Across the Miles

by Kristen Dickerson

  “Will do. Anyway... it's getting late. I'm gonna head to bed. I'll see you in a few weeks, okay? Drive safe,” Mason said, leaving Rose's room to go to his own dorm for the night.

  The next morning, first thing, Rose set off for the next city on the tour- Columbus, Ohio.

  It would be a nine hour drive, and Rose wanted to make sure she was able to get there with plenty of time to spare.

  The long road gave Rose plenty of time to think about the summer that was lying ahead of her.

  She realized that Liam probably wouldn't even remember her. She wasn't expecting anything to come of this summer, anyway. Like she had said to Mason, she didn't even really know the guy. She just wanted to listen to her favorite artist perform live. He really was extremely talented. She hoped that one day she might be just as highly recognized as he was. But she had her doubts.

  Sure, she was a music major, but she was still shy when it came to singing. When she sang in glee club in high school, she would try to put her all into the performance once she got up on stage, but that had resulted in some pretty catastrophic moments that she'd rather not reminisce about. She had some pretty bad experiences with performing in the past, which led her to be pretty weary about singing in public now. Right before getting on stage, she would always have a bit of a nervous breakdown, then back out at the last second.

  Maybe seeing Liam perform all summer would inspire her to face her fears and contact a few record labels. Maybe this summer tour would be a good thing for her. It could change her for the better.

  She could only hope.

  Chapter 3

  The next two shows, Liam kept an eye out for Rose, intrigued by the gorgeous girl he had met on opening night. But Liam tried to keep his mind from wandering to his fan when he could help it.

  You see, Liam had a rule for himself that he made shortly after he had his heart broken shortly after becoming famous. He found out the hard way that people would often try to use him for his fame. No one really cared about him. And if they did, they only liked the image that he was portrayed as in the media. No one really knew him. At least, not the real him.

  Because of this, Liam made it a rule to not date or be interested in his fans. Of course, he had complete love and admiration for them. Without them, he'd still be stuck in a glee club somewhere- not touring the country like he was currently doing.

  But he couldn't help but think that there might be something different about Rose. Liam wasn't sure exactly what it was, though. Maybe it was the fact that Rose was absolutely beautiful. Or that she wasn't as hyper-active as some of his fans tended to be when meeting him. And Rose's dedication to Liam, traveling around the country with him, was really touching. No matter how hard Liam tried, he couldn't seem to tear his thoughts away from Rose for too long.

  It didn't help that Rose was at every show, and Liam couldn't help but look for the young woman in the crowd.

  However, for the next two shows, Rose didn't stand as close to the front as she had in New York. She decided that since she would be at every show, she would allow other fans the opportunity to get a close look at the singer. I mean, Rose had met Liam, for god's sake. She was completely satisfied to just be there at the show, no matter where she stood.

  But Rose couldn't help but notice that, no matter how far back she stood, Liam always seemed to find her, usually about halfway through the show, and that his eyes kept glancing back to her every so often after he located her.

  Rose would always blush, grateful that Liam couldn't see her flushed cheeks because of the dark lighting in the clubs, and then she would continue to bob her head to the music, enjoying the flawless voice of the famous singer, while trying to convince herself that it was just a coincidence that Liam always found her. He played in relatively small venues, after all.

  But after Liam's fourth show, in St. Louis, Rose could no longer talk herself out of believing that Liam was actively seeking her out in the crowd.

  Liam had made a decision. He had to see Rose again, face to face, if anything so he could try to get the girl out of his head. Maybe he would be able to convince himself that Rose wasn't as attractive as he remembered, or maybe Rose would scream in his face and Liam would be able to move on, writing the girl off as just another crazed fan.

  So, after the show, Liam darted backstage and rushed outside to the front doors, where the fans would be exiting.

  That was a seriously stupid idea.

  Sure enough, he appeared at the front door shortly after fans began exiting the arena, and complete chaos broke loose. Fans were screaming and running up to Liam, just trying to get close to him, or touch him, all shouting his name and jumping up and down in their excitement.

  Liam got lost in the crowd. In his rush to get to Rose, he had forgotten to bring his security guard along. And now he was stuck in a mob of crazed fans, all wanting pictures and autographs. The only way Liam could see himself getting out of this was to just consent to the fans' pleas, smiling for pictures and giving autographs, praying that no one would get hurt in all the excitement.

  It was as Liam was about to pose for another picture for someone who had pushed their way to him that he saw the familiar eyes that had stuck in his memory from earlier that week.

