The parts in this story that have music, I strongly advise that you play the song while that part in the story occurs, it really helps you picture the scene.

~We are subconsciously more attracted to people who have the same music taste as we do.~

Ryleigh slumped in the passengers seat as all of L.A passed through her field of vision. It was just like it was in the magazines, the palm trees lined in the middle, separating two roads and constant sunshine.

Ross opened a slit in her window so that the air hit her skin when they drove past all the scenery. They came to a red light and Ross tapped his finger repeatedly against the steering wheel impatiently. As he was waiting, he glanced over to Ryleigh who was too distracted staring out the window at the different styled houses and shops.

Sometimes he couldn't help but just stare at her. Honestly, he had no idea how or what he felt for Ryleigh. They joke like friends, yet flirt with each other all time like it's nothing.

The window was all the way down and Ryleigh flattened her arms across the frame of the window and rested her chin on top of them and took in the view. The wind slipped through the window, causing her hair to brush against the back of Rydel's Rage Dance Shirt that she borrowed.

Again, Ross just watched. Not in the creepy sense, but…..Ryleigh…she was so different to him.

"This must be the longest light ever," Ryleigh spoke, keeping her face towards the scenery as Ross returned to reality and flashed a grin.

"Do you have any music?" Ryleigh randomly asked as she faced him in her seat.

"We have the radio," Ross answered while pressing the scan button and having different songs pop up.

"No, please no!" Ryleigh shoved his hand out of the way as she turned the stations off.

"Is there something wrong with music?" Ross questioned. If she had something against music…this wasn't going to work out.

"No, there's a problem with the radio. They replay the same songs all time, then you turn to bands that haven't hit the radio yet, but within a week, what do you know, they're playing their songs on repeat and my friends at school claim, they love a band when they only know one freaking song by them!" Ryleigh ranted as Ross just sat back and chuckled at everything she just said. "What?"

"Dear god….you're a hipster aren't you?" Ross asked as the light color changed and multitasked between her and driving.

"Well I would say that, but saying I'm a hipster would make me not a hipster…so no, I'm not," Ryleigh confusingly replied.

"I don't think that's how it works?" Ross grinned while arching his eyebrows.

"Well, what would you know, you're…mainstream," Ryleigh slightly insulted as he bit his lip, trying not to say anything offensive in return.

"I know a couple of indie bands," Ross brought up.

"Oh, really? Name 5," Ryleigh demanded as she folded her arms and shot a satisfied smirk.

"Penguin Prison," Ross began, he glanced over at Ryleigh with a grin as she held one index finger up, waiting for his other answers. "The Postal Service, Matt & Kim.."

Ryleigh held up two more fingers. "Passion Pit and Phoenix."

"But those are all mainstream indie bands," Ryleigh spoke.

"Then they're not really indie are they?" Ross teased as he noticed that Ryleigh was not being humored. "Well I'm more of an alternative rock and pop person. If you're so Indie have you ever heard of New Politics? They haven't hit the radio yet."

Ryleigh held a puzzled expression as she tried to think of a way to answer that question.

"Exactly," Ross stated as he returned to the road and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

Ryleigh scorned towards him as he focused on the road. She saw his Iphone sitting in the cup holder between them and without asking, picked it up.

"Let's see what little Ross has in his music library," Ryleigh teased as she crossed her legs and leaned her chair all the way back. She hooked the auxiliary chord into the headphone jack and scrolled through his play list. "OH I LOVE THIS SONG!"

Ryleigh pressed play as she set the phone back in the cup holder and the singer's voice began to hum throughout the car.

"You know All Time Low," Ross asked, barely believing it.

"Yeah, my friend and I listened to them in middle school, then they kinda disappeared, but that didn't keep me from buying they're new album," Ryleigh told as she closed her eyes and relaxed in her seat.

Long live the reckless and the brave, I don't think I wanna be saved. My song has not been sung!

Ryleigh's lips sung in synch to the words and Ross would frequently glance over to see her just moving her lips. Eyes shut, hands gripping the arm rests, it's like she was lost in her own world.

Looking back at a life on the other side
I realize that I didn't fit in
Didn't hate it but I didn't quite relate it
To my precious little world

Ryleigh stuck her hand out the window, feeling the breeze lightly brush against her palm, feeling the sense of the song run through her. Ryleigh had this emotional connection to music. Ever since her father's death, music was all she depended on…..the only thing she could depend on.

