Across the Miles (9 page)

“Oh hush. It's just, I'm flattered. And
excited. But are you sure about this?”

“No. Not at all. But I know I would like to
see my family while I'm home, and I like you, so they'll like you,
so I figured I might as well ask if you wanted to come along.”

“Well if you're not comfortable with me being
there, I won't be offended. Only ask me if you truly want me
there.”

Rose paused for a minute to think it over,
but finally decided, “I want you there.”

“Then I'm there.”

That's when they were interrupted by Liam's
manager.

“You guys, we're here. Ready to go set up for
the show?” he asked.

“Sure thing. We'll be right out.”

A few hours later, everything was set up and
ready to go. Rose was in her regular spot backstage, and Liam was
tuning his guitar and doing vocal warm-ups next to her. That's when
Rose got the text from Mason.

Where are you? Lillian and I are here, but we
can't find you. -M

Oh crap. Rose had forgotten to text Mason.
She had been so caught up with Liam that she forgot to fill Mason
in on all the details of her summer. Oh boy was he going to
freak.

Ummm... that's because I'm backstage. I'll
explain after the show. Come to the back doors when the show is
over, okay? Just tell security you're with me -R

You're backstage? HOW? I need details! -M

I told you, I'll explain after the show
-R

But before Rose could even put her phone
away, it was vibrating with another text.

Mason just told me that you're backstage. Did
you win a contest or something? I'm soooo jealous! -L

Oh jeez. This was going to be a long
night.

Liam's show went effortlessly, like always.
He stuck to his original set, still a little too heart broken over
Rose's recent rejection to sing anything else to her for the
time-being. Rose watched from back stage, just like she always did,
supporting Liam's every move. She just knew that she would never
get tired of watching Liam perform.

When the show ended, a few people came up to
her while waiting on Liam to make his appearance, saying that they
had seen her with Liam in magazines and newspapers and wondered if
she really was Liam's girlfriend. Rose would always politely tell
them no, resisting the urge to add, “but I wish I was.”

And then Rose spotted Mason and Lillian. Liam
was still in his dressing room, getting ready to meet his fans, so
it was now or never to explain everything to her friends. Here went
nothing.

“Rose! What are you doing back here? You are
so lucky! Have you seen Liam yet?” Lillian questioned, running up
to hug her best friend. They hadn't seen one another since Rose
came home last Christmas. It was so good to see her again.

Mason was hanging back a bit. He knew that
Rose had already met Liam once, and that she had no plans to meet
him again, so he was just curious as to why Rose was backstage. He
decided to wait silently for an answer while his girlfriend did all
the questioning.

“Well... it's kind of a long story,” Rose
said.

“We've got time. Spill!” Lillian said.

Rose opened her mouth to respond, but Liam
chose that moment to walk out to meet his fans. The crowd went
wild, including Lillian.

“Oh my god, Rose! There he is! Isn't he
dreamy? Can we meet him?”

“Woah. Lillian, chill. Yeah, he's dreamy.
Sure, we can meet him. I should just explain everything to you
first.”

“I so don't care how you got back here
anymore, Rose. Liam Walker is like, fifty feet away from me.
Everything else is now irreleva- oh my god! Rose! Is he looking
over here at us? He is! He's totally looking at us!”

Sure enough, Liam was continuously looking
over his shoulder at Rose while greeting his fans. Rose couldn't
help but be aggravated at his obviousness. She needed to explain
everything to her friends, and Liam wasn't making it any
easier.

Rose opened her mouth to try to explain
again, when she was cut off by Liam himself.

“Hey, Rose! Come here! I want you to meet
some old friends of mine!” Liam shouted, smiling over at Rose.

Rose nodded, then turned back to her friends,
who were both staring at her in shock, mouths hanging wide
open.

“Like I said. It's kind of a long story.
Follow me.”

So Rose, Mason, and Lillian made their way
over to Liam and the small group of guys standing around him.

“Guys, this is Rose. She's my favorite
groupie,” Liam joked. Rose shoved Liam's shoulder, playfully.

“Shut it, Walker. You love having me around
and you know it,” Rose laughed.

“Rose, these are some of my friends from glee
club in high school. This is Ryan, Joe, and Michael.”

“Nice to meet you guys. These are my best
friends, Mason and Lillian.”

Liam's face lit up at that. “Rose has told me
so much about you guys! It's great to finally meet you!”

Mason and Lillian, however, did not respond.
They were still just standing there in shock.

“Ummm... Liam, if you'll excuse us. I'm going
to take Mason and Lillian out to dinner and catch them up on
everything. And I'm sure you'll want to catch up with your friends.
I'll meet you back at the tour bus in two hours? Then we can head
to my parents' house from there.”

“Sounds good. See you then,” Liam replied,
reaching out and gently squeezing Rose's hand before she could walk
away.

Rose took her friends to a local diner and
sat silently, waiting for one of them to begin asking questions,
because she had no idea where to even start the conversation.
Luckily, Mason saved the day.

“Sorry I haven't been texting you all summer.
I figured you would be driving during days and at the show every
night. Plus I've been spending all my time with Lillian, so...”

“No! No worries, Mason. I've been pretty
distracted lately, too. No offense, but you haven't exactly been at
the front of my mind either.”

“I'm guessing a certain famous superstar has
been your main focus, lately?” Lillian questioned, already knowing
the answer.

Rose smiled to herself.

“So... you want to explain what that was with
Liam back there? When exactly did you guys become such good
friends?” Mason asked. “I mean, I remember you saying it felt like
you guys hit it off when you first met, but this... jeez, Rose.
This is big.”

“I know, I know. Like I said before, it's a
long story...”

