Ross exited the hotel through the front entrance, hoping that no one had payed much attention to him. Within minutes, Riker pulled up to the entrance in his car. Ross took a deep breath. 'Just explain to Riker what happened last night. I just hope he hasn't told Mom and Dad yet...' Ross opened the car door. Riker wore sunglasses so Ross was unable to see his eyes, but he could tell Riker was pissed. "Get in." He said sharply. Ross obeyed and slid into the passenger seat. Riker looked at him. "What happened to your face? You're not going to get passed Mom and Dad looking like that." Ross hoped that this meant he hadn't told their parents yet where he'd been the night before. "I know. I'm going to tell them what happened. I just want to wait until after Emma leaves so she won't get in trouble. Look, Riker-" "Save it." Riker cut off his brother. "We'll talk at rehearsal."
Riker drove to the venue that the party to celebrate them signing with Hollywood Records would be at. It appeared that the rest of the band was already there. Ross became nervous, knowing in the next few minutes he'd see his siblings and their friend Ratliff, the drummer of R5. "Do you know if Dad's here today?" Ross asked his brother. He was more nervous than anything about telling his parents what had happened the night before. Riker sighed, then put his sunglasses on top of his head. He appeared to have calmed down a bit now. "He told me he wouldn't be able to come this morning, so you're lucky. Come on, we're already late." Ross looked in the mirror in the car, fixing his hair to somewhat cover up the cut from the night before. He attempted to get a few wrinkles out of his shirt before grabbing his guitar from the backseat and following Riker inside.
As expected, Rydel, Rocky and Ratliff already had all their equipment set up. The three had been sitting around on the stage, awaiting the arrival of the rest of their five. Rydel noticed Riker and Ross approach the stage first. "About time!" She told the two, jumping up from her seat. "Band meeting. Now." Riker told the four, looking serious once again. Ross looked at his brother as the other three came over. "So where were you last night?" Rocky asked Ross. Then joked, "And why wasn't I invited?" Ross was about to tell his siblings and Ratliff the whole story before Riker spoke up. "Ross slept in Emma's hotel room last night." "WHAT?!" Rydel, Rocky, and Ratliff all replied simultaneously. Rocky, being the least serious of the few, held up a hand to high-five Ross. "Alright Ross, get some." He told his younger brother, but Ross didn't return the high-five. "No, you guys don't understand. Just let me explain." "Wait a second." Rydel started. "Are you talking about the same girl I went shopping with yesterday, that Emma? Ross, what were you thinking?" She asked, not looking like her usual optimistic self any longer. "You guys aren't even giving me a chance to explain." Ross told the band, beginning to become frustrated. When Riker and Rydel were quiet, Ross took a deep breath, hoping he could choose the right words.
"Look," he started. "Emma texted me last night wondering if I want to go do something, so we went to my friend Andrew's place for this party." He wasn't so sure if he could use the word "friend" any longer when referring to Andrew, since he'd punched the guy in the jaw the night before. Plus, though Andrew wasn't sober, he had hit on Emma then hurt her. "Were you drinking?" Riker asked his brother. While Riker had recently turned 21, he still didn't drink alcohol. It was always something Ross had admired about his brother. "I didn't drink anything. You know I wouldn't." Ross looked at his brother. Riker became a bit less tense, then nodded. "Anyway, I found out this morning that the reason she wanted to go somewhere was that her ex asked her out again, and she kind of freaked out and wasn't sure what to do. So I was just helping her out. And afterwards I drove her back to her hotel. But nothing happened. I mean, I slept in a chair next to her bed, and that was it." He waited to hear what the three had to say. "So," Ratliff spoke up first. "I feel like I need to meet this girl one of these days." Ross completely forgot that Ratliff hadn't met Emma yet, since she'd only met his family the other night. "At the party tomorrow night, I promise I'll introduce you to her." He told his friend, before turning back to Riker, Rocky and Rydel.
Ross was completely shocked when he looked at Riker and Rydel; both were starting to smile at him. "You sound like... you care about her a lot." Riker told his brother. Ross looked at him, then nervously looked away. "I... I'm just trying to be a friend." "Oh, whatever, Ross." Rydel told him jokingly. "We all know how you act when you're into a girl, and you're doing it right now." She smiled at her brother. Ross laughed nervously, and felt his face become warmer. "I don't know what you're talking about. Look, we're just friends. Now are we going to start rehearsing anytime soon?" "Wait a sec," Rocky said. "So does this mean I can ask Samantha out now since Ross will no longer be on the market to her?" "You're going to ask Samantha out?" Riker asked, looking confused. "Why would I no longer be on the market?" Ross asked, even more confused. "Because you're going to ask Emma out." Rocky told his brother, as if it was one of those obvious questions that everyone knew the answer to. "What? I'm not going to ask her out." Ross told Rocky, who smiled and shrugged his shoulders in response. "Okay. Look, Ross." Riker started, putting a hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "I promise I won't tell mom and dad where you were last night as long as you tell them everything immediately after Emma goes back home. And just promise us that you're not going to stay out all night and go to crazy parties anymore." Ross nodded. "Okay, I promise." Riker smiled before turning towards the rest of the band and suggesting they start rehearsal.
As the other four headed towards the stage, Ross sighed. He hadn't realized until Riker mentioned Emma going back home that she only would be there a couple more days. He didn't want to think about her leaving. Ross had gotten to know her so much better since the night she arrived, when Jackson broke up with her and he came over. 'I guess... I just wish I had more time to learn even more about her.' Ross thought. He quickly pulled his phone out and asked Emma if she wanted to hang out later, then attempted to put his thoughts aside for a while and focus on rehearsal.