Emma payed little attention while driving over to Ross's house. She hadn't realized she'd been going ten over the speed limit until she pulled into his neighborhood. Even then, she didn't worry about it. Her mind was somewhere else. She tried to get her thoughts elsewhere, but she couldn't stop seeing Jackson's text in her head. He had told her he wanted her back, and he was sorry. 'And...' Emma thought, 'I was so happy with him... But... he cheated on me. How can I forgive him after that?' Emma was so distracted that she passed Ross's house, and had to turn around and drive back.

When she finally pulled into to his driveway, Ross was sitting on the steps of his front porch, waiting for her. He smiled before standing up and walking over to her car. Emma took the opportunity to notice that Ross seemed to be able to pull off anything he wore. Today he had on a preppy-looking button-up shirt that looked like it was from Hollister. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his tan arms. His hair was gorgeous. Emma couldn't help but smile back. "Hey." He said, getting into her car. "What's up?" "Hey." Emma replied. "You ready to have a good time?" At least she hoped they'd have fun. She just wanted to hear loud music that just might blur all of the thoughts running through her head. Ross's smiled faded. "Uhh..." he started. "I have to be honest, I never party. But I'll come with you if you're up for going. I mean, I don't want you to go alone anyway." Emma looked over at Ross, who happened to be looking back at her. He started to look concerned. "Unless you just want to tell me what's wrong now." Emma couldn't believe it. She had never known someone that could understand her so well after knowing her for only a few days. Still, she wouldn't tell him about Jackson. "What? Nothing's wrong. I just thought we could do something fun. Look," she made up an excuse. "If I was at home right now, I wouldn't be going to a party. My parents never let me do stuff like this. I just thought I'd try something different while I had the chance." Ross looked at her, then looked down. "Yeah, okay." Emma immidiatly felt guilty. She had just lied to him, and had probably sounded rude when she spoke. "Ross, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like a jerk or anything. And... I'm really glad you're coming with me." Ross smiled and looked at her again. "Like I said, I wouldn't have let you go to this thing alone. You have to be careful with who you hang out with at parties." "Oh, sounds like you're the expert here." Emma told him jokingly. "Okay, well you can keep me updated on who's bad news and who's okay." She told him. He nodded. "Sounds like a plan." They continued to look at each other for a few more seconds, before Emma broke the silence. "So, you know how to get to this place or are we just driving until we find a party?" Emma asked jokingly. Ross laughed. "I know how to get there. Andrew's place is pretty close. His house is huge, by the way. You'll love it." Emma smiled. She couldn't deny it; she did love big houses. But who didn't?

Emma turned on the radio as she pulled out of Ross's driveway. The radio station that had preset in her car turned out to be a popular one in Los Angeles, with mostly Pop songs on it. Right then, it was playing a Hot Chelle Rae song, and one of Emma's favorites; "Whatever." She realized the song was actually pretty perfect for the mood she was in, since it was entirely about all of the crummy stuff that had happened and saying "whatever" to all of it. Emma planned on not singing along to the song like she usually did when she was driving, since she'd probably annoy Ross. Then he started humming along to the chorus. "You like Hot Chelle Rae?" Emma asked, not too surprised. "Yeah, who doesn't? Their music is so good." Ross said, then added, "Their lyrics are really catchy, too." He began singing along with the chorus. And, as expected, he sounded really, really good. When the second verse began, Emma started to sing along. It was her favorite part of the song. "I was talking on the phone, ran into the back of a Cadillac. Then I hit the gas, so the six-foot chick wouldn't kick my ass." Ross laughed at Emma, and she hoped it wasn't because of singing. "That's like, my favorite part of the song." Emma told him. "Don't make fun of my singing, okay?" "What? No, I thought you sounded really good actually. Keep on singing." Ross said with a smile before singing along with the song. Emma began singing along as well, and most of the rest of their drive was spent singing along to Hot Chelle Rae, Fall Out Boy, and Imagine Dragons.

It wasn't until they were driving down the street that Andrew's house was on that Emma began thinking about something Ross had said earlier. He had told her that he wouldn't have let her go to this party alone. Sure, at first she had just let this sentence go in one ear and out the other. But now she was starting to think that maybe he said that because he cared about her. At least in a friendly way, just like a friend wouldn't want you to do something dangerous or stupid. 'So this must mean he thinks of me as a friend... right?" Emma started to wonder. Either way, it was sweet. It kind of reminded her of something her parents would say, if they wanted to protect her from a bad situation or something. And, she had to admit, it was nice knowing their was someone that would be there for her if she needed him.

Emma pulled up next to the curb behind another car, only a few houses away from Andrew's house. It was dark by then, and you could see lights through the windows of his house, which Emma thought looked like a mansion. Then, Emma began to feel nervous. Sure, she had wanted to get out of her hotel room. 'Maybe going to a party wasn't the best idea I've ever had, though...' she began to think. "You ready?" Ross asked Emma, opening the car door. "Umm..." Emma started, looking back at the house, A car pulled up behind Emma's and a few teenagers, who seemed to already be buzzed, walked towards the house excitedly. They all looked about her age, and Emma started to think the only way that she could "fit in" there was if she drank at this party. She, however began to dread the idea. "You know, we don't have to go in." He told her. "Or, you could just not drink anything. I know I won't." He said honestly. Emma thought for a minute, before smiling at him. "Let's just go for it." She told him. She opened her car door and, though she was still nervous, she felt excited. She decided then that she wouldn't drink anything the whole night. Who knew, maybe she'd have a lot of fun without drinking.