about what she's going to say, but then finally, his phone buzzes and he scrambles to unlock it.
From: Laura Marano
To: Ross Lynch
April 24, 2013 6:10 PM
Hey! :D What city are you in? Haha yeah.
He swallows. So it's true, then. All he can focus on is the 'yeah' and he looks at it for a minute as if that one word will suddenly reveal all the truths of the universe. Or at least the truth of his universe (which may or may not solely consist of a dorky, GoGurt-obsessed-lame-joke-loving-songwriter).
From: Ross Lynch
To: Laura Marano
April 24, 2013 9:12 PM
Who asked you? A friend?
His eyes are practically burning a hole in the screen with how hard he's staring at his phone waiting for a response but it doesn't come. He waits for two hours mindlessly browsing until he falls into an uneasy asleep with his phone resting on his chest and it's 2 am when it buzzes and he's jolted awake. She replies with one word and it's enough for him to know he's not going to be sleeping any more tonight.
From: Laura Marano
To: Ross Lynch
April 24, 2013 10:01 PM
Why?
He thinks about his possible responses.
Because I need to know who to punch in the face.
Because I need to know who my fucking competition is.
Because I need to know if he can make you as happy as I know I can.
Because—actually, it doesn't matter who it is.
All that matters is that it's not him.
He doesn't send a reply that night, or the next morning. He doesn't know what to say.
Because really, why should he be allowed to care? They're not together. She doesn't belong to him. He could argue that he's her friend and that's why he should know, but they aren't exactly the sort of friends that talk about things like prom and dates and crushes because he's pretty sure that would be kind of awkward since he'd only ever be talking about her.
So he doesn't do anything. He's in this impossible situation where he's too afraid of losing her by saying something, not to mention that he can't, because he knows she deserves to be happy and go to prom and experience it with someone who can actually be there and who's not too much of a coward to make a move.
The day passes like all the others while they're on tour and before he knows it the concert's over and he's back in his bunk, scanning through his mentions after he tweets a video that he took of tonight's show. His eyes land on her name and he reads the tweet and almost laughs out loud because it's something he knows she would love. He sends a semi related response to the girls who sent the jokes but silently thanks them in his head because he can't really acknowledge that he's actually going to text those to her without it becoming a huge deal.
It's two jokes, stupid jokes that he knows she'll think are hilarious, especially the one about The Lion King. He texts them to her, the whole prom thing slipping from his mind for just a second because he remembers that she's still his best friend and one of his favorite things to do is make her laugh.
From: Laura Marano
To: Ross Lynch
April 25, 2013 7:52 PM
Those are amazing! I'm laughing so hard right now! Where are you?
He grins to himself and then types out a quick response.
From: Ross Lynch
To: Laura Marano
April 25, 2013 10:53 PM
On our way to Philly. What's up?
From: Laura Marano
To: Ross Lynch
April 25, 2013 7:55 PM
Just the usual. School, getting styled for the RDMAs (I'm excited to see you and to see you win!), SAT prep, prom dress shopping, some charity stuff. Not nearly as exciting as touring the country…
And there it is. Prom dress shopping. Those three words are enough to make him feel like he's been punched in the gut all over again and all of a sudden he's angry because he realizes that she didn't have to tell him that. She didn't have to bring it up for any reason at all but she did and he doesn't know what it means but he thinks it has to mean something because of their brief conversation last night. He wonders if she's trying to make him jealous but it's such an un-Laura like thing to do that he immediately dismisses the thought.
But that doesn't mean it's an un-Ross like thing to do.
From: Ross Lynch
To: Laura Marano
April 25, 2013 10:57 AM
Yeah, tour's been pretty exciting. Some of these girls get really crazy, if you know what I mean. O_o
From: Laura Marano
To: Ross Lynch
April 25, 2013 7:59 PM
I wish you could see me rolling my eyes.
He's about to type back a reply but another text comes in from her before he can.
From: Laura Marano
To: Ross Lynch
April 25, 2013 7:59 PM
Be careful.
He smirks when he sees it because he knows he's at least embedded the thought in her brain now, of him actually hooking up with some random girl at a concert, and he's secure in the fact that it affected her enough to acknowledge it.
From: Ross Lynch
To: Laura Marano
April 25, 2013 11:00 PM
What can I say, gotta live the rockstar life. ;)
A few minutes pass and he starts to get nervous because that last text is approaching a line that he's never crossed before and he has no idea how she's going to take it. But then she finally replies and he can't stop grinning when he reads the response.
From: Laura Marano
To: Ross Lynch
April 25, 2013 8:10 PM
Eyes. Rolling. Good night.
He shuts his phone off and pumps his fist like an idiot and then his eyes widen because he comes to the realization that this counts as a victory.
In a fight he's just decided to join.
reviews=happiness
(And guys, just to let you know, I will never not update/finish a story. I don't start writing anything unless I know how it's going to end.)