The chorus was about to begin and Ryleigh noticed the volume was lowered and instantly flipped her body towards Ross.

"Excuse yourself," Ryleigh seriously joked as she glanced at the ipod in his hand. He didn't reply, all he did was turn the music off and set the ipod back in the cup holder.

"You're weird, you know that," Ross bluntly spoke with a grin as Ryleigh wasn't sure on how to react to that statement.

"Thank you?" Ryleigh thanked with a confused expression.

"No, but it's a good kind of weird. You're….weird," Ross repeated as he kept laughing at himself.

"I'm fully aware," Ryleigh noted as she slumped in her seat and picked the ipod back up.

"You stopped one of my favorite songs so that you could tell me that I'm weird?" Ryleigh grew curious, knowing that couldn't be the only reason.

"Have you ever heard our band perform an original song?" Ross asked out of nowhere.

"R5? Nope, only the one at the restaurant last week," Ryleigh informed as she widened her eyes at his Ipod screen. "Whoa! You listen to Walk The Moon?"

"Yeah, they're one of my favorites! I actually saw them a couple of months back," Ross replied as he noticed she hung her jaw.

"You saw them live?" Ryleigh quietly asked with envy.

"Guilty," Ross answered as he stopped at a light to turn into a large parking lot.

"I'd love to have your life," Ryleigh answered as she pressed play and the tune to their song "Shiver Shiver" began to echo through the vehicle and out Ryleigh's window.

Ross examined Ryleigh. The second the song started, her feet began to tap and her head slightly bobbed and lip sung the words. The way she got lost in a song, it….he didn't know. He didn't know what it was that made him even more drawn to her.

You grip your hands around my throat
You strip the buttons off my coat

Ross began to sing along with the singer and Ryleigh laid back in her chair, instantly turning towards him the second he started singing.

I choose the methods I do best
Thump, thump, the thumping in your chest.

Ross tapped his finger against the steering wheel as they turned into the parking lot and into a spot all the way in the back.

"Where are we?" Ryleigh asked as the music hummed in the background. She craned her neck to see the view of a massive shopping strip that read "Burbank Town Center".

"Believe me, I lived in Littleton. You have nothing like this there," Ross spoke as he turned the car off and un buckled his seatbelt. The music lingered on as Ross and Ryleigh both reached for the Ipod.

When you are close to me I shiver!

Their eyes stuck in this trance as there fingers touched for that single second. A strand of Ryleigh's hair brushed against the side of her cheek as her gaze locked on his chestnut eyes.

Ross gulped as he had an impulse to just kiss her. Kiss her like there was no tomorrow. But he couldn't and he wasn't sure why.

When you are close to me I shiver!

Slowly, they leaned back from one another, feeling as if they were in an awkward position. Ross was the one to be flirtatious, but now that he's gotten this far, he kind of shifts into panic mode when it comes to making the next move.

Ross opened the car door and the music shut off, causing Ryleigh to return to reality, trying to comprehend what just happened. She's been trying to understand this whole trip.

Side by side, but not hand in hand, they paced quickly in the parking lot towards the entrance and Ryleigh felt Ross's arm block her from moving.

"Watch where you're going," Ross calmly reminded as they waited for a car to pull out from in front of them.

They continued into the building and the second they entered, Ryleigh was instantly overwhelmed. Hundreds, screw it, thousands of stores had to be in here. They had 3 different levels and Ryleigh was surprised she didn't break her neck from looking in every direction.

She wasn't one to go to the mall very often, but there had to be at least something here that caught her attention.

"Where do you wanna go?" Ross asked as she still glanced in every direction, seeing how people would walk around with shorts and tanks with Starbucks in their hands when in Littleton, they'd be covered from head to toe unless it was summer.

"Where do I begin?" Ryleigh mumbled as she zoned in on Ross's face who was grinning.

"Well, I need to make a stop at Aeropostale later, but its on the second level," Ross informed as Ryleigh chuckled.

"What, they don't have a Hollister?" Ryleigh teased as Ross smiled and pulled her to the right.

Every step she took, a new store came into view. Andre's Martial Arts, Fashion Trends and Old Navy.

Ross lead her to a very specific place instead. Ryleigh glanced up to see the name "All Amusement. Ross approached a token machine and slid in a $10 bill.

"You're going to spend that much on arcade games?" Ryleigh seriously questioned. She could only imagine how fast money went in this mall.

