~Take a Chance on Me~

"Hey..."

Lizzie gave a start and, removing her hands from her face, revealed a tear-stained, sweet face. It was a sweet face indeed with those large, green eyes that could melt anybody's heart. She gazed at Rhuben silently, her lips quivering slightly.

"I...I see that Dak finally told you about your parents?" she asked, moving to sit on the edge of the teenager's bed.

She laughed. It was a laugh full of bitterness.

"Figured I'd be used to it by now," she replied, using her shirt sleeve to wipe at her eyes. She frowned when she saw a black smudge of her eyeliner and mascara. "It's obvious they don't care about anything but their jobs."

"I know what you're going through, kid," Rhuben commented, placing a hand on her foot, giving it a small shake. "Believe me."

"How can you know?"she asked, dabbing at her cheeks.

"You've never met Robert have you?" Rhuben asked, tilting her head to the side.

Lizzie shook her head. "I know about him, though."

"Not surprised, really," Rhuben replied, with a small shake of her head. "Ah, well, my predicament is a little bit different. While Robert was around, he was way obsessed with my job and the money I was making. But, if anything we did didn't have to do with either of those, he didn't care." She used a hand to brush her hair out of her face. "It's actually no wonder we're more attached to Ronan; Robert would always push us off on him."

"I wish I could do something for you," Lizzie commented, her crying finally stopping. Rhuben gave her a confused look. "It's obvious that your past still bothers you guys. You may not even fully get over it and I hate knowing that anything can remind you of it."

"It's not so bad when you get used to it," Rhuben explained to the younger girl. "It's very disagreeable, but when you need to bear up with something day after day then you sort of adapt to it." She sighed and then added, "Well anyway, I just came up to tell you that I'm going to your recital."

"I know," Lizzie replied, breaking into a large grin. "Dak told me. I think you should go out for ice cream with him as well. You'd have a great time, I know you would." Rhuben stared at her, shocked by the sudden change of emotion, before that shocked look turned into a look of annoyance. "He's really nice and funny, and smart…well, I guess you know that since you're friends with him and—what?" Lizzie's green eyes widened. "Why don't you want to date my brother? You guys would be great together."

"Here's the thing about your brother, Lizz," Rhuben commented, running her fingers through her hair. "Getting to know him over the years, I know all of the good qualities about him."

"But?" Lizzie pressed, arching an eyebrow.

"Think about it, Lizz," Rhuben said, a serious look crossing her face. "The press are already on my case about just being friends with the guy." She rolled her eyes and ran her hands over her face. "Making up stories about supposed dates and stuff like that. I can only imagine what would happen if we actually went out." Lizzie gave a small smile. "Not only that, but your brother doesn't really know how to say 'no' to fans whenever he, WayneWayne, Riles, and I are hanging out. Before we know it, we have fans swarming on a day where we'd rather not sign any autographs. And it doesn't hurt that your parents hate me."

Lizzie then winced. It was no secret that Mr. and Mrs. Zevon were out of the house so much that they barely knew anything about Dak's or Lizzie's friends. For the longest time, they kept calling Riley, Ryan or Raleigh or any other guys name they can come up with that starts with an 'R', and would always give the Jackson-McGuires looks of pity as if they couldn't fathom how they survived the life they lived and how they would make it in the rest of the world, let alone know that they had any talent.

If that wasn't the cherry on top, it seemed like the more Dak's feelings grew for Rhuben, the less they seemed to "know" who she was or care for that matter. And if it was one thing that Rhuben wanted to accomplish in life, it was to have people accept her for who she is and not what she's done.

A thoughtful look then crossed Lizzie's face "It doesn't matter if the press talks about you," she commented. "Let them think what they want. Soon it will get old. It always does." She smiled.

"Yea..." Rhuben frowned. "I just don't understand why people have to make up things. Isn't there real stuff out there?"

"Yes, but the real stuff isn't as exciting as the mysterious gossip type things," Lizzie replied. She then got off her bed and rooted around under her bed before pulling out a shoe box, flipping open the top. "Ever since Dak revealed to TigerBeat that he has feelings for you, stuff about you guys have popped up at least once in every magazine, which, I have collected over the years." She lifted the box and flipped it upside down to prove her point. Rhuben eyed each one of them, warily. " If something is actually happening, no one but real news reporters want to write about it." She shrugged. "It's all really simple."

"I understand. I'm used to people having something to say about me," Rhuben replied with a heavy sigh. "But involving you and my family to just spread lies, it really pisses me off."

"Unfortunately, given the fact that BTR are going on tour soon, and you guys are taking a break from your music, giving yourself more free time, more stories are bound to pop up," Lizzie commented. "Especially, if and once they find out you're going with him to my recital and ice cream afterwards."

"Hey, I haven't agreed to tha—"

"It's really okay, for me," Lizzie replied with a smile. "That way people will learn more about me and stop figuring I want to do what Dak does." She frowned a little bit. "But, I don't like how people insinuate that I'm riding Dak's wave of fame. I like to get attention for stuff I do myself."

