Finally this ish is updated!

And Emily rules for giving me the ice skating idea. Just sayin'. She da bestest.

Enjoy. I own nothing. I'm not cool enough for that.

Christmas had been fun.

Even though he wasn't with his girl, he still enjoyed it a lot.

Not only did it mean his birthday was four days away, but it also meant that he would officially be a legal adult.

He couldn't wait.

Even if, again, he wouldn't be with his favorite girl.

Though that made him sad, he knew she'd probably plan something epic for when he returned, so he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.

"What are you playing?" His cousin, Trent asked him. His big blue eyes looked up at Ross in curiosity.

"Nothing," Ross smiled at him, shrugging. "Just playing an Austin & Ally song."

"That's not nothing," Trent pointed out and then Ross moved the guitar so that he was able to sit on his lap, then he put the guitar in front of them.

"Do you want to try to play it?" Ross asked him and he swore the little boy's eyes lit up. He smiled, "okay, here try it." He positioned the guitar so that it was a little easier and then Ross strummed the first few chords. "Okay, try and do what I just did," Ross said, helping him set up where his fingers needed to go. He strummed with him and then helped him with the next part of it. "Great job little dude!" Trent giggled and Ross high fived him.

"Now you sing," Trent said and Ross raised his eyebrows.

"Sing with the song?" He asked him and Trent nodded.

He shrugged, "alright, let's play it again." Trent nodded and then they began to strum together, "you're a fast learner," Ross smiled and then started to sing, "Every day-day-day, I fall for you a little more-or-or, and every night-night-night, I dream of you so beautiful-ul-ul, yea-ay. Everytime we laugh, I see the sparks fly, every time we blush, I feel those butterflies, and baby how we feel, we'll always be in style, forever and ever," Ross continued to sing the song and Trent just giggled in his lap.

"How cute and beautiful."

They both looked up to see Rydel was standing in the doorway of the room they were in. She held his phone up, "Laura's on your FaceTime." She said.

He nodded and reached out to grab the phone, "hey." She said, her smiling face greeting his.

"Hey you," Ross looked down.

"Who's that you've got there?" Laura asked him.

"My cousin, Trent, say hi Trent." He said and Trent waved, Laura giggled.

Trent motioned for Ross to come closer to him, he nodded and leaned in, Trent whispered something in his ear and Ross smiled down at him.

"What did he say?"

"He said he thinks you're pretty." Ross told her, "I happen to think you're beautiful, but I guess everyone's entitled to their own opinion."

Laura smiled, "well thank you, both of you. I think you're cute, Trent and Ross, you know what I think of you."

Ross laughed.

"What? I don't know!" Trent said and Ross whispered in his ear. "Oh! You think he's adorable."

Laura giggled and then Ross put his guitar down, Trent following soon afterwards. Trent giggled again and ran off as Ross settled back down in his seat.

"Where did he go?" Laura asked him.

Ross shrugged, "I told him to go hang out with Rocky. So I assume he ran off somewhere to find him."

"He really is cute," Laura commented and then it was silent for a few seconds, then, "I miss you, Ross. A lot."

"I know, I miss you too," Ross looked down, "but after my birthday we'll be able to see each other again."

Laura nodded, "definitely."

"I'll run to your house if I have to on that day." He promised.

"It's weird for me, I won't see you again until you're a legal adult." Laura said and Ross nodded.

"I know, it is kinda strange." Ross agreed.

Ross heard his name and looked up to see Riker was motioning for him to go with him.

"I'm sorry Laura, but I have to go," Ross looked sad.

"Text me?" Laura asked and Ross nodded.

She smiled sadly and waved and he waved back. Then it went dead and Ross let out a loud sigh.

He really did miss her and absolutely could not wait until he would be able to see her again.

It was the day before his birthday when things started getting shittier.

Ross had been texting Laura on his phone, in the middle of a long message, when one of his little cousins bumped into him, causing the drink they were holding to fall everywhere and spill all over his phone.

He was happy that he'd backed everything up, so the phone being ruined regarding everything that was on it, wasn't a big deal.

What was a big deal was that he wouldn't be able to talk to Laura until after his birthday now.