"Are you questioning how much money I have, when I can go to Hollister and buy 10 shirts and still have enough money to buy out a whole store?" Ross spoke as Ryleigh arched her eyebrows.

"I'm gonna need a little chat with your parents about your allowance," Ryleigh said as the tokens spilled into the coin holder.

"Not only that, but imagine how much they pay a lifeguard at a five star resort for working 110 hours a week," Ross reminded as Ryleigh grew silent and simply nodded in agreement. "Let's do this."

He lead her over to a Dance Dance Revolution game.

"No no no no," Ryleigh repeated. "I'm not humiliating myself in front of complete strangers."

"Last time I checked, you're pretty good at that," Ross teased as he slid the tokens in the slot and Ryleigh playfully punched him in the arm while stepping onto the platform.

This place was pretty quiet for an afternoon, but then again it was a Monday. Ross picked some upbeat song that was sung in a different language and set the difficulty level on Intermediate.

"Dude, I can barely do Beginners," Ryleigh noted as the screen came up and Ross chuckled to himself.

The arrows popped up slowly and all Ryleigh did was step on an arrow each as they passed.

"This is actually pretty easy," Ryleigh brought up as Ross glanced over at her.

"For now," Ross warned as he actually attempted to simple dance moves on the platform as Ryleigh was just stepping. "Well aren't you boring? What happened to that crazy side of you, you know the one I played Just Dance with?" Ross held this gaze towards her as she grinned and looked towards the floor. If she noticed his half smirk when he looked at her, she probably would have collapsed to floor.

The pace picked up and Ross was doing all these elaborate moves as Ryleigh was just trying to keep up. They gained the attention of a few kids and their parents. By they, I mean "Ross." Ryleigh gave up as she stood like a statue on the platform, watching Ross create these impressive movements as he hit the arrows perfectly every time.

The song finished and the people behind them, clapped as Ross didn't realize they were there then glanced at Ryleigh who was slowly clapping with a grin.

"I think I'm fine with doing Just Dance," Ryleigh said as they left the arcade and strolled towards a clearing. "What about the other 100 tokens you bought?" Ryleigh questioned with a grin as they paused in place.

"Every day we should try to come back here and play that same game, that same song. Then a couple of others so that we use up the tokens," Ross informed as they began to continue walking and Ryleigh looked up at Ross who was looking for what they could do next.

This weird tingling feeling occurred in Ryleigh. It's happened before, but only around Ross. Without even caring what they were, or what they meant to each other, she wrapped an arm around his left arm that dangled when she gripped it.

Just by that, Ross realized what she did and glanced down at the head that was slightly pressed into his shoulder as they walked. A satisfied smile lifted onto his face.

"You need to try this," Ross demanded as they approached a clearing with a small circle of bungee chords.

"Is your goal to embarrass me today?" Ryleigh joked as he pulled out $16 and handed it to the guy in charge.

"C'mon," Ross gripped her wrist and tugged her onto the mini trampoline and they instantly strapped her up.

"I have no flexibility, whatsoever," Ryleigh brought up as Ross began to flip over and over again.

"Just swing your body back," Ross instructed as her wires starting rising and the straps tightened.

Ryleigh attempted to fling her body backwards and do a back flip, but she easily returned to her standing position. Finally, she kicked her feet off the trampoline and she spun in the air and felt the adrenaline course through her veins.

"I did it!" Ryleigh screamed, feeling awkward that she felt so happy about accomplishing a flip.

"Now try flipping front wards," Ross said as he stood still, wanting to see if Ryleigh could do it.

She squatted then kicked her feet up and flung her body forward, feeling her hair smack against the trampoline as she spun in the air.

"Woooooooh!" Ross cheered on as he clapped and Ryleigh planted her feet on the trampoline and bowed for him.

This continued for another 10 minutes until they grew tired and decided to grab something to eat. They headed towards the elevator and Ross pressed the 3rd floor button as they leaned against the back wall. Ryleigh was exhausted and rested her head on his shoulder as the elevator doors closed.

Ryleigh sighed as she rested her head on Ross's back as they waited in line at a place called "Surf City Smoothies". It had been less than an hour and Ross already felt closer to Ryleigh. He had one week and he was planning on using it right.

"Can I have strawberry banana and a watermelon smoothie?" Ross asked the employee as he tapped his credit card and a ring on his left hand against the counter as he heard these two girls in the opposite line whispering. Slowly, he shifted his head in their direction and all they did was look him, up and down and slightly smirk.