  It was her- Rose. She was in the middle of the crowd, trying to see what all the chaos was about, staring right at Liam, an expression of shock on her face.

  Liam, desperate, mouthed “help me” to her. Rose understood and starting pushing her way through the crowd to get to him.

  Liam reached out and grabbed Rose's hand, who was doing her best to lead the taller man out of the crowd and toward the club's back door.

  “Ok, people, that's enough. You've had him long enough. Make way! Make way!” Rose cried out as she pushed and shoved her way through, making sure to keep a tight grip on Liam, wearing an expression on her face that basically screamed at people not to mess with her.

  Liam couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all, but at least he had found who he was looking for.

  At this point, security had been alerted as to what was going on and rushed out to meet Rose and Liam halfway, attempting to pull Liam away from Rose and get him back inside, away from the crowd, but Liam refused to let go of Rose's hand, saying,

  “She's with me.”

  Security didn't question him and let a confused Rose come along with them backstage. Once they were safely inside with the doors closed and locked, Liam finally relaxed, laughing at the crazy situation he had gotten himself into, all for a girl he barely knew. What in the world was he doing? What was he thinking?

  Rose was wondering the same thing.

  “What the hell was that? You could have gotten yourself killed! What were you thinking going out into a rabid crowd after your show? You've never done that before! What could possess you to do such a thing now?” Rose yelled out, scolding the singer.

  Liam just laughed even harder at this.

  “You,” He finally managed to squeak out between laughs.

  “Me...? What?” Rose asked, more confused than ever.

  Liam had finally managed to calm down a little, or, at least, enough to explain.

  “I wanted to find you, Rose. See you again. I was wondering if you would like to go out for coffee with me.”

  Rose was speechless. She could barely believe that Liam Walker had even remembered her name since meeting her last week. Rose was sure he must have met hundreds of people since then. And then he risked his life just to ask her out for coffee? What was happening? Again, Rose voiced this question out loud.

  “Liam, what is going on? I am seriously confused. Why would you want to go out for coffee with me? You're Liam Walker!”

  Liam laughed again.

  “And you're Rose Moore! I'm intrigued by you. You seem like a really sincere person and I just want to get to know you more. I mean, it's the least I can do considering you'll be at all of my shows.”

  Rose stood there for a minute, silent, contemplating
what had just happened and trying to figure out what she should do.

  “Ummm... Ok? I guess? Yeah. Sure. Coffee. Let's go. Just... bring security with you this time, please.”

  Liam smirked and grabbed Rose's hand, alerting security that they were ready to go.

  He was taking Rose, a fan, on a date.

  Wow. What in the world was he thinking?

  Chapter 4

  Rose and Liam set off after about thirty minutes of waiting inside the venue, allowing the crowd to clear a little bit before they ventured outdoors again. And this time, Liam made sure that a security guard went outdoors first, so that he wouldn't get attacked by a mob of fans.

  They found a coffee shop a few blocks away and decided to drink outside, walking around a park that was nearby. Neither had ever been to St. Louis before, so they wanted to take in the new and exciting sights.

  The streets were basically empty since it was now around midnight, so Liam told his security guard that he could take the rest of the night off and get some rest. Liam figured they would be safe enough from fans now that they had wandered a few blocks from the arena.

  As they began walking down the street, coffee in hand, Liam asked Rose to tell him a little bit about herself, but Rose brushed it off, saying,

  “There's nothing really worth telling. I mean, I'm just a plain old college student making her way through life in hopes of one day becoming a singer. Or a fashion designer. Or maybe both.”

  Regardless, Liam was impressed. Rose had goals in her life, and Liam found that respectable.

  “Why don't you tell me about yourself?” Rose asked Liam.

  “Haven't you read all the tabloids? I'd expect that a fan such as yourself, willing to follow me around the country, would already know everything worth knowing,” Liam joked, surprised that Rose cared to get to know him at all.

  “I actually don't read tabloids. I stick to Vogue, mostly. I'm more into fashion than gossip. I mean, I know that you write your own songs. And you seem to have a thing for bow ties. But aside from that, I don't really know anything about you. I mean, the real you. I just have a deep appreciation for your voice. You are extremely talented.”

  Okay, and now Liam was definitely in shock. A fan who was willing to follow him around the country, all for his voice.

  “Okay. So I have one last question for you. Do you have a poster of me in your room?” Liam jokingly asked, teasing Rose.