He was upset. It showed, but he wasn't going to blame his little cousin. After all, he was only four.

He'd been pretty much upset the entire day, refusing to speak to anyone over it.

Was he being moody? Yes. Was he kinda overreacting? Probably, but that didn't matter to him.

A knock on the door to his room came and he sat up, "come in!" He said and his mother walked inside. She sat down beside him on the bed.

"Don't be upset, it was an accident," She said and Ross nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't care about the phone mom, that can be replaced." He responded.

"Then why are you so upset?" She asked him.

"I'm more upset that my girlfriend isn't going to be here for my birthday more than the phone getting ruined. I just, that phone really was the only way we could talk to each other since I left my laptop in California. Now that that's gone, I have no way of contact with her." He looked sad and Stormie hugged him.

"You can use mine or your father's or Rydel's, Rocky's, Riker's, Ryland's, there's many options here."

"Yeah but then I'd have to give it back at some point, I just want it to be a private conversation." Ross said and Stormie nodded.

"I'll tell you what, tomorrow, since it's eight at night, you and I will go to town and get you a new phone. Until then, can you settle for using someone else's?" She asked and he sighed, nodding his head.

"I feel like such a kid, I'm eighteen tomorrow and I'm acting like an immature spoiled brat."

"No you aren't." Stormie assured him, "you just miss your girlfriend, that's understandable."

"Okay," Ross nodded and Stormie hugged him again, getting up she told him she'd ask one of his brothers or Rydel for a phone since hers was dead and charging and his father was using his own and left the room.

Soon enough there was a knock on the door and Rydel stuck her head inside. She held her phone out towards him.

"Mom said you needed a phone, here you go." She told him, walking closer she handed it to him.

He took it from her, "thanks." He said and then stared at it for a few seconds. "I have to ask you a question."

"Yeah, sure. Go for it."

"Do you regret this?"

"Do I regret what? Giving you my phone?" She tilted her head.

"No, being in the band, having no time to do much or for yourself. Just all of it. Traveling, not seeing the people you love as much… everything."

Rydel shook her head, "I don't regret it, I'm doing what I love and I'm happy, that's what's most important to me."

"What if it wasn't a reality? The touring and everything? Would you still dance or would you have gone to school to be a lawyer or a doctor or something?" Ross asked.

"I'd want to be a lawyer, I think they're pretty badass." He laughed. "I don't think I could be a doctor, I can't handle vomit or blood too well." Ross laughed again. "Where is this coming from? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just… I don't know." He honestly had no idea how to answer her question.

"Think of it this way," Rydel said after a few seconds of silence, "if you hadn't gone through with all of this and chosen a different path, you wouldn't have met Laura." That gave him something to definitely think about. He smiled at her and she ruffled his hair a bit before getting up. "Take all the time you need, I'll be downstairs when you're finished."

"Thanks." He said quietly and she nodded, leaving the room.

He quickly texted her to let her know what happened and she responded back with a few emoticons and sad faces.

Then she said, it's almost midnight by you. I want to be the first to say happy birthday.

Well, we've got time. I'll keep Rydel's phone until then. He texted back and she sent him a smiley face.

What are you gonna do to celebrate this occasion? She asked him.

I don't know. Riker and Rocky have got something planned, but they won't tell me what it is. He responded back.

Probably a drinking game, you know those two. She had a point, she really did.

Oh god, I can't get drunk in front of my little cousins. They think I'm Austin, haha.

Well you are.

Ross rolled his eyes.

I'm not like actually him, they think I'm actually him sometimes.

Aw, they sound cute.

They are. He smiled to himself and looked at the time.

There was a knock on his door then and he lifted his head to see Rydel stick her head inside the room.

"Hey, come downstairs." She said and he nodded. He noticed Laura hadn't sent him a response yet, so he handed her her phone back and followed Rydel down the stairs and into the living room.

She had her laptop set up and he saw Laura's smiling face was on it. His eyes lit up.

"Laura!" He ran to the laptop and sat down in front of it, "no wonder you didn't respond to my messages."

Laura giggled, "you sent like one, relax Superstar."

