Across the Miles

by Kristen Dickerson

  The fans thought they knew who Liam was, but they had no idea. They all screamed for him and chanted his name and came up to him after the shows to tell him they loved him, but they had no idea how spectacular the man they were meeting really was.

  Rose knew, though. She could only say this because, a month ago, she had been one of those fans. But now that she had spent time with Liam, she realized that Liam was even better than the press made him out to be. He was as close to perfect as they came. I mean, sure, he had flaws, of course. But when Rose said that Liam was perfect, she meant that Liam was perfect for her. She encouraged his goofiness, she helped him paint his nails, she sang songs with him for hours at a time, she put up with all of his favorite disney movies, even if he did have an unhealthy obsession with them. Rose understood Liam, and liked him just the way he was.

  The only problem was, Rose didn't know if Liam felt the same way. They still hadn't talked about what was going on between them since Liam called Rose his best friend the night he picked her up from the hotel, and it had been a whole week since then.

  Liam had quite a few nights off that week, because the travel time was pretty short from city to city, but he still needed to rest every now and then between shows, which resulted in Rose and Liam spending a lot of extra time together. Especially since they were now traveling together. This meant that they were growing closer and closer. Both refused to address the issue of their growing feelings, though.

  That is, until one night right before his show in Little Rock, when Liam pulled Rose aside backstage and asked if he could sing her another song that he wrote for her. He decided to ask her about it first, now that he had seen first-hand the consequences of being seen with Rose in public. If he sang to Rose, the news would get hold of it, which meant any decision Liam made regarding Rose would now have a direct impact on how the media portrayed her. So it was only fair to warn his friend what he had planned.

  Rose blushed. She was completely caught off guard by Liam's proposal. She thought that after Liam had last sung to her, and then never brought it up again, that it would be the end of that. She wasn't expecting for Liam to do it again. And frankly, she couldn't be more excited or flattered.

  “Of course. I would love that,” Rose said, trying to turn her head in order to hide her blush. But Liam didn't miss it, and smiled to himself knowing that he had that effect on her.

  Liam had been inspired by all the crazy events that had happened recently, from meeting Rose, to ending up in the hospital because of paparazzi, to having Rose ride on the tour bus with him. Rose had really gotten him thinking about trust and love. Rose had showed him that there are still some sincere people in the world and that not everyone was out to get him. Rose brought out a side of Liam that he didn't even know was there to begin with. Liam had never felt so free to just be himself. Rose brought out the best in him.

  So here went nothing. Liam glanced to Rose, who was standing backstage, before turning back to the crowd, announcing, “I made a new friend on this tour. She's basically the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. She has changed something inside of me. Made me a stronger person. And I just wanted her to know how much she means to me.”

  And with that, he began to sing. This song was beautiful. It was a lot different than the song he first sang to Rose. The first one was more of a song someone would sing to a friend. This song was much deeper than that. It was obvious from this song that their dynamic had changed in the course of a few weeks. But, that came as no surprise. They were spending all of their time together now. Sure, they hadn't really gone out on any “real” dates since that night at the movies, but they hung out on the bus and went sight-seeing in every new city and they were basically inseparable. And all of that was put into this song.

  Rose knew that she couldn't ignore it anymore. She needed to talk to Liam to find out if there was anything other than friendship between them. She just hoped that Liam singing this song to her was a sign that he was ready to talk about it too.

  At the end of the show, Rose hung around backstage, talking to various security guards that she had come to befriend, while Liam met with his fans who came backstage to meet him. When the last fan had left, Liam sneaked up behind Rose, grabbed her hand, and walked them back to the tour bus in silence.

  When they got back to the bus, Rose was the first to speak.

  “This is the second time you've sung to me, Liam. And we never really talk about it. I think we should talk about it now.”

  Liam nodded slowly, a bit hesitant and scared to open up his heart. But it was something that needed to be done.

  “Okay. Yeah. Let's talk about it.”

  They sat in silence.

  “Liam... to talk about it, you actually have to talk,” Rose joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  “I don't really know where to start, to be honest.”

  “Well, how about you start with telling me why you wanted to sing to me. Well... not even sing. More like serenade, I would call it after tonight.”

  “Because I like you, Rose.”

  There. He had said it. And wow did it feel good to get off his chest.

  But Rose wasn't responding. Why wasn't she responding? Liam looked up at Rose, to see that Rose had turned her head away, blushing again, biting back a smile. Oh. Okay. At least that was a good sign.