Ryleigh only noticed when she looked up to see his point of view on these two girls. One was blonde and the other brunette, both with straight hair and tanned skin. Girls like them made Ryleigh feel a little insecure about herself. Her hair wasn't as perfect and silky smooth, their skin tan and free blemishes. Their legs were long and skinny and everything about them was what she wasn't.

Ryleigh lifted her head off of Ross's back when the smoothies arrived at the counter. He handed them his credit card as he felt their eyes still on him. If anything, it made him nervous about what Ryleigh would do, surprisingly nothing yet.

He turned to face her and she didn't really have an expression. However when Ryleigh realized he was looking at her, she flashed a content smile. Ross flung an arm around her, pulling her to the front with him and letting her nestle into his side.

Ryleigh wasn't sure what she felt, but she like it. She never had a boyfriend so she wasn't sure how to act or what it means when a guy does something. But what he just did…knowing that the two girls were checking him out then bringing Ryleigh closer to him. It meant something.

"I'll grab some napkins," Ross said as he walked to the other end of the counter to get napkins. Ryleigh turned to the girls and stabbed her straw into the cup.

"Stick it in a juice box and suck it," Ryleigh awkwardly offended as the two girls glared at her as if she were an idiot….which she was. Ross returned to see Ryleigh smirking at the girls who seemed offended.

"Ready?" Ross grinned as he noticed she held their glare.

"Yep," She sipped her smoothie as Ross pressed a palm into her back to turn her around. After a couple of seconds of walking, Ryleigh turned back and mouthed "suck it" without Ross seeing her lips move.

She faced forward and Ross smiled, curious to what had happened.

"Do I wanna know?" Ross asked as he sipped his smoothie. Confidently, Ryleigh held her drink in her right hand and propped her arm up on Ross's shoulder.

"Nope," Ryleigh replied. As they walked, he bent his knees a little so that his shoulder was leveled with hers. "Is that a short joke?" They both grinned as she brought her arm down to her side. Ross released a chuckle as he wrapped an arm around her waist and continued to stroll down the packed paths.

"OH I LOVE THOSE!" Ryleigh exclaimed as she dashed towards a machine where you insert a penny and crank the dial to get a design on your penny. Ross gave her two quarters and a penny, he loved the excitement that lit in her eyes.

"You want me to crank the handle?" Ross asked.

"Psh, please. Let the pro handle…the handle," Ryleigh joked as Ross tried not to laugh at her failed attempt at a pun. "Do you get it? Because I said "handle" and then-"

"I get it," Ross chuckled as Ryleigh "popped" her knuckles and gripped the dial. Her arms easily cranked it at first, but then when the penny entered the machine, it got harder. Ross stood with his arms folded and a smirk.

"I got this," Ryleigh mumbled as she used every ounce of force to push the dial.

"Wimp," Ross teased as sipped his smoothie and looked in a different direction.

"What did I say about you calling me that?" Ryleigh reminded as the penny went through and came out with a design pressed into it. "How about that for a wimp?"

Ross reached for the machine and Ryleigh looked at the design over his shoulder. It had a design of the Hollywood billboard pressed into it.

"Souvenir," Ross spoke as he held the penny out to Ryleigh with a smile and hint of sadness behind his voice.

Ryleigh lightly smiled as she grasped it from his hand and ran a finger over the picture.

"Thanks," Ryleigh mumbled. The only souvenir she would have to remember one of her best experiences, was on something so countless. Who knew a penny would be so valuable.

Ryleigh glanced up to see Ross checking his phone and sipping his smoothie until he met her gaze and flashed her a genuine smile. A smile that used to be an expression of angst and hatred. A face that used to look at her in disgust, the face she looked to when she almost died.

Who knew a penny could mean the world to someone.

GAHHH ROSSLEIGH IS KILLING ME :D I hope you guys are enjoying it! Sorry if the chapters are too long! I realized that I had passed 20 chapters and my limit was 25, but that's not enough to end the story well. SOOOOOOOOOOO I'm gonna go to 30! I will make these last chapters count, I promise! I love hearing your feedback on chapters and favorite parts! Ask questions and I surely will answer! Love you guys, please Fave/Comment!

Credit to All Time Low for "Reckless & The Brave" and Walk The Moon for "Shiver Shiver".