Across the Miles

by Kristen Dickerson

  “I did, before I became famous. But the second I became famous, and then she became famous by association, I realized that she was beginning to use me- holding hands in public way more often than necessary, making sure the paparazzi always got her good side... you know, stuff like that. So I had to leave her.” Liam shrugged. “The fame was getting to her head. And every girl after her was the exact same... so I just stopped dating after a year of dealing with it all. It's been two years since then.”

  Rose couldn't believe it. Liam was such a great guy. She couldn't believe that girls would use him like that. They probably never even stopped to appreciate what they had before they traded it in for the spotlight.

  “Those girls are crazy. You're a great guy, Liam. You deserve better.”

  Liam blushed.

  “Thanks... but what about you? What's your story?”

  “I don't have one.”

  “Wait... what? How do you not have one?”

  “I don't date. The only friends I had in Kansas were Mason and Lillian, who you'll hopefully meet in Wichita, and then the glee club, but there wasn't anyone I wanted to date there. And I just haven't found the right guy in New York City. I don't just date around, you know? Why waste my time if the guy isn't worth it?”

  And, suddenly, Liam understood where Rose was coming from when she turned him down. Liam wasn't the only one in this relationship who was afraid to let someone in. Rose was afraid too, just for different reasons. Liam saw that now. She really did like him, but she didn't want to waste her time with all the emotions and commitment if it would all just come crashing down at the end of the summer. And he knew it would come crashing down at the end of the summer, but it didn't mean he didn't want to fight for her, because oh boy did he.

  Rose had helped Liam to open up his heart, and let someone in for the first time in a long time. Now, it was up to Liam to do the same for Rose. He would have to show her that he was worth opening up for. He was worth the risk. He was worth letting in.

  Liam was just about to open his mouth to tell Rose all of this when the waitress suddenly appeared back at the table, gently putting a hand on Liam's shoulder while she asked if there was anything else she could get for them. She only had eyes for Liam, though. Rose might as well have not been there.

  But Liam ignored the waitress, brushing her off, and slowly reached out to grab Rose's hand from across the table. And if the waitress couldn't take that hint, then she must be blind.

  Luckily, though, the waitress seemed to understand, and backed away in a huff, saying she would be back later to bring them the check.

  Liam continued to hold on to Rose's hand.

  “Um... Liam? What are you doing?” Rose questioned after a few seconds of Liam not letting go. If anything, his grip only got tighter.

  “I'm showing you that I could be worth it.”

  And that's all he had to say about it. He then continued on with their previous conversation, holding Rose's hand the entire time.

  “I really wish I had known you in high school, Rose. My life could have been so much better. I mean, don't get me wrong. I would never change a minute of it. My past is what got me to where I am today. I just still wish I could have met you sooner.”

  Rose paused for a second before replying, “So do I, Liam. So do I...”

  And she squeezed his hand in return.

  “It looks like you two are done eating. Can I bring you your check?" The waitress asked a startled Rose and Liam, who instantly broke apart where they were holding hands over the table, and began glaring at the waitress for ruining their moment. This had to have been the waitress' fiftieth time coming over to their table that night, and the couple was no longer even attempting to be nice about it.

  Liam was a bit reluctant for the dinner to end, but it was getting late. In fact, the restaurant would probably be closing soon. Plus, they needed to get back to the tour bus to get some rest. They were setting off to Wichita, Kansas first thing in the morning.

  When the waitress brought the check over, Rose reached out to take it, but Liam stopped her, placing his hand over Rose's again.

  "No way. I've got this," Liam said.

  "At least let me pay for mine!" Rose retorted.

  "Well I'm the one the waitress left her number for on the check. Therefore, it belongs to me."

  Rose gave Liam a confused look, then glanced down at the check. Sure enough, the waitress had left Liam her phone number. Rose couldn't help but burst into laughter, and decided to give in to letting Liam pay, just this once.

  "Waitress! Here you go! Thanks for your service! And I'm flattered... but, not interested." Liam said to the waitress as she came over to take the check from them.

  And with that, Liam took Rose's hand in his, helped her out of the booth, and they set off on their way back to the tour bus.

  Chapter 12

  Welcome to Kansas, the sign read, as the tour bus passed into the state.

  “Oh, gross,” Rose couldn't help but mutter from her seat in front of the window. Liam was by her side, strumming lightly on the guitar.

  “I so agree with you. Kansas is just so... blah, compared to how I live now. I didn't want to come back here, you know, because of all of the memories of people spray-painting my car and pushing me into lockers, then calling me up, claiming to be my long lost friend when I got to LA and had a name for myself. But my publicist thought it would look good to go back to my roots- allow my original “fans” from back home to support me.

  “Well... maybe one good thing could come out of this trip...”

  “What's that?”

  Well, this was it. The big moment. Rose couldn't hesitate anymore. She had been thinking about this since their dinner last night, when Liam held her hand, but she was still a little unsure of how he would react. Here went nothing.

  “How would you like to come home with me? Meet my family?”

  Woah. Woah. This was huge. Rose wanted Liam to meet her family. Maybe he had made a break-through after all. I mean, Rose had let Liam hold her hand whenever he felt like it all day, so he figured he had made some sort of progress on their relationship. But woah.

  “Yes!” Liam all but blurted out. “I mean... yeah. Sure. That would be cool.”

  “Nice save. Way to play it cool,” Rose joked with him.

  “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.