  “Do you have anything to say to me, Rose?” Liam asked, getting anxious from waiting to hear her response.

  “Why me?” Was all Rose had to say. It all seemed too good to be true. Her idol turned best friend liked her? How was that even possible?

  “Well, for one, you didn't scream in my face when you met me. And I'm not gonna lie- your good looks definitely helped out your case as well. I was drawn in by your beauty. And we seemed to hit it off immediately... don't you agree?”

  Rose nodded, so Liam continued,

  “We can talk for hours and hours and we have so much in common and you get me and you listen to me and you see past the visage that the media has set up for me. You didn't even care when you made it in the magazines and newspapers. You are proud to be who you are and you seem to care about me. No one has ever really cared about the real me before. It's impossible not to like you. You're just... amazing. There's no other word for it.”

  Rose's jaw had now dropped. She couldn't believe that Liam Walker was saying all of this to her. She didn't feel like she deserved it.

  “Stop right there. I can tell what you're thinking,” Liam said, interrupting Rose's thought process.

  “You are incredible, beautiful, talented... hell, your voice is better than mine. You're funny, kind, compassionate, caring, and I love being around you. Please tell me you feel the same.”

  “I do,” Rose responded instantly, no shame or doubt in her voice. Rose knew that she definitely felt the same. There was no denying that.

  “I mean, I had a celebrity crush on you before I even met you, but once I really did meet you, that picture in my head melted away and became something even better. You are so much better than I ever thought you'd be.”

  Liam smiled, grabbing Rose's hand. He was about to lean in for a kiss, when Rose began speaking again.

  “But we can't do this. Not now.”

  Liam froze, with the exception of dropping Rose's hand as if it was on fire.

  “Why not? I like you. You like me. Why can't we do this?”

  “Because you're on tour. In another month, this will all be over. Just another summer romance. And I don't need that. Neither do you. We both deserve something that is lasting. Not this impossible teenage dream. What we have going now- this friendship- it's good. No. It's better than good. It's fantastic. I don't want to screw it up. I don't want to have my heart broken. I just needed to know if you felt the same as I did for you, because, to be honest, the tension and suspense was kind of killing me.”

  Liam couldn't believe what he was hearing. What Rose was saying just didn't make any sense. He didn't agree with it at all. He wanted Rose. H
e wanted Rose as more than a friend. For longer than just another month.

  But Rose knew that she had a point. What happened when Liam finished tour? Would they part ways? Rose would go back to New York City to finish school and become a famous fashion designer and singer and Liam would go back to California to work on his next album. How could they possibly work together with distance working to keep them apart?

  Liam, on the other hand, knew there had to be some way for them to be together, but he didn't have an answer to Rose's questions right then, so all he could do was nod his head in agreement.

  “You're right. What we have is good. We'll keep being friends,” Liam said, hesitantly.

  “I'm sorry it turned out like this. I wish things could have been different. But it doesn't have to be for forever. The fates have been kind to us so far. If it's meant to be, we'll find a way,” Rose said with as much sincerity in her voice as she could muster, pulling Liam into a hug.

  And when they fell asleep that night, even though they were in separate rooms, their minds were on the same path. They were relieved to have finally addressed the elephant in the room, happy to have their feelings out in the open, but still bitter toward the world, wishing that life could have given them more.

  Chapter 11

  “So where are you taking me?” Rose asked Liam. They had just arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and had the night off, so Liam was going to take Rose out on the town. He had gotten them a taxi and was currently telling the driver the address that he had looked up on his phone.

  “You'll see! It's no fun if I tell you where we're going! It would ruin the surprise.”

  “Well why does it have to be a surprise?”

  “... just go with it,” Liam laughed, not really having a real reason.

  “Well, at least you didn't blindfold me or something,” Rose joked.

  Liam laughed, then glanced out the window.

  “That's a good idea, actually. Too bad I didn't think of that before, because we're here!”

  Rose looked out the window and couldn't hold back the huge grin that spread across her face.

  “An arcade? Seriously? You brought me to an arcade? You're seriously just as big of a dork as I am. If I wasn't sure of it before, I definitely have confirmation now.”

  “So I take it you like it?” Liam questioned, hoping his surprise was welcome.

  “Of course I like it! Last one to the air hockey table is a rotten egg!” Rose shouted, darting out of the cab. Liam quickly paid the driver, then darted off after her.

