Ross was relieved when recording for Austin and Ally was over for the day. It was about 3:00 when the cast was done was done for the day. Ross headed to his dressing room and put on sweatpants and a T-shirt. When Ross headed to the parking lot, Raini and Laura were talking outside. The two stopped talking and looked at Ross when he came outside. Laura sighed, then came up and gave Ross and hug. Ross hugged his friend. Laura was a little shorter than Emma. Raini gave Ross a hug next. The three did not say anything to each other. "See you guys next week." Ross then told his friends. He appreciated their friendship, and it looked like they had been waiting for Ross to come outside. But Ross was ready to go home. He wanted to go back to sleep.
Ross quietly entered his house. He heard his mom and dad talking in the kitchen, but Ross headed straight for his bedroom. Ross began to feel some guilt over not telling his parents yet that he slept in Emma's hotel room throughout the week. 'Maybe I'll tell them about that later.' Ross decided. Ross collapsed onto his bed when he entered his room. The lack of the sleep from he previous night was beginning to catch up with him. Ross set an alarm on his phone for a couple of hours and fell asleep almost immediately.
Emma cried nearly the entire drive to the airport. She tried to wipe away tears and let her face dry when she realized she was moments away from the airport. Emma returned her car and turned in her luggage. As Emma waited to be able to get on the plane, she texted her mom to verify that her parents would be picking her up at the airport when she arrived. She was expected to arrive to the airport at 8:00 that night. Emma's mom quickly messaged her daughter back. "Hi sweetheart! We will pick you up at the airport. Can't wait to hear about your trip!" Emma smiled, excited to see her parents. She had already decided she would tell her parents about Ross. 'Oh great,' Emma thought. 'That will require telling my parents that Jackson and I broke up.' "Ugh." Emma said aloud. She realized she would HAVE to see Jackson the following morning at school in their math class. Emma thought of some of the awful texts Jackson had sent her that week, beginning with the message where he said he wanted to break up with Emma. There was also that message that read "I found someone else, and she's a lot less boring than you. Plus, we've already kissed." 'What a jerk.' Emma thought. 'Why did I ever like that guy?' Emma remembered she did enjoy talking to Jackson before the two started dating. They even texted each other a lot when they first started dating. 'I guess the talking was not enough for him and he needed some action, too.' Emma decided, grossed out that she ever liked a guy like him. The second half of that text message included something like "now you can get with that Ross guy you talked about the entire past two weeks. Unless you're afraid of kissing him too." Emma chuckled thinking about that part of the message, even though it was such an awful thing to say. 'I was afraid of kissing him' Emma thought. 'Until I realized I really liked Ross.'
When there were just a few minutes left before Emma could get on the plane, Emma got a phone call. It was from Jennifer! Emma quickly answered the phone. "Jen! Hi!" Emma said happily. "Oh my gosh, I am so happy to hear your voice! How was your trip?" Jennifer asked. The enthusiasm which Jen usually had in her voice brought Emma a little bit of happiness. Jen seemed happy to hear Emma's voice. "My trip was... amazing." Emma said, trying to consider how grateful she was that she was able to go on this trip. "That's awesome! I cannot wait to hear about it. Hey, so I was calling because I texted you the other day and I never heard from you. Did you get that message?" Emma was quiet for a few seconds. 'Did I read a text from Jen this week?' Emma wondered. She then remembered when Ross read Emma a message from Jen. He read part of the message so he would not upset Emma. Ross then told Emma about the rest of the message, which stated Jackson had hit on Jennifer at school after Emma left for California. "Yes, I did get your message." Emma stated. "Oh my goodness, do you hate me?" Jen started. "I got away from him as quickly as possible. I hope you're not mad at me. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you!" Jen continued on like this until Emma interrupted her friend. "I could never hate you! I am not mad at you, I just can't believe Jackson hit on you when he and I were still dating." Jen sighed in relief. "I know, right? I am so glad you're not mad at me. When you didn't respond to my text, I worried you were upset. I was going to talk to you about it at school tomorrow, but then I decided I could not wait!" Jen finished what she was saying as there was an announcement that Emma could board her plane. "Jen, I have to get on the plane now. Can I drive you to school tomorrow? I can tell you more about my trip and you can catch me up on anything I missed at school this week." Emma stood as she spoke and picked up her purse. "That sounds perfect! Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." Jen agreed before hanging up.
Emma slept for a lot of the plane ride. She arrived to the airport at 7:40. Emma exited the airplane and went to pick up her luggage. 'I can't wait to go to sleep.' Emma thought. 'Maybe I will just tell Mom and Dad a little bit about my trip.' Emma remembered she needed to text Ross that night. Emma wondered what time it was in California. 'Maybe I should call him later.' Emma thought. Emma reached the conveyor belt where her luggage would be. As she waited for her luggage, a blonde boy caught her eye. Emma quickly looked. This boy was someone Emma had never seen before. Emma went back to waiting for her luggage, knowing she had thought for a split second that that person could have been Ross. The blonde stranger stood nearby, awaiting the arrival of his luggage. When Emma saw her suitcase, she made an attempt to take the heavy suitcase off of the conveyor belt. As Emma tried to lift her suitcase, someone lifted the other end of her suitcase off of the conveyor belt. Emma looked up to see the blonde stranger looking back at her. The boy smiled. 'I miss Ross's smile.' Emma thought as she thanked the boy and headed towards where her parents would pick her up.