  Rose blushed.

  “No. I don't, actually. Not that you're not lovely... because... err... umm... you are. Uh... yeah. But no. Sorry.”

  Liam was blushing now too.

  “Thanks? I guess. I mean, you're lovely too... I mean... uhhh... Yeah. Sorry if that was awkward of me to ask. I just wanted to know how crazed of a fan you really are,” Liam continued teasing.

  “Crazed?” Rose laughed. “I don't know if I'd call myself crazed. Excited, yeah. But I try not to freak out too much. I mean, I sing too, although not really in front of people, but I still get it. You're a singer. It's what you do. Just because you're famous for it shouldn't make you any different from me. I mean, I'm not assuming we're anything alike. Then again, who knows. But yeah... I don't see why people always have to scream and freak out.”

  Rose now officially felt awkward. She didn't know why she kept rambling on and on like that, but Liam seemed un-phased by it all, which was reassuring.

  “So you weren't excited when you met me?” Liam teased.

  “Oh, I was definitely excited. And nervous. You're so talented! I mean, I thought I had an incredible voice, but, wow. Just wow.”

  “So do you study singing or is that just something you do for fun?”

  “I major in it, yeah. But I mainly just sing in the shower and stuff. I have a major case of stage fright, unfortunately.”

  “Ah. That's too bad.”

  “So... back to what I was saying earlier. Tell me about yourself. I don't really know that much,” Rose said, changing the topic.

  “Umm... well, I don't know what to say. What do you want to know?” Liam questioned, not knowing where to begin.

  “Tell me about your past. What was life like before you got famous?” Rose asked, hoping she wasn't crossing any lines, prying into this man's life.

  “Well... that's not exactly a fun story. In fact, it's pretty deep for first date material...”

  Rose cut him off, almost choking as she took a sip of her coffee.

  “First date?! Is this a date?”

  “Oh... umm... well, yeah? Yes. I mean, if you want it to be. Do you want it to be?” Liam questioned, suddenly not so sure of himself.

  Rose stopped walking for a minute, silently thinking it over. To be completely honest, she wasn't sure if she wanted it to be a date or not. She barely knew this man. Yeah, she looked up to him and everything, but she didn't know all that much about him. For all she knew, he could be a jerk who was completely full of himself. Of course, Liam wasn't exactly giving off that vibe, but you never know. And what if he ended up being a complete womanizer? Rose just wasn't sure.

  “I'll let you know,” Rose finally answered, beginning to walk again. Liam followed her cue and stepped up his pace, falling in line with her again. “In the meantime... I don't mind deep talk. That is, if you don't mind sharing with me. I'm a good listener. And I promise I won't go blabbing to tabloids.”

  “I believe you,” Liam admitted. And he honestly did believe her. Liam had no idea why he put so much trust in this woman, but he did. He just hoped to god that it didn't come back to bite him in the ass.

  “Well... I was bullied pretty badly when I was in high school. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little... eccentric. I just like being true to myself. But other people didn't like that so much. I won't go into deep details, but... teenagers can be pretty brutal when they set their mind to it. And being different in Kansas isn't exactly ideal.”

  “Yeah... tell me about it,” Rose agreed.

  “Wait... you grew up in Kansas too?”

  “Yeah. Colby, Kansas, to be exact.”

  “Oh wow! Me too! What high school did you go to?”

  “Lincoln. How about you?”

  “Shelby. So, I was like, thirty minutes from you. Crazy!

  “You didn't happen to be in the glee club there, did you?” Rose asked.

  “Yeah! I was, actually! Wait... if you went to school at Lincoln and, assuming you were in the glee club there, that means... no way... you totally beat my glee club at competition all four years of high school! I was crushed!” Liam said, joking, grasping at his heart.

  Rose laughed.

  “Yep. That was me. Not that I ever got a solo. But yeah... your glee club was fantastic, though. Which makes a lot of sense now, considering that you sang with them. I can't believe we actually beat you guys! That's crazy!” Rose said in disbelief.

  “Yeah, well, you must be an amazing singer to have beaten me,” Liam joked, nudging his shoulder against Rose's.

  It was official. Liam just had to hear Rose sing. Yeah, Rose said she didn't sing in public, but her old glee club was amazing, from what Liam could remember. I mean, for god's sake, they had beaten him! Rose must be a phenomenal singer. And now Liam wanted nothing more than to hear this beautiful woman beside him sing. He'd have to make that happen, and soon.