The venue which the party was being held in hadn't been decorated too much for the event, but it looked fantastic as it was. Upon entering, one would see a wide room with a stage against the opposite wall. Currently a DJ was playing music, but R5 would be performing later on. The lights were dim, and several cords of white lights hung all over the place. 'This is so pretty.' Emma thought before spotting Laura, Raini, Calum and Noah. She tapped Ross on the shoulder and pointed in their direction, but Ross seemed distracted. "See someone you know?" Emma asked, trying to see what Ross was looking for. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Hey, I'll come over in a few, okay?" Ross told Emma before heading in another direction. Emma figured Ross must be catching up with old friends and headed over to the Austin and Ally cast members. When Laura looked Emma's way, it took her a second to recognize her. "Emma?!" She asked. "Look at you! You look amazing!" Laura said before coming up and hugging Emma. "Thank you." Emma told the girl. Laura's hair was curled, and she wore a sparkly, short dress that looked great on her trim figure. Raini wore a strapless dress which had a ruffled skirt that began right above the waist and hit right above the knee. The dress was extremely flattering on her. "Both of you girls look so great." Emma told the two, who smiled and said thank you. "So, are you two here with any boys tonight?" Emma asked with a smile. Raini nodded towards Calum and Noah with a smile. "You're looking at them. I came with Calum and Laura came with Noah." Emma quickly looked at Laura, who had a big smile on her face. "What?! That's awesome!" Emma told Laura, who had admitted to her just days before that she had feelings for Noah. "Thanks. When he asked me, I nearly fell over. I was so excited." Laura said with s laugh and a big smile, which Emma couldn't help but return. "I'm so glad it worked out. And I'm glad Calum asked you, Raini." Emma told the girls. Raini smiled. "Thanks. I knew we'd have a good time and a lot of laughs, so when he asked me, I couldn't say no." Raini told Emma. "And speaking of dates, are you here with anyone, Emma?" Raini asked the girl. Emma hadn't realized until then that she had never told the girls that their fellow cast member was her date that evening. "Yeah." she said, then added, "Guess who?" Both girls squealed with excitement much like they had the day before when Emma had told them that Ross had asked her out on a date. "Ross asked you?!" Laura asked with excitement. Emma smiled and nodded, and the girls got even more excited. "So are you two official yet?" Raini asked Emma when they began to calm down. Emma wondered how she ought to explain to the girls that she and Ross wouldn't be dating. "No." she told them. Emma knew she could tell these girls anything, so she told them about the night before. "Ross asked me to be his girlfriend last night, but I thought we shouldn't. I live pretty far away. I thought it might be kind of crazy. I mean, I'm sure he would find another girl in the time he wouldn't see me." Laura and Raini's smiles began to fade, and Emma really didn't want to ruin their special night. "But don't worry. Ross and I talked about it this morning and he told me it was fine with him if we just stuck with being friends." The two girls had been listening carefully to Emma's story. "So... you two are just going to be friends?" Raini asked, and Emma nodded. "But, wait. You can't just be friends. You two are perfect for each other." Laura told Emma. Emma was surprised to hear that Laura believed she and Ross were "perfect for each other." Laura continued, "And Ross, well, we saw the way he looked at you the other day at the amusement park." Raini nodded in agreement. "He cares about you." Emma was a bit surprised to hear all of this coming from Laura, but hearing it gave Emma a bit of a wake-up call. Laura was right. Yes, Ross did care about her. But Emma still knew she couldn't date Ross. "I'm sorry." Emma told the girls, much like she had said to Ross the night before when she didn't kiss him. "I just don't know-" "Then just think about it." Laura interrupted Emma, once again surprising the girl. "Think about a long-distance relationship. Look, Emma. We've gotten to know Ross pretty well over the past couple of years. He can commit to one girl. We learned that while Ross was dating Brittany. And when they broke up, well, you probably have heard; he missed her like crazy." When Laura finished, Emma wasn't sure what to say. She could tell that the two girls cared about Ross, and they believed that Emma made him happy. "Speaking of Brittany," Raini started. "I think I see Ross." Emma was confused, and looked to where Raini was looking.

And then she saw her. With him. They were talking. Ross was smiling. And Brittany was smiling back. 'She's gorgeous.' Emma thought. The girl had long blond hair, and she appeared to be almost as tall as Ross. The girl wore an expensive-looking light blue dress that made her already extremely skinny body look great. Emma turned back to the girls and tried to smile. "I'm sure they're just catching up." Laura told Emma. Emma nodded. "I think I'm going to go get some air. See you girls later, okay?" Emma told the two. Before they had time to respond, she made her way towards what appeared to be a door that went to the deck.