He smiled at her, "I miss you, even though we were just talking. I still miss you."

"I miss you too." He looked at the background of where she was, noticing it looked super familiar and tilted his head. He dismissed it immediately as he'd been to her house many times and figured that was where she was, just in a room he hadn't visited as often or something.

Then the connection went a little funky and his eyes widened. "Laura? What's-wow, the internet connection is so shitty." He sighed as it went dead and his hands covered his face as he took a moment to himself to think.

"Is this better?" A familiar voice asked and he opened his eyes to see a hand close the laptop shut, a very familiar hand. He turned around and that was the moment he saw her. She was right in front of him.

"Laura!" He hugged her tight, "you're here! You're actually here!" She giggled.

"Yeah, Rydel called me, told me you were going through a rough time and I wanted to be with you on your birthday so…" She smiled, "here I am."

"She's here! You're here!" He was so excited. "Rydel is the best sister ever!"

Rydel grinned, "I know right?"

Rocky, who had been sitting beside Rydel, shook his head, "who's the best brother?"

Ross blinked, "still Rydel."

Rydel laughed and squeezed Rocky's cheek, "aw, poor you Rocky."

Ross rolled his eyes and then turned to Laura, he pressed his lips against hers in a meaningful and gentle kiss and then slowly broke it off. "I really missed you," He said.

"I missed you too." She responded, reaching up to gently kiss him. "But I'm here now, there's no reason to miss me."

He smiled, "true."

"Hey birthday boy, it's past midnight." Riker said, coming into the room, "so-"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Laura suddenly shouted and scared the crap out of him. She laughed.

"Thanks." Ross smiled, "and thanks for my heart attack too." He joked and then she kissed him. He kissed her back and they didn't stop after a few seconds.

"And that's our cue to leave," Rocky whispered to Riker and Rydel. They both nodded and with that left the room. They broke apart soon afterwards and Ross sat down on the couch with her.

"So, how's your birthday going so far?" Laura asked him.

"So far?" He repeated and she nodded, "so far, it's amazing and perfect."

Ross yawned, walking into the kitchen, he rubbed his face with his hands. Laura was behind him, yawning and playing with the ends of her hair.

"Hey birthday boy!" His father greeted him, giving him a hug. "It's about time you woke up."

He laughed, "yeah sorry about that…" He trailed off, his eyes going to Laura who was blushing.

"It's alright, now what would you like to eat?"

Before Ross could open his mouth, Riker started singing like he was performing an old blues song, "Ross wakes up in the morning and gets some food-"

Then Rocky started beatboxing, "he is one badass dude! Ohh, rap was intentional!" His eyes lit up and he high fived Riker.

Ross turned to Mark, his thumb pointed in their direction, "I'm not like actually related to them am I? They're not really my brothers, right?" He asked and Mark laughed.

"Unfortunately for you, you are." He answered and Ross sighed, pouting. Though he laughed at the looks on both his older brothers' faces.

"Okay, we're only letting that slide because it's your birthday," Riker said and Rocky nodded.

"After midnight tonight, there will be no free out of jail card for you." He said and Ross laughed.

Rydel walked over, "just so you know, the question you just asked dad, I question that everyday." She told him and handed him a plate of pancakes. "Happy birthday Rossy Shor."
She hugged him and he hugged her back.

"Thanks, Rye!" He grinned at her.

She smiled back, "so Laura, what would you like to have?"

"Um, pancakes for me is fine as well, thank you." Laura responded and Rydel nodded.

"Comin' right up!" She said and with that walked back to the stove.

"So, Laura," Rocky said as she and Ross sat down at the table, "how did you get here? Travel by yourself?"

Laura shook he head, "my sister came with me."

Rocky's eyes it up, "she did, really? I uh, I mean that's cool.. yeah, totes amazing."

"Looks like my big brother Rocky here has a crush on your sister," Ross commented and Rocky, though his cheeks turned pink, was quick to shake his head.

"Nah man, she's cool. She's a homie. Ya know what I'm saying?"

"And any cool points you had left just flew out of the window." Riker said to him.

"Can't help it I'm that awesome."