Emma sat down. She sent her mom a text message stating where she was waiting. As Emma hit the "Send" button, she heard a girl yell "Daniel!" Emma looked up to see a girl running and embracing the blond boy who had helped Emma with her suitcase. It appeared the girl was picking up the boy from the airport. Emma looked away as the girl kissed the boy. Emma's mom and dad arrived a moment later.
"Emma!" The woman approaching Emma was Emma's mom. Her mom was about the same height as Emma. Her hair was wavy and a similar color to Emma's hair. "Hi, mom." Emma said with a smile. Emma's dad gave her a big hug next. "Hey, kiddo." The man said. Emma's dad was a little taller than her mom and Emma. Emma smiled almost as big as she had when she had been talking to Ross the day before. "I missed you guys!" Emma told her parents. Emma's dad grabbed her suitcase, ready to roll it to their car. "I am so excited to see you!" Emma's mom said, putting her arm over Emma's shoulder. The three began walking to the car. Emma's mom was almost bouncing up and down with excitement. "Tell me about your trip!" She said, her arm still over Emma's shoulder as the two walked. Emma's dad followed closely behind the two, rolling Emma's suitcase. "What was Hollywood like? How did acting in 'Austin and Ally' go? Oh my, I can't believe my daughter is going to be on TV." Emma laughed. "Yeah, I can't believe it either. I think the episode is going to air in a few weeks. Hollywood was so cool. It looks a little different than Indianapolis." Emma said that last part with some sarcasm. Indianapolis did not look like Hollywood. But Indianapolis was home, and it was where Emma was comfortable. Emma's dad chuckled at that last part. Then he spoke up. "Tell us about that Ross boy." Emma's mom gave her dad a suspicious smile. "What?" Emma's dad asked. "I listened to you two talk about this trip. I knew Emma was excited to meet that guy." Emma did not look at her mom or dad. She wondered where to begin. So much had happened. What all did Emma want to share? Her parents probably would find out soon enough that Jackson and her were no longer dating. But that party at ANdrew's house where she would have been in danger if Ross had not stopped Andrew? That story should probably not be shared for a while. Or ever. "So..." Emma started. "Ross and I became friends." Emma's mom got a huge smile on her face. "What? So cool! So are you two going to keep in touch? Emma, you are friends with a famous actor!" Emma's dad tried to calm down her mom. "Faith, he's a teenage boy just like Emma." Emma's mom, Faith, tried to calm down. "You're right, dear. So Emma, will you keep in touch with Ross?" Emma wanted to carefully choose her words. "Yes, we are going to keep in touch." Emma began. Emma needed to stop walking for this next part. "Hang on a second," Emma told her parents. The two stopped as well. They had confused looks on their faces. Emma took a deep breath. "Ross and I are friends. But I like him." Emma's mom started to smile. "Dear, that's so sweet. Um..." She looked at her husband, then back at Emma. "Does that mean you don't like Jackson anymore?" Emma shook her head. "Jackson and I broke up." Emma confessed. "He dumped me." She then decided to add. Emma had cried plenty earlier that day. She really did not feel like crying anymore. Especially over Jackson. Emma's mom's and dad's faces began to look concerned. Emma's dad, who was your typical protective dad, looked shocked. "What?!" He responded. "I can't believe it." Emma's mom hugged her daughter. "Oh, sweetie... I'm so sorry." Emma hugged her mom. "Thanks. I feel better now. Actually... Ross helped me get over Jackson. And now... I like Ross, and he likes me." Emma's mom took a step backwards. "Wow. Okay. So Ross helped you get over Jackson?" Emma nodded and started to smile. "Yeah, when Jackson dumped me, Ross was a friend and he was supportive. Then I got to hang out with him a lot." The three then made it to their car. Emma's dad loaded the suitcase. He still wore a big frown on his face. "I can't believe Jackson broke up with you. And while you were gone on your trip? That's not the right guy for you." He told his daughter. Emma gave her dad a hug. "Thanks, dad," she started. "You're right, he was not a good fit for me." The two got in the car along with Emma's mom. Emma's mom had so many questions. "So... you and Ross? Tell me more about him, Emma. What's he like? " Emma took a deep breath. She did not really want to share anymore. "Actually, mom, I'm pretty tired." Emma's mom nodded. "Okay, kiddo. I'll let you rest for now but I cannot wait for you to tell me more. Oh, this is exciting!" Emma looked out the window and started to plan out what she would do when she got home. She would first call Ross. She could hardly wait to hear his voice. Emma would then get ready for school and call it a night. Despite sleeping on the plane, Emma wanted to sleep more.