  “Oh, you are so going down, Rose!” Liam yelled, as he ran to the opposite side of the air hockey table.

  “You wish! I just happen to be an air hockey champion.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says me!”

  “Well, we'll see about that,” Liam replied with a smirk.

  And the game began.

  It was a close game. They were currently tied, and Liam was about to take what he swore would have been the winning goal, when a few teenage girls approached him, tapping him on the shoulder, asking him for an autograph.

  Man did they have bad timing.

  But Liam couldn't deny them. He prided himself on being available and kind to his fans, so he politely turned his attention away from the table, just long enough for Rose to take her winning shot.

  “HA!” Rose shouted, doing a victory dance.

  Liam quickly signed the girls' autographs, then turned his attention back to Rose.

  “That so doesn't count! I was distracted! That's not fair! I totally would have won!”

  “You wish, Walker. You wish.”

  “Fine. Best two out of three,” Liam argued, not ready to be defeated yet.

  “Game on.”

  They ended up playing for a good half hour. After Liam won the next two games, Rose insisted that they play a fourth, which she won, so they decided to quit and call it even.

  They then made their way to the laser tag arena, where they teamed up with some more fans of Liam who had been following them around for a while. Liam had noticed them hanging about and was nice enough to ask them if they wanted to join in. Liam wasn't the type to get freaked out when a fan hung around. He was actually pretty flattered by it. Rose found it extremely charming.

  “So... dance-off?” Liam asked after another hour of playing various arcade games. He was practically jumping up and down in excitement. It had been so long since he had been to an arcade like this. He could barely contain himself.

  “Absolutely,” Rose replied, having a blast, herself.

  “When was the last time you just let go like this?” Liam couldn't help but ask as they picked the song and level to dance to.

  And Rose had to think about that. She honestly couldn't even remember.

  “You know... I don't think I've ever let go like this. You bring out a whole new side of me. I never realized I could miss something that wasn't there before, you know what I mean?”

  “I do,” Liam replied. And he really did understand. Rose brought out a whole new side of him, too. A whole side he had never known was there before. A side of him that wanted to make him a better person, to just live care-free, and enjoy every single day that he was given. Enjoy every single second with Rose that he was given.

  Liam then realized that he had been staring at Rose, but, luckily, it seemed like she hadn't noticed. In fact, she looked like she had zoned out while staring at him, as well. Liam cleared his throat, which caused Rose to jump. They quickly shifted their gaze away from one another, and started the game, falling back into their same old routine.

  All in all, it was a successful trip to the arcade. It was basically the best date ever. They felt like kids again. They were so care-free and had so much fun. It was exactly the kind of light outing they needed. They felt completely at ease. There was no awkwardness from the conversation they had the day before about their feelings for one another. It seemed it had all been forgotten for the time being.

  That is, until they went out for dinner, where they were greeted by a much-too-friendly waitress, who was obviously a huge fan of Liam's, and, as far as Rose could tell, was an extremely attractive young woman. Liam didn't seem to notice, though. He only had eyes for Rose. At least, until the waitress practically threw herself at Liam a few seconds after they walked in.

  "Oh my gosh I can't believe it's really you! It's such an honor to meet you! I heard that you were in town for a few days but I never thought I'd actually meet you!" The waitress practically screamed at him.

  Rose leaned over and whispered into Liam's ear as they sat across from one another in a booth, “I see what you mean now about how me not screaming in your face was kind of attractive to you. This chick is scary."

  Liam chuckled.

  They quickly ordered their food, while sharing amused expressions over the excitement of the waitress every time she came by the table, which was way more often than should have been necessary. But they didn't mind for the time being. They were just happy to be there together, enjoying a nice meal over a candlelit table.

  "So... tell me about your dating history,” Rose questioned, hoping she wasn't prying too much, but genuinely curious about the girls who had used and broken Liam in the past.

  Liam nearly choked on his drink.

  “Oh... wow. I don't even know where to start...” Liam pondered, but interrupted himself abruptly at the look on Rose's face.

  “NO! No! I didn't mean it like that. It's not so extensive that I can't remember it all. It's just... complicated. And... kind of hard to talk about, you know?”

  “Oh. Okay... well, you don't have to talk about it. I was just curious. It's just... you mentioned after that news article came out that most people use you and leave you. I guess I just wondered if you've ever had at least one good relationship in your life?”