"You're really not, but okay." Ross responded back, Rocky was about to open his mouth, but Ross held his hand up, "ah, ah, its my birthday, can't say anything back until midnight, remember?"

"Goddamit, stupid birthday," Rocky muttered.

"Any plans for today?" Laura asked Ross and Ross smiled, nodding his head.

"Ice skating, we're all going." He said and her eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, did you just say ice skating?" Laura asked and Ross nodded. "I can't ice skate!"

"Don't worry, we've been ice skating our entire lives, it'll be fun." Riker assured her and she slowly nodded.

"Tons of fun." She muttered back.

"Ice skating… we can add that to the list of things Laura sucks at. Merry Christmas by the way, nice to see ya!" He said as he skated passed her. She looked at Ross and held her hand up, but he was quick to shake his head.

"Don't even ask, its not even worth it." She nodded and then Ross motioned for her to take his hands. "Come on, it's fine. You'll be fine." He promised.

"I hope I don't kill myself." She muttered and then looked behind her to see Vanessa was waving excitedly from the sidelines. "Why doesn't she have to ice skate?" She asked him.

"She's not my girlfriend and it's my birthday, so that's why." Ross answered and Laura let out a huff. He laughed, "I promise you'll love this by the time we're done and if not, well then you get one free chance to tell me 'I told you so' since you know I hate it so much." She laughed. It was true, every time she was right he would say, 'don't say it.' It was something she loved to tease him about, among other things, of course.

She slowly started moving and then bounced excitedly, "oh my gosh, I'm actually moving!"

"Yeah don't get too over excited, you'll slip and fall." Ross reminded her.

Oh yeah, right. There was that little issue.

They skated around for a bit and after a while, Laura found that it wasn't so bad. She was actually enjoying herself. At one point she even told Ross to let go of her and threw her hands up. She cheered and then started to wobble, but Ross quickly caught her. She smiled up at him and then he lifted her up. They slowly skated back to where they had started and Laura looked up to see Rocky and Vanessa were sitting on the benches, deep in conversation with each other. She nudged Ross and he looked up, noticing what she was.

"Hmm…" He said, "looks like they're having an awesome conversation."

"I can't tell what it's about," She said back.

He shrugged, "doesn't matter. They can talk for hours if they want to. Seriously, Rocky doesn't shut up." He nodded and Laura laughed falling against him.

Rocky looked up and noticed them there, he motioned to Vanessa to tell her that he was gonna talk to her and she nodded, getting up as well and going with him.

"Hey guys, sup? Want some ice cream?" Rocky asked.

Laura raised an eyebrow, "in this cold weather? Are you crazy?" She asked him.

"I'm crazy?" Rocky blinked and turned to Ross, "this girl is crazy."

"Hey, be nice to my girlfriend," Ross answered.

"Dude, she's not down for sweets, she's crazy!" Rocky exclaimed, using his hands for emphasis. It made Ross, Vanessa and Laura laugh. "Well, anyway," Rocky spoke casually, "Mom, dad, Ryland, Rydel, Riker and everyone else are down by the entrance drinking hot cocoa."

"See that, I'd go for," Laura said, smirking as she walked passed Rocky.

"Okay, maybe she's not so crazy." Rocky said and Ross nodded.

"Damn straight." He answered back. He sat down beside Laura and untied his skates.

It had been a fun day. His eighteenth birthday was one of the best days of his life. Definitely one he was going to remember for the rest of his life.

After ice skating, playing some ice hockey with his brothers (Laura and Vanessa decided to cheer them on with Mark and Stormie) and then eating a huge family dinner, Ross and Laura were sitting outside in the backyard, a bonfire on in front of them. Laura had her head cuddled against Ross' shoulder and was smiling, staring up at the beautiful scenery in front of her.

"Hey," Ross said quietly, gently nudging her, "wanna dance?"

She lifted her head, "I don't wanna hurt you. Like step on your toes or something tragic like that."

Ross shook his head, "it's my birthday, so no, you can't hurt me, you could never hurt me."

"What makes you say that?" She asked him.

"The magic of my birthday." He responded back with a smile.

She rolled her eyes playfully, "there's no such thing as that."