Rose then went on to explain everything that
had happened to her since that first show in New York City,
including Liam being attacked by fans when he tried to find her in
a crowd to ask her out, to his attack by the paparazzi, and her car
breaking down, causing her to ride on the bus with him.

Rose finished her story with, “And now he
likes me. As in, more than friends. And he wants us to be together,
but I just can't.”

“You like him too,” Lillian observed.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Kind of. You guys just look... happy
together. And comfortable. You guys work. I think you should go for
it,” Lillian said.

“I do too,” Mason added.

Woah. Rose definitely hadn't been expecting
that from Mason.

“Wait. What? Seriously? I wasn't expecting
that coming from you. You're like, the protective older brother.
You're supposed to be on my side, telling me to guard my heart and
stuff.”

“I do want you to guard your heart. You
should be careful with him. But it seems like you really know him,
and he knows you. You looked happy with him, Rose. Like, happier
than I've seen you in a really long time. And you just told us that
he got you to sing in front of a sold-out crowd. No one has been
able to get you to do that since high school. Obviously, this guy
is good for you. So go for it. Yeah, it might not last past the
summer, but wouldn't you rather take what you can now, rather than
live with the regret of not trying it out?”

Wow. That actually made a lot of sense. But
Rose still wasn't completely sold on the idea. She was scared. She
didn't know whether she should listen to her brain or her heart.
Why couldn't everything be easier to figure out? Oh well... Rose
could figure it all out later. For now, she had some catching up to
do with her friends, so she pushed all thoughts of Liam to the back
of her mind.

But before she knew it, her two hours with
Mason and Lillian were up, and it was time to meet Liam back at the
tour bus.

“It was so great seeing you, Lillian. And
Mason, I'll see you again in a month. Thanks again for your advice,
guys. I'll let you know what happens.”

“You better! Just got for it, Rose. Go for it
or I will! He's hot!” Lillian joked, hugging her friend
good-bye.

Twenty minutes later, Rose was in a cab with
Liam, heading to her parents' house.

“So, what did your friends say about me?”
Liam questioned.

“Wouldn't you like to know.”

“Yeah, my friends liked you, too,” Liam said,
a smug smile on his face.

Rose blushed.

The rest of the car ride was spent in
silence, both of them too excited to see Rose's family to hold a
conversation. Rose snuggled up close to Liam, resting her head on
his shoulder. It was past midnight at this point. Rose felt bad for
making her mom and dad wait up so long to greet them, but she knew
her family would just be happy to see her.

The taxi pulled up to the front of Rose's
house, and Rose paid the driver, arguing to Liam that if he got to
pay for dinner the other night, Rose got to pay for this.

Liam reached out and grabbed Rose's hand,
hoping that she wouldn't mind showing this kind of affection in
front of her parents. Rose didn't let go, so he figured it must be
okay, and they made their way to the front door. Christopher,
Rose's dad, opened the door before they could even knock, though.
Apparently, he had been standing by the window, waiting excitedly
for his daughter's return home.

“Rose!” Christopher cried out, snatching his
daughter up in a tight hug, which forced Liam to let go of Rose's
hand. Christopher hadn't even noticed Liam yet.

“Dad! I missed you!” Rose said, hugging her
dad back just as eagerly.

When they let go, Christopher finally seemed
to notice Liam.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. Rose,
you didn't tell me you were bringing anyone with you. Not that I
mind. It's nice to meet you, young man. I'm Christopher, Rose's
father. And you are?” Christopher asked, reaching out a hand to
shake Liam's.

“I'm Liam, sir. It's nice to meet you,” Liam
replied, reaching out his own hand to meet Christopher's.

“Rose, this your boyfriend?” Christopher
directly asked his daughter. Rose blushed.

“No, dad. This is Liam Walker. As in, famous
singer, Liam Walker. The guy I was following around on tour.”

“Never heard of him,” Christopher replied,
shrugging.

Liam was actually pretty relieved at this
news. This meant that Christopher hadn't seen all the paparazzi
shots of him and Rose together. Because, trust him, the paparazzi
had gotten many more shots of the two together since that first
one. Of course, they were never caught doing anything he would be
ashamed of, because they never did anything to be ashamed of. But
still.

Also, this meant that Liam had no unrealistic
expectations to live up to. He could just be himself and start from
scratch in gaining the man's respect.

And wow... Liam was surprised at how much he
wanted to impress Rose's dad. Especially considering he and Rose
weren't even dating. But maybe... one day...

But Liam's thoughts were interrupted when
Rose grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, taking him on a tour
of the house. Rose called out over her shoulder, “Hey, dad! Where's
mom?”

“She's already sleeping. It's pretty late, so
I'm actually going to go to bed, too. You two be sure to get some
rest. And no funny business. We'll catch up in the morning.”

And then Christopher was heading upstairs,
and Rose and Liam were left alone.

“Sooo... this is my childhood home. What do
you think?” Rose asked, leading Liam around the house.

“It's lovely. You decorated it, didn't you?”
Liam asked.

“How could you tell?” Rose replied, happy
that Liam approved.

“Just a lucky guess. Anything this fabulous
had to be done by you. Sooo... where's your room?”

“It's right upstairs. But remember, no funny
business,” Rose joked as she led them upstairs, knowing full well
that no such thing would happen with Liam. At least, not yet.

“This is my room. What do you think?” Rose
asked, as Liam made his way around her room, taking it all in.

“It's nice. It really reflects your
personality.”

There were drawings of clothing designs that
Rose had done in high school on the walls, albums of Rose's
favorite bands covered her desk, and the closet was easily the
biggest one Liam had ever seen.