A/N: THANK THE LORD, 2013 IS GONE. But seriously, HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL! I just wanted to take a minute to thank every single one of you for making this year worthwhile for me. Thank you for sticking with me throughout this story and supporting me. I love every one of you, even my silent readers. Y'all really are incredible, and of can't thank you enough.
Now, this chapter... It leads into the next chapter which I'm SO EXCITED FOR. I used Dustin, D-Wrek, and Ranel in this chapter again. The crew is the same as the Summer Break Tour, but this is a different tour, and it's set in November. I really wanted to post this yesterday, but y'know, New Year's Eve party and all that ish. Again, it skips around a lot, which I apologize for, but as the problems are resolved and their plan is completed, the scenes will be fewer and longer. Anyways, I'm really excited for what I have in store for y'all. They're in Lake Tahoe, which, by the way is my favorite place in the entire world. This chapter and the next are set in some of my favorite places around the lake which is right on the border of California and Nevada. Harrah's and Harvey's are hotels/casinos in South Lake Tahoe right on Stateline, but they're both on the Nevada side. BUT ANYWAYS, I'm really excited about the next chapter and the stuff that happens after. I really think you're gonna enjoy what I have planned.
NOTE: I've gotten two different ship names for Ryan and Carlos, and i want you guys to pick! The two names are Caryan and Rylos. I'm gonna put up a poll on my profile, so if y'all could take a minute to answer that, I'd love you even more.
Disclaimer: New year, but same me. Still don't own anything y'all might recognize, so...
Ryan laughed as she sat down on the hotel bed she had claimed as her own.
"So what does The Great A. A. Ricketts have planned for today?" She raised an eyebrow to emphasize the question as she took a sip of Alex's Starbucks. The man laughed at the face she made after forcing herself to swallow the bitter drink.
"Well," he began, sitting down on his own bed and taking his coffee back, "how does a concert at Harrah's sound?" he asked, referring to the hotel directly across the street from Harvey's where they had been staying for nearly a week.
"Oooh, concert! Who's performing?" She leaned forward, beaming with excitement and curiosity. Alex laughed, shaking his head in amusement.
"It's a surprise." Ryan groaned, and Alex laughed again, knowing full well how Ryan despised being uninformed. Before she could voice her impending complaints, he stood up, grabbed her hands, and yanked her off of the bed.
"Come on, we still have stuff to do before the concert." He grabbed his warmest coat and slipped it on.
"Like find a place with decent coffee?" she joked, following Alex's example and pulling on her coat.
"Well when you hate every type of coffee besides Margaret's, that's pretty difficult." Ryan stuck her tongue out in a childishly mocking manner before picking up her messenger bag and camera and following Alex out the door.
After receiving their rental car from the hotel valet, the pair drove quietly through the snow-covered town onto Highway 50. As they drove towards the lake in silence, Ryan grew restless.
"Y'know, I still don't understand why you took my phone away when you get to keep yours." She glanced at him sideways, her left ear pressed up against the headrest of the rental SUV. Alex grinned, looking at his best friend for a moment before redirecting his focus to the icy road.
"I didn't want to ruin the surprise."
"Was the blindfold seriously necessary?!" Ryan hollered as she was guided across the street by a nervously smiling Alex.
"I don't want you to see anything until we're there."
"It's across the street, dipshit. I could've looked out of the hotel window and seen everything."
"Would you just shut up?!" Alex commanded more than requested as he guided Ryan towards the hotel amphitheater. "I'll take it off at the security check, but you can't hurt me, okay?" She spun on her heel at the mention of his request. Despite the blindfold, Alex knew she was glaring daggers at him.
"Ricketts, where the hell am I?" Alex only turned her back around, pushing her against her will. Ignoring her protests, he pushed her into the security line.
"I'll take it off if you stay quiet." Sighing, she nodded, crossing her arms expectantly. Reaching behind her, he nervously untied the knot and removed the scarf from her eyes. In efforts to refocus her vision and adjust to the light, Ryan blinked rapidly and repeatedly before taking in her surroundings. Alex watched anxiously, awaiting her reaction. When she had finally connected the dots, her head whipped around to face her friend, eyes wide.
Logan grinned, showing Kendall the text he had received from Alex. Kendall read over the short message and smiled, chuckling when he finished.
"I'm surprised he even got her here," Kendall admitted as he finished off his protein shake.
"I know, I'm impressed," Logan responded. "Sound Check should be pretty damn interesting."
"Why?" Carlos asked as he approached the two men backstage at the venue.
"It's a new crowd of people," Kendall answered strategically. "We haven't met many of them before."
"True-" Carlos was cut off as they were joined by James.
"'Los, I think D-Wrek was looking for you." Carlos nodded and jogged off to find the DJ, James taking his place in the conversation.
"Everything set?" he asked anxiously, expecting to hear bad news.
"They're already at their seats," Kendall informed him. He breathed a sigh of relief, shaking his head.
"That little shit owes us."
Kendall and Logan strolled nonchalantly onto the stage, James and Carlos calmly walking just a few feet behind them. As the small crowd of VIP guests screamed, all four men grinned, waving at the mass of people before sitting on four of the five stools on the stage, Dustin already having claimed the fifth. Kendall, Logan, and James exchanged knowing glances before watching for the oblivious Latino's reaction. As the crowd quieted down, Carlos spoke into his mic.
"How y'all doin' tonight?!" His originally loud and confident voice broke on the last word when he spotted a pair of familiar looking brunettes. He cast a not-so-subtle glare at the other four men on stage who all simply smiled, returning their attention to the small group of fans at the base of the stage.