"Yes there is, you'll see." He said and stood up, he extended his hand out and she smiled, taking it, he lifted her up and then put one hand on her waist, holding her other hand in his as her free hand went to his shoulder. They started to move slowly and Ross grinned, "told ya, I'm right."

"I still don't believe it." She muttered and then Ross felt something on his face. He looked up.

"Believe it now?" He asked and Laura looked up to see it was snowing.

"Oh my god!" She said and they stopped dancing, she stuck her tongue out and then laughed when she felt a snowflake land on it.

Ross laughed with her, "okay I have to admit, that was pretty cute."

Laura smiled and then walked back over to him, "you're right, your birthday is pretty magical."

He leaned in and gently kissed her, "happy birthday to me," He said and she kissed him.

"Happy birthday, Mustard."

And then they started dancing again.

Meanwhile, everyone else, was inside, watching them dance, Vanessa and Rydel gushing over how romantic and adorable it was while the boys more or less rolled their eyes at their girliness.

"Hey, Rydel," Rocky called her over and she nodded, holding her hand up as she was on the phone. "Bring the phone with you." He said and she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Hold on Ellington, Rocky wants me for something." She said and walked over. She put the phone on speaker.

"Hey bro! How's it going?" Rocky said, which only earned another eye roll from Rydel.

"Going pretty great bro, how about you?" He asked.

"Pretty rockin'." Rocky answered. "I'm about to do some spying with Rydel," He said wiggling his eyebrows. Rydel laughed, remembering it was their code for when they wanted to pretend to be spies as kids. "You're totally joining us now by the way." He said.

"Oh…kay. Sounds good to me." Ellington answered and Rydel laughed again.

"Okay, let's go outside," Rocky said and Rydel nodded. They slowly walked to a part of the backyard where they could hide behind a bush and still watch Ross and Laura. They were still dancing so not much was going on.

"This is kinda lame." Rydel whispered.

"Shh! It's romantic!" Rocky whisper-yelled to her and then quieted down. He paused. "Think they'll notice we're watching them dance?" He asked his sister, his voice normal now.

"They will if you don't shut up!" Rydel whisper-yelled to him, smacking him on his shoulder.

"Guys, never become professional secret agents." Ellington said on the phone and Rydel looked down.

"Yeah, you're right, we'd kinda suck at it." Rocky agreed.

"Not kinda, you would suck a lot at it."

Rydel laughed and then they saw Ross turned towards them. They ducked at the last second and then quickly walked back into the house. Ross and Laura came in a few moments later.

"Were you and Rydel spying on us?" Ross asked Rocky and Rocky quickly shook his head.

"What us? Spying. Dude." He waved him off and sat down on the couch, he picked up a magazine. "That is so 2003."

"Oh really?" Ross asked, "then why are you reading the magazine upside down?"

"I like to… exercise my brain and try new things," Rocky responded and Ross rolled his eyes.

"They were totally spying on you dude." Ross heard and looked around confused.

"Okay, I hear Ellington, but I don't see him…." He trailed off.

"He's the secret spy." Rocky said, his magazine now faced upright, he casually flipped through it.

"It's his birthday, don't mess with him like that!" Rydel smacked Rocky's head.

"Ow!" He yelped. "Woman! Damn!"

"You kinda deserved that," Laura giggled.

"He's on the phone," Rydel held her phone out towards Ross. "Say hi to Ross Ellington."

"Hey bro! Happy birthday! Wish I could be there to celebrate, but you know… family stuff."

Ross laughed, taking the phone from his sister, "nah bro, it's all good. I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Yeah, bright and early, so be ready to rehearse for our New Year's show." Ellington warned him.

"Oh great." He muttered, "if Riker stays up all night, he won't be much fun."

"Tell me about it, well, anyway, it was nice spying with you guys, epic fail by the way, but I've got to go. Talk soon, happy birthday Ross, again. Party hard with Laura. If you know what I'm saying'. Wink, wink."

"Sure thing, perv. Talk to you later and thanks, by the way." Ross answered, handing Rydel back her phone as he heard Ellington laugh.