"Do you two want some decaf coffee?" Emma's dad asked as the three got home. He brewed coffee and got out a few mugs. "I'm going to take this upstairs if you guys do not mind." Emma said. "I think it's 5:30 in California. I'm going to try and get a hold of Ross." Emma's mom looked at her husband, but Emma's dad nodded. "Okay, kiddo." He said.
Emma walked upstairs to her room. She was happy to lay on her comfortable bed again. The hotel in California was luxurious, but nothing compared to her bed at home. Emma found Ross's phone number in her contacts. She had never been so happy to hear a person's sleepy voice. "Hey." Ross said. Emma's face immediately lit up. "Did I wake you up?" Emma asked. She heard Ross chuckle, then respond a few second later. "Yeah, but it's fine." Emma sat up on her bed. She took a sip of her decaf coffee. "How are you?" She asked Ross. "I'm much better, now that I'm talking to you." Ross started. Emma giggled and took another sip of her coffee. "How are you?" Ross asked. "I'm okay." Emma stated. She thought of how she cried after saying goodbye to Ross that day.
"I don't know about this Fred." Emma's mom said as Emma walked up the stairs. "First, Jackson breaks up with Emma and she has Ross there. How do we know they really like each other?" Fred leaned on the counter. He looked off into space. Emma's mom started to wonder if her husband had been listening or if he was thinking about something else. "Faith," Emma's dad, Fred, started, "I think Emma will figure out if she really likes this Ross guy soon, now that they're in different states than each other. We've got a smart daughter who has been careful with her feelings." Emma's mom, Faith, thought about this. It was true; Jackson had been Emma's first boyfriend and Emma was 17. Faith thought of some of her friends who had kids who started getting interested in the opposite sex and dating at the age of 12 or 13. Faith sighed. "So you mean... Emma may get hurt again? After that jerk dumped her?" Fred raised his eyebrows at his wife. "What? He's a jerk who hurt my baby girl." Fred sighed, then looked up at his wife. "Listen, I hate thinking about anyone hurting my daughter's feelings. But... I think she will learn from this. And, who knows: maybe Ross is the one's going to get his feelings hurt here. We'll just have to see." Faith nodded. She took her husbands hand in her own and leaned on the counter as well. Faith thought for a couple of minutes. "You want to watch the News?" Her husband nodded, and Faith turned on the television in their kitchen. The two sipped their coffee. When the television was quiet for a few seconds, the two could here Emma laughing upstairs. Faith looked at her husband. "So she got a hold of Ross, I guess." Faith started. "I wonder what's so funny." Fred smiled. "Ross could be sharing a funny joke one of his famous friends told him." Faith laughed. "Oh my goodness. Ross is Emma's age... He probably does not know a bunch of famous people. Then again, he could know a bunch of Disney stars." Faith continued to hold her husband's hand with one hand. She held her coffee cup with the other hand. The news told a couple of sad stories. Faith tried to ignore the sad stories. She thought about Emma more. "You know how we started dating our junior year of college?" Faith started. "Well, my freshman year, I went on a trip to Florida over Winter Break. I met this guy that I tried a long-distance relationship with. We got so busy that we called each other less and less often until we finally broke up. I just don't want Emma to get hurt." Fred squeezed his wife's hand. He took a big sip of his coffee. "I know, Faith. I don't want her to get hurt either." Fred's response had not made Faith feel much better, but it helped her realize that whether this relationship was successful or not, she was Emma's mom. She needed to be there for her daughter.
Ross told Emma about the Austin and Ally episode they filmed that day. Emma told Ross about the classes she had in school the next day. "So... are you going to see Jackson tomorrow?" Ross asked. Emma was sad to say yes.
"We have math class together. Fortunately, that's the only class I have with him."
"I guess that's good." Ross replied. "I wish you never had to see that guy again."
Emma did not feel good about the way this conversation was going. Ross was thousands of miles away and he could not protect her from someone who Ross knew had hurt Emma horribly. Emma needed to let Ross know not to worry... even if she was actually very nervous about seeing Jackson the next day.
"Ross, I will be okay. I know that guy is a loser. Do not worry about me, okay?"
"Okay, well... I'll try not to." Ross responded.
Emma did not want to say good-bye but she knew she needed to prepare for the next day of school and get some sleep. "I better go, Ross. I need to get ready for school tomorrow."
"Okay. Do you want to FaceTime tomorrow?"
Emma smiled. "Okay. Let's FaceTime tomorrow."
Ross was quiet for a few seconds. "I miss seeing you." He told Emma. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
Emma did not want to hang up the phone. This gorgeous guy was saying he missed seeing HER? "Okay. Bye." Emma said, and hung up. She laid on her bed for a few minutes, her cheeks warm with joy and excitement from talking to Ross. Emma got up to take a shower. She got ready for the next day of school. When Emma laid down in her bed again, she felt like something was missing. Or someone. Everything would be different without Ross by her side. Emma reminded herself this was like life before she met Ross, and it may be possible that she could adjust to him being thousands of miles away. Emma began to cry a little more before finally falling asleep.