A/N: The A&A writers kill me, so my frustration has manifested itself into a new chapter. Does anyone else think R&L probably really, really enjoyed filming that clarinet golf scene and the lingering hug scene? Just me? Okay. Not sure if there's much interest in this story, but as long as they continue to be adorable, I'm going to keep it going…which means you should review and let me know if you like it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the show, not the characters, not the songs. I am not affiliated with nor have I ever met anyone depicted in this fictional story. Song credits go to Fall Out Boy, The Black Keys, and Bruno Mars.

Rating: T for language

Everlong

4: isn't it messed up how I'm just dying to be him?

Well I'm so above you

And it's plain to see

But I came to love you anyway

So you pulled my heart out

And I don't mind bleeding

Any old time you keep me waiting

-Lonely Boy, the Black Keys

Laura couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Nothing could bring her down today. She'd had the most wonderful weekend imaginable and now she got to go to work with the people she adored and basically have fun all day.

She heard the faint strains of piano coming from the practice room set as she walked by. That was weird, Ross must've gotten here early. That was so unlike him. He was typically the one who was always late, plus he took forever to get ready. She listened as he stopped and started a few times, experimenting, trying to figure out the right chords. She recognized the melody, mentally playing along with the keys.

His voice echoed through the empty set, clear and loud. She closed her eyes, absorbing the sound of his voice.

Oh, her eyes, her eyes
Make the stars look like they're not shinin'
Her hair, her hair
Falls perfectly without her trying
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday

I know, I know
When I compliment her she won't believe me
And it's so, it's so
Sad to think that she don't see what I see
But every time she asks me "Do I look okay? "
I say

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
'Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are

She pushed the door open just a crack, watching him sing with his eyes shut tightly, concentrating on a memory. She admired his passion for music so much. He opened his eyes, seeing her leaning against the doorway and he stopped.

"Don't stop, I love that song," she murmured, mentally kicking herself for interrupting him.

"Hey, what's up," he stated, patting the bench next to him.

She walked over and sat down next to him. "How come you're here so early?"

"I couldn't sleep so I came here to get some peace and quiet. Meditate a little."

"Sorry, I'm interrupting, I can go…" She pushed off the bench, but he grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.

"Stay. Play with me."

"I'd rather hear you sing." He started to play again, but was interrupted by a buzz from her phone.

She flipped it open, her face brightening as she read the text.

"Who's texting you so early, Miss Popular?"

"Jake, the guy I went on a date with on Saturday." He tried to ignore the joyful look on her face. He looked down at his hands, suddenly concentrating very hard on the keys.

"So, I'm taking it went well," he gently pried.

She stared into his eyes, not noticing the cloudiness that had overtaken them. Conversely, he could not ignore her look of pure elation. It slapped him in the face.

"It was the best. We went to the movies and then got ice cream afterwards. He is so cool, and really smart, and so funny. You would really like him."

Ross doubted that. "What'd you see?"

"Iron Man 3, I have to say if George ever turns me down, I think I'd go for Robert Downey, Jr," she sighed.

She continued to chatter on endlessly about every detail of her date. He thought it sounded pretty unimpressive. A movie first date was so pedestrian. You didn't have a chance to make real conversation, there was little opportunity to actually look into your date's eyes and get to know them. It was not that romantic. He could do much better. He would take her on a more interactive date, a big event or doing something outdoorsy. A movie date was much more appropriate for the second or third date, when you wanted that intimate setting. And he would take her to something much more romantic or even scary so that she would snuggle up. Or maybe he would snuggle up; he hated horror flicks. Either way, this guy was obviously a rookie, which was somewhat comforting to Ross.

Actually, either way, it did not matter because he and Laura were not dating, but that was beside the point. She had finished her story, leaving him hanging at the most important part.

"Well did you kiss him?" he asked, pouring salt into the open wound of his soul. He didn't understand why he even asked, but it was like a need. He had to know. God, he was turning into a masochist.

Her eyes bugged out. "Ross! A girl doesn't kiss and tell."

"So you did or else you would've just said no," he deduced. His heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. "Laura Marano, you little vixen. Acting all innocent on the outside…"

Her cheeks were beet red by this point, and that was her tell. "Okay, Sherlock Holmes…"

"Jeez, you do have RDJ on the brain. So, how was it?" She glared at him in shock. "It's okay, you can tell me, I won't tell him. Was I better? I was better, wasn't I?" he teased.

"Oh my god, we're not talking about this," she shook her head, blushing furiously.

"Don't be embarrassed. You want me to tell you one of my hookup stories first?"

"Please don't. I don't want to feel more inadequate when compared to your adventures."

"Well, just don't give it up too soon, you have to earn his respect," he said half mockingly. She rolled her eyes, sinking his heart even further into the ground.

"What should I write back? I really like him, but I don't know what to say. You're really good at expressing your feelings and you're a guy, what should I say?"