"Text me as soon as we hang up," Rydel told him.

"Absolutely, bye Rye." He said.

"That rhymed!" Rocky exclaimed.

"And we're off." Ellington laughed again as everyone else just shook his head, "alright, I'm gonna text you Rydel."

"Okay, bye." She hung up the phone and soon enough a text came through a moment later.

"Wow, he's fast." Rocky commented.

"And someone's got a boyfriend." Ross teased poking Rydel's arm.

"And someone's about to get punched in arm." Rydel warned, but Ross shook his head.

"Nope, can't touch me… it's my birthday." He stuck his tongue out.

"Hammer time!" Laura said and then started to awkwardly dance.

"What in the world was that?" Rocky blinked.

"That was me dancing." Laura answered exchanging a look with Ross.

"That was dancing? You sure?" Rocky asked her and Laura sighed, she gave him a look, but then her eyes lit up as she saw what was behind him.

"It's still snowing! It's so beautiful! Oh my god, Vanessa!" She called out to the other room and her sister rushed inside, Riker behind her as they had left to go watch tv when Rydel and Rocky decided to become spies for a bit.

"Wow, you'd think you were from Cali with the way you… oh wait." Rocky blinked, "never mind, backspace and delete what I just said."

Ross shook his head, "Rocky loses everything."

Vanessa giggled, "he's so cute though." She commented and then walked over to her sister who was bouncing in her spot. "It is really beautiful."

Laura grinned, "it's the magic of Ross' birthday."

"What?" Rocky burst into laughter, "that's not even a real thing!"

"Oh yeah, then what's going on outside?" Ross asked him, "yeah, that's what I thought." He responded after Rocky stayed silent. He walked over to Laura and Vanessa and wrapped his arms around Laura from behind, holding her against him. Vanessa smiled and silently excused herself to go back to everyone else.

"So, how long do you think they'll stay there and watch the snow?" Vanessa asked Riker.

"A while." He answered back. "Probably forever if they could." Vanessa nodded and then watched the snow fall from where she stood, a smile also on her face as she thought about how happy her sister was and how happy she was for her as well. She looked to her left and exchanged a smile with Rocky, the magic of the moment, hitting everyone as they just stayed silent and watched the snow fall.

"Ellington!" Rydel squealed, she hugged him tight and laughed as he hugged her back, squeezing her.

"You guys are going to kill each other if you don't-" Rocky went in between them and then pushed them apart, "release!" And then he smirked and walked away.

Ross looked at Laura, "we're not that bad are we?"

Laura shook her head, "nah." They smiled at each other and didn't break eye contact.

"How long do you think they're going to stare at each other like that for?" Rocky whispered to Riker.

"It's so romantic." Rydel sighed happily and beside her, Vanessa agreed.

"With them? It's gonna be Ross and Laura forever. They're going to stare at each other like that for as long as they possibly can." Riker answered.

"It's like a movie," Rocky sighed, batting his eyes adorably like a girl would.

"Here comes forever girrrl." Ellington sang and then high fived Rocky.

Ross blinked, "what just happened?"

"You two were off in your worlds." Vanessa responded, "it was adorable, cute, romantic and I'm pretty sure it made Rocky want to puke."

"She knows me so well," Rocky joked. Laura rolled her eyes.

"Alright, so rehearsal guys? Let's get to it!" Riker clapped his hands and stood up, "sorry to make you do this two seconds after getting her, Ellington, but it's pretty important we get this done."

"Nah, no worries bro." Ellington waved off his concern.

"Laura, Vanessa? You two are more then welcome to join us." Riker said. "Just don't stare at Ross too long, okay Laura?"

"No promises." Laura responded, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Hey, girls?" They turned to see Stormie was behind them, "why don't we spend some time together while they rehearse?" She suggested and Laura and Vanessa agreed.

"Don't embarrass me." Ross told her.

"Or me," Rocky added. Everyone looked at him in curiosity, "what I'm just sayin'." She shrugged.

"Okay, I won't embarrass anybody, now you five, off you go. Rehearse." She said and the band nodded.

"She's tough," Ross muttered.

"Riker's about to be more tough, come on guys." He