Chapter 31

Two days later, just as promised, Ross and the rest of his family return home to Los Angeles.  I wait outside on Rachel’s porch until I see the big white van pull into the driveway.  As soon as it comes to a stop the door flies open and Ross runs over to me, wrapping me in a big hug and spinning me around, my feet lifting off the ground, just like you see in the movies. 

“I’ve missed you,” Ross whispers in my ear as he sets me back onto the ground.  Even though he wasn’t gone very long, we have seen each other every day since we first met about a month ago, so this separation seemed much longer than it really was.  I can’t imagine what it will be like come August when I have to return home for school. 

“Fill me in!  How was New York?” I ask as we head into the Lynch’s house so Ross can put his suitcase away. 

“It was good!  I really do love that city.  The talk shows were the same as always.”  I nod, having seen R5 on both shows.  “The show was great as well!  Even though we booked it so late, it still sold out, which is an awesome feeling.  I can’t wait until our show here in LA so that you can be there.”  Ross tosses some clothes into a pile by the door, their next destination being the washer I assumed.  

“Wait, you guys have a show booked here?” I question, excitement growing at the thought of going to an R5 concert since I haven’t been in so long.  Even though I’m dating the lead singer, that doesn’t mean I won’t belt out every lyric at one of their concerts along with all their other fans.

“Yeah, it’s not for another few weeks though.  Oh, and I have some very exciting news for you,” he adds, coming to sit next to me on his bed.  “We were talking, and it looks like we might be doing a United States tour in the late fall or early winter and Buffalo will probably be the first city we book.”

“Seriously?  That’s awesome!” I lean in for a kiss that gets very heated, very quickly, as Ross pushes me lightly so that I lean back onto his bed, his frame looming over me as his lips graze my neck, ever so softly.

                                   ________________

About three weeks later, I wake up bright and early, excited for what the day has planned for me.  Today was R5’s concert and will be followed up tomorrow will the announcement of their upcoming tour along with dates.

The past few weeks have been surprisingly quiet and drama free in all of our relationships.  Nicole and Riker are doing better than ever, their fighting looking like it’s just a thing of the past at this point.

Although it still worries them, Alice has gone off the radar, not posting a single thing, but Mary and Rocky still know that she has that photo that she can release at any moment.  Fortunately, at this point, at least from what Mary has told me, even if Alice did post the photo of her and Rocky kissing, it wouldn’t bug either of them because their relationship isn’t as new and much stronger now.  As for Rydel and Ellington, they are as cute as can be, becoming the R5 family’s newest ship and biggest obsession.  None of the couples have openly admitted to dating, but the fans have their suspicions, especially from the flirty tweets between Niker and the sweet photos of Rydellington. 

Ross and I have been pretty good for the most part as well.  He even posted an artsy picture of me last week with his fancy camera.  Of course I had no idea he was taking it as we were hanging out at the beach, but he claims that’s what makes it better. 

                                      ______________

A few hours later, the Lynch’s all pile into their van while the girls and Rachel and I follow behind them to the rather large outdoor venue.  We pull up to find a winding line of about 100 people already outside the gate.  I watch as everyone’s head seems to turn at once to watch the van drive past and then the squealing and jumping starts as we follow the Lynch’s around the corner and disappear out of sight. 

Once parked, the boys begin to help unload all of their equipment and set it up on the stage with the help of their crew members.  All of us girls do our best to stay out of the way to avoid messing anything up. 

“Are you guys excited to hear the tour dates we’ll be announcing tomorrow?” Rydel asks as we take shelter from the sun under a large tree. 

“Yes!” Mary bursts.  “I hate that you guys won’t tell us anything.”  The band has been very secretive for their upcoming tour, not telling any of us a single thing about it.  Them being so quiet about it only made me question more about what’s really going on.  Why is it such a big deal that they not tell us when they will be visiting our hometown?   

When the boys are all done they join us with a football in hand.  Meet and greet doesn’t start for another hour so the band has time to kill while Mark goes down the line and checks everyone’s name and ticket.  The boys toss it back and forth to each other, even throwing it to me once.  Of course, being as uncoordinated as I am, I completely miss it which results in it not being thrown in my direction again.   

After a short while, the band is led to an area near the front gates in order to take pictures with all of their fans.  Mary, Nicole, Rachel and I stay in the wings of the stage so as to not get spotted as everyone rushes to get a good spot in front of the stage.  When the crowd of people rushing in seems to slow down, Stormie comes and leads us to the band who wanted to take a few pictures with us. 

They then climb onto the stage, doing a short question and answer portion followed by a brief sound check before they join us backstage and we wait for the crowd to grow.  Ryland goes on first, pumping up the crowd with his DJ skills and then the band takes the stage.  Standing in the wing proves to be just as exciting as standing in the front row as my friends and I have our own private jam session. 

Once the show is over, the band hides backstage with us to wait for the majority of the audience to leave.  An hour later, there were still a few dozen people milling around, hoping to glance a peek of the band.  R5 finally gives in and goes out to take a few pictures with the eager and persistent fans.  We then go out for ice cream once the equipment has been packed away and don’t make it home until a little after 1:00 in the morning.

“I have two surprises for you tomorrow,” Ross says before wishing me good night.

“Technically it already is tomorrow,” I point out, aware of the early morning hour.

“Well I’m still going to make you wait,” he kisses me before disappearing into his house. 

                                  _________________

Around lunchtime we all sit around the table in the Lynch’s backyard, waiting for Riker to get back with the pizza they had ordered for when they release their tour dates. 

“Sorry I’m late, they were just taking it out of the oven when I showed up,” Riker places the two steaming boxes on the table that Ellington hungrily grabs. 

“Ok, pizza’s here, it’s 11:57, can’t you just release the dates now?” Nicole whines while checking the time on her phone.  “It’s only three minutes before you planned on doing it.”

“Nope, we’re waiting,” Riker takes a seat next to his girlfriend, which leads to Nicole sticking her tongue out at him.  

“What about the other surprise?” I ask Ross, recalling our last conversation.  Ross exchanges looks with his eldest brother, as if to get permission to share the other thing he’s been hiding from me.

When Riker doesn’t object, Ross dives in.  “As you guys know, R5 has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award and since we will be in LA the day of the show, we will be attending.  We talked with some of the people in charge, pulled a few strings, and were able to get three additional tickets to the show  – ”

“Which means that you guys are coming with us!” Rydel explodes with excitement, cutting off her brother.  “I’ve been wanting to tell you guys since we found out two weeks ago but your stupid boyfriends wanted to wait and tell you guys today,” she teases.

“Oh, my God!  I’ve always wanted to go to that!” I exclaim, already planning out the perfect outfit in my head. 

“Not that I don’t mind the boys, but it’ll be nice to have some girls at an event like this,” Rydel continues.

“I hate to interrupt your discontent feelings towards us Rydel, but I believe the dates were just posted on the website,” Rocky looks at his phone.

“So now you guys can tell us!  When are you going to Buffalo?” Mary asks.  Everyone stays silent, including Rydel who refuses to meet my eyes.  I sigh and go to the band’s site myself since no one seems willing to talk.  As soon as I see the date I gasp.  Out of all the days between their three-month long tour, they picked that day to visit us back in New York.