"I see a few familiar faces," Kendall stated as he scanned over the group, "but I don't think we've met most of you. Any of you guys come to the Vegas show?" Close to a third of the crowd responded by a show of hands. Carlos smiled and nodded as Logan spoke to the fans, but he didn't have the slightest idea as to what the younger man was saying. James elbowed Carlos and grinned at the still-stunned expression on the Latino's face before casting a glance at the third row and locking eyes with Alex.
"What the hell is going on?!" Carlos demanded as they left the stage after the sound check.
"We're saving your stupid ass," Kendall responded. Before Carlos could question the statement, Logan interjected.
"Had you waited until your was over to see her, you'd have been screwed over, man."
"You'll thank us later," James stated, patting Carlos on the back. "But right now we have some very special fans to meet and greet."
Alex chuckled as one of the many crying teenage girls approached the screen behind which the band was waiting.
"Hey genius, that's how you looked when James walked in, so I'd shut up if I were you," Ryan informed her friend. Alex squinted his eyes, glaring at the shorter girl.
"I did not start crying."
"Had we not been at the airport, you would've broken down sobbing," Ryan returned with a smirk.
"Whatever," Alex said, not wanting to admit defeat. "Ry, did you really have to stand at the back of the line?"
"Yes. Unless you wanted to be made fun of for being an almost-25 year old man standing first in line to meet a boyband?"
"Point taken..." Alex sighed.
"And this is gonna be awkward enough already without having thirty teenagers behind us," Ryan commented as she took a reluctant step forward in line.
"Well there are only two left anyways," Alex stated as yet another tearfully overjoyed girl stepped up to the screen.
"Great..." Ryan mumbled, burying her face in Alex chest, weakly punching him, but he only responded by rubbing her back comfortingly. Amidst her internal meltdown, the last fan had both come and gone, leaving only her and Alex in line. Hearing footsteps approaching, Ryan pulled away from Alex.
"'Sup, pretty lady?" Ranel greeted as he saw the two. Ryan gave him a genuine smile which he returned before facing Alex. "Hey man, been a while."
"Too long," Alex chuckled in agreement. Ranel nodded with his usual smile before leading the pair past the screen to see the guys. They were greeted with whoops of excitement from Kendall, a knowing chuckle from Logan, and a simple smile from James.
Carlos stood behind James, sheepishly twiddling his thumbs and sneaking short glances at Ryan. Each time he looked up, she looked away, distracting herself with greeting the other three men. Alex caught the silent pleas that Carlos was trying to convey and nudged Logan, bringing him out of his conversation with Ryan and Kendall. Alex nodded his head towards Carlos, and Logan understood, elbowing Kendall and interrupting the blonde's conversation with their guest. Kendall cleared his throat, understanding the situation.
"Uh, Carlos?" said the blonde. "Dude, stop hiding behind James." James turned around and pulled Carlos out from behind him, earning himself a death glare. The man in question looked around the room before stepping forward guiltily.
"Alright guys, I think it's time we pick our Worldwide Girl." Kendall slowed his speech to emphasize the last three syllables, receiving excited screams from the crowd. All four men laughed in appreciation before James slung his arm over Kendall's shoulders.
"And I believe that it is my turn to choose." James's comment earned another round of shouts. He quickly scanned the first few rows of the pavilion before smirking and winking at his bandmates. Running down into the crowd, Ranel closely behind him, he approached a pair of familiar brunettes.
Ryan's eyes visibly widened as James strutted towards her and Alex. Shaking her head violently, she tried to warn him, pleading him not to force her up the stage. The singer simply smirked as he reached out, grabbing Alex's arm.
"James, what the hell?!" He tried to pull away, but James only laughed into his mic.
"My friend here is a little hesitant; he needs your encouragement!" The audience surrounding them cheered, a relaxed Ryan included. With that, James laughed, tugging Alex the short distance to the stage where the others were in no way trying to hide their amusement.
"Maslow!" Alex protested angrily, only encouraging every attendee to laugh even harder. Once at the base of the stage, the older of the two had to be tugged by James and shoved by Ranel until he found himself stumbling in front of over ten thousand people. He was immediately dragged to the center of the stage and shoved onto a stool by Kendall.
"So what's your name?" the blonde asked, sticking his mic under Alex's chin. His question was met with a silent glare that caused yet another eruption of laughter.
"Everyone, this is our bud Alex," Logan informed their fans. "Say hi, Alex."
"Hi," Alex muttered flatly into Kendall's mic. Again, everyone laughed just as Dustin began strumming the beginning chords to one of the band's most popular ballads.
"Wait- a minute, before you tell me anything, how was your day?" As James sang, the crowd went into an uproar. Each singer's part came and went as they playfully played out their usual displays of affection. Each man took his turn hugging Alex as they sang to humor the audience that was enjoying every moment of the man's humiliation.
"Oh, wherever the wind blows me," Carlos sang, scanning the crowd with a smile, "you're still the one and only girl on my mind." Kendall picked up the lead as Carlos absentmindedly chimed in with harmonies, his attention drawn to one girl amidst thousands.
A/N: Heheheheheheheheh I didn't tell you how Los and Ryan's conversation at the meet and greet went. Hehehehe. Evil. But seriously, don't murder me because I'll let you in on a little secret: The next couple chapters really get the Rylos/Caryan (HELP ME PICK A NAME) ball rolling (; So yea, don't hate me for leaving you a little confused. And I kinda loved embarrassing Alex with the whole WWG thing heh. I'm not too pleased with the way this chapter turned out because it didn't flow as well as I'd hoped, but it got the point across well enough. Anyways, TAKE THE POLL AND FOLLOW/FAVORITE/REVIEW!:D