"Or dating one of my brothers," Rhuben added. Lizzie grinned and Rhuben rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, if you're tired of the magazines making things up about you, then why don't you give them something to talk about?" Lizzie asked, a mysterious look crossing her face. "I mean, come on, Dak is always going to have feelings for you and because of that, people are always going to ask him about you the two of you."

"You mean..." Rhuben stared at her.

"Go on a date," Lizzie replied with a smile and a nod. "Go get ice cream with him, it won't kill you. I mean, he was the first friend, kinda, you made when you got out here, so it's not like there's anything to be nervous about. It's just Dak." She smiled.

"I..." Rhuben frowned. "You don't understand, Lizz." She shook her head and sighed. "The press likes to get as much information on the people they talk about, like their past. What if…what if they find out about the abuse?"

"What if they do?" Lizzie asked in reply, a serious look on her face. "It's something you've wanted to tell your fans for a while. I honestly don't think you'll get backlash for it. In fact, I think you'll draw in more fans that are in the same boat. Plus, what better love story; you find your handsome prince to take you away from the harsh past you've been living with for years."

"You've been watching too many Disney movies," Rhuben commented, dryly, getting off the bed. "I hope you're feeling better nonetheless." She gave Lizzie a small wave and left her room, making her way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Dak was sitting, tapping his pencil against an open math book.

"Well?" he asked, lifting his head when Rhuben pulled out a chair, sitting down next to him.

"Mission accomplished," Rhuben replied, leaning back in her chair. "She's not upset anymore. Now, I wouldn't put it past her if she's planning our wedding."

"You must be new," Dak commented with a small laugh. "She's been doing that pretty much since she met you." He pointed his pencil at her. "She thinks we should get married on the beach, by the way."

"Sill me, I don't quite remember getting a ring," Rhuben replied, lifting her left hand, wiggling her fingers.

Dak smirked, tapping his pencil against his cheek. "That's big news for the gossip mill out there," he commented. "Jumped straight past dating and decide to get married." He then saw the thoughtful look on Rhuben's face. "What?"

"Lizzie was saying that, the only way to stop the press from spreading lies about us, was to give them something to talk about," Rhuben replied, slowly. "Which, yeah, I guess makes sense, but—"

"But, then that would really give the press a reason to follow us around," Dak finished for her. "Yeah, I get what you mean." He shrugged. "Besides, I was just about to give up on trying to get you to date me."

"…No you weren't," Rhuben with a small laugh, shaking her head, after staring at him for a moment. Dak merely shrugged in reply. "What is it about me that you like so much?"

Dak glanced at his watch, "As cheesy as it sounds; how long do you have, because it'd take a while to explain," he commented. A serious look then crossed his face as he set down his pencil, closing the math book to give her his full attention. "Look, Rhubes, I just want one chance to show you that I'm not just the 'Teen Icon' or whatever they're calling me these days. Look, just one date is all I'm asking. If it doesn't work out, well, then I'd be happy just being your friend."

"How many times are you just going to ignore the fact that, time and time again, I don't want to go out with you?" Rhuben asked, suddenly annoyed, lowering her chair to the floor, giving him a hard stare.

"That's the thing; you've never actually given me a reason as to why you don't want to go out with me," Dak commented, running his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, I don't know, Dak, maybe because I don't want to," Rhuben cried, throwing her arms into the air. "Maybe because I don't want the paparazzi constantly stalking me, maybe because sooner or later I might actually admit that I li-" she stopped short and immediately closed her mouth.

Dak stared at her questioningly, "What would you admit?" He asked slowly.

"Nothing," Rhuben muttered, feeling her face burn.

"I knew it," Dak said, a grin coming to his face again. "You do like me."

"Shut up," Rhuben lamely replied, cringing as she did so. Dak calmed down, giving her a peaceful smile, knowing that she, much like the rest of the kids in her family, hated talking about their feelings, or having people go on and on about it.

"But, if I like you and you like me, then what's the problem?" Dak asked, folding his arms on the table. "It's just one date, Rhubes." Rhuben chewed on her bottom lip, staying silent. "You know what your problem is? You can't make yourself have fun because you're worried that something bad is going to happen."

"Something bad always happens," Rhuben replied, shooting him an annoyed look. "I mean, hello, Jacksons and the word 'bad', are pretty much synonymous with each other."

"I promise, nothing bad will happen," Dak replied, reaching out a hand, placing it over hers. He didn't say anything else until he was sure he had her attention. "You deserve to be happy; you all do."

"I know."

A/N: And after this chapter, it's where all the drama starts to take a toll on their lives. It also goes back to the plot with Dak being in the musical Next to Normal and stuff. Time kinda jumps as well, but I'll always state where it is in the time frame.

You haven't seen the last of Robert, and BTR and the girls aren't really in this fic, but you'll see them from time to time. You'll be seeing more of Gustavo, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight though as they're an important part of the plot with Ronan. There will be more with Lizzie, Katie, Patirck, Noah, and Sydney. I think I'm just going to have this as a Wiley friendship side-story, but that may change as well. Still not sure how long this will be yet.

Thanks for reading. Hope you liked this chapter.

Cheers,

-Rhubes