He exhaled softly. He wasn't as good at expressing his feelings as she thought. "Just tell him that. Tell him you had a great time and that you can't wait to do it again. I'm sure he feels the same way. He'd be a fool not to."

"Ross, that's so nice, see you are such a sweetheart." She bumped her shoulder against his, yet another playful gesture amongst the millions of little touches, little glances, little nudges they shared. He had spent so much time convincing himself that those little things meant nothing, trying to ignore the glaring fact that they did.

She continued her barrage of double-edged compliments, "You're such a great friend, thanks for listening." Her words were like daggers to his chest, but her happiness would always be priority number one for him. Even if that happiness was at his expense.

She bit her lip as she texted back. Her brow was furrowed, but her eyes sparkled. He swallowed hard watching her. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that she would never react that way when texting him. The thought of that made his heart ache, even though he wasn't completely sure why.

He poked at her arm, flicking her to get her attention while she was talking to Raini.

"Ross!" she whined. Raini gave him a weird look.

"Sorry, pay attention to me and I won't bother you," he mimicked her tone.

"Oh my god, you are a child. Do you need something?"

"No. I'm just restless."

"Jeez Ross, did you not take your meds this morning, or what?" Raini teased.

He ignored her, continuing to flip Laura's hair with his fingers.

"Ow, pick on someone your own size," the brunette warned, her face wrinkled.

"But you're more fun." He gave her shoulders a little rub kneading the little knots at the small of her neck.

She leaned into the massage, enjoying the smoothing motion. Raini just looked at the both of them with a quizzical expression on her face. "How many cups of coffee did you drink today?" Laura murmured.

"Like three already."

"Yeah, you should stop."

"Yeah, stop so Laura can tell me about the rest of her conversation," Raini directed.

He rolled his eyes, "I've already heard this." That's all Laura could talk about for the past few days. Jake this, Jake that. It would be different if the guy was interesting, but he was so not. At least not to Ross. He wondered if the girls he hung out with made as big of a deal of EVERY LITTLE WORD HE TEXTED or the length of time between texts. Because that's totally what Laura was doing, dissecting every last syllable Jake uttered. And she would freak out if he didn't respond within a few hours. Like, what if the guy was busy or if he forgot to write back? That happened all the time. Girls were such head cases. Guys did not even think about any of this shit. Like, not at all.

Although, he always got back to Laura in a timely manner.

"Well then stop listening to our conversation," Raini retorted.

The two girls giggled as Laura recounted every detail with Jake for like the third time that day. He got that she was so excited, but seriously this guy wasn't anything to write home about. He sounded lame and that lucky bastard still got a kiss at the end of their first date. He was a little surprised by her at that. It took her forever to even be comfortable kissing him (and they had known about it for months), and then she just jumps this guy? What was that about?

They, or rather, he was watching the dailies from the show. He had noticed, which meant that their directors and producers would probably notice that it wasn't his finest work. It seemed like he was staring at her in every scene. The script did not call for that. He was clearly distracted and he hoped that the editors could do some magic to correct his poor performance.

They all approached the stage for their curtain call. They were finally done shooting for the week and he couldn't be happier. He had an interview on Radio Disney and some promotional photo shoots with his family, but other than that he could decompress away from all of this. He needed some time away from the set, away from Austin, and definitely away from Ally.

The crowd cat-called as each cast member's name was announced. They each stepped out from backstage to greet the studio audience. He was always last, and when they called his name, he skipped out towards her. He grabbed her hand, like any other day, but somehow today felt different. His hand encapsulated her tiny one and he gave it a little squeeze as they took their bows.

"WE LOVE YOU RAURA!" A chorus of high pitched squeals broke the sound barrier as the cast and crew all chuckled at the enthusiasm of their fans. She squeezed his hand a little tighter, the laugh lines crinkling around her eyes.

Laura laughed like she always did when someone would bring up their "shipper" name. She thought it was so funny how the fans wanted them to be together.

Yeah, Ross thought it was real hilarious.

"KISS HER!" another fan yelled, causing Laura's face to turn bright pink. Calum made a little heart sign out of his hands as Ross rolled his eyes. The crowd continued to whistle and cheer, and he held up his hands in surrender.

He grabbed Laura's thin wrist and pulled her towards him, bridging the gap between them. She let out a squeak at the unexpected move. What was he planning to do in front of all these people? He leaned in slowly…then broke at the last second.

"Nah, not here, guys. Sorry. You gotta watch the upcoming episodes for that," he grinned slyly. He winked towards the direction of the fan as the audience whooped. Every female in the vicinity let out the breaths they were holding, including Laura.

She nervously laughed at his attempt to save them from the awkward situation. She loosened his grip on her arm, looking up at him with shining eyes. It was his turn to deeply exhale as he felt his heart ache at her perfection. Even though he was just playing for the audience, he really had wanted to kiss her. So everyone could see what he felt, so that there could be witnesses. What was going on with him? His insides felt like a crumpled up piece of paper that could never be smoothed out to its original untouched form again. And all because of Laura. He was royally fucked. What had he done?