Emma stepped outside. The view from the deck, which overlooked the beach and the ocean, was awesome. Emma walked towards the railing of the deck and leaned against it. She began to wish a guy- really, any guy- would come up to her and hit on her, just so she could feel wanted. Emma had mixed emotions in that moment. 'I'm surprised, I guess.' Emma thought. 'I guess I just thought he was over Brittany, and he was maybe into me. But he must have just been waiting to see if she would come back around, and I was just one way to spend his time.' Then a familiar voice came from behind Emma. "I found you." Ross said before leaning on the rail just like Emma was. He noticed pretty quickly that she didn't return his smile, and his smile faded. "What's wrong? You okay?" Ross asked Emma, moving a little closer to her. "I saw you. Talking to Brittany." Emma told Ross. She thought of adding, 'She's really is prettier than me, huh?' but decided to keep that one to herself. "You saw us, huh?" Ross asked, trying to smile. "Look, I wasn't going to tell you. I thought you wouldn't want to know." Emma looked out at the water. "So," Emma began, her eyes returning to Ross again. "You were going to keep her a secret from me, right?" Ross looked confused. "What are you talking about?" He asked her, his smile fading. "She asked you out, right? Or did you ask her out?" Emma asked Ross. Ross was quiet for a moment, then said, "Look, Emma. Yes, Brittany asked if I would give her a second chance." Emma probably would have let Ross finish, but something inside her felt different. Maybe it was because of the fact that Brittany was perfect. Perfect for Ross, and just perfect in general. It made Emma so angry that she wasn't as lucky. "I knew it." Emma told Ross. "Wait, Emma-" Ross tried to say, but Emma stopped him. "Don't even worry about it." She told him before looking back out at the ocean. If Emma would have been looking at Ross, she would have seen how sad he looked. "What's with you? You're not acting anything like the girl I met six days ago." Ross told Emma. Emma was quiet, but she would have agreed with Ross; she didn't feel like the same girl. She felt bitter, jealous. "Whatever. Look, I was just coming out here to tell you R5 is about to perform." Ross told Emma as he pushed himself back off the railing. "And, hey, for the record," he added. "I said no to Brittany. I have much stronger feelings for another girl that's here tonight. And, if you need a clue, she's the one I asked to be my date tonight."

Emma watched Ross walk away and not look back at her. She couldn't believe how she had just acted. She had completely overreacted, and because of what? Because Brittany was so pretty, and that made her think Ross would fall for her all over again? Even after Ross told her looks weren't the only thing that mattered to him, and he told Emma how great she looked that night? "I'm such an idiot." Emma said out loud, covering her face with her hand. She knew Ross was probably just about to step on stage, and she wished she could tell him right then that she had made a big mistake and she was sorry. Emma quickly pushed herself away from the railing and walked inside the building again. R5 still wasn't on stage, so she searched for Ross. Fortunately, she spotted him pretty quickly. He was talking to his brothers and sister as the five prepared to take the stage. He still looked really upset. She couldn't wait until after he performed, so Emma walked straight up to him. Ross was talking to Riker when he noticed Emma walking towards him, and he quickly told his brother something before walking towards Emma. Emma began to walk more quickly as she got closer to Ross, and she immediately wrapped her arms around him when she reached him. She felt his strong arms pulling her in closer to him. "I'm really sorry, Ross." Emma said. "I overreacted back there. I wasn't thinking. I just-I was scared because Brittany's so pretty and perfect, and-" "Wait a second," Ross told Emma. "Didn't I just tell you, like, twenty minutes ago how pretty you are?" Ross's smile had returned, and he chuckled as he told Emma, "And I can promise you: Brittany is not perfect. When I turned her down earlier she asked me if I just wanted to mess around with her instead. She definitely has changed since I dated her." Emma smiled and felt a bit relieved when Ross told her he had turned down Brittany's invitation. "Anyway, I don't want perfect. I want perfect for me. I want you." Emma felt so happy. She had never felt that way about a boy before. No one had ever made her feel that way. Until then. "I've gotta go, okay? Wish me luck!" Ross told Emma, hearing his dad begin to thank everyone for coming that evening and prepare to introduce the band. Emma nodded. "Okay, good luck!"

Ross kissed Emma on the cheek. "Have fun. Go crazy." He told her with a goofy smile before turning and joining the rest of R5. Emma watched Ross walk away and noticed that his band mates had just been watching the two of them. Emma pretty much felt the way Rydel was acting at that moment. Rydel was literally doing a dance on the spot, and she had a big smile on her face. When Ross was close enough to hear Rydel, Emma was pretty sure Rydel told him, "Why are you two so adorable?!" Riker laughed at Rydel's actions before motioning for the band members to get close so they could say their usual, "Ready, set, rock!" cheer before performing. Emma figured she ought to find Samantha as well as Laura and Raini. With a big smile and her face still warm from what just happened to her, Emma made her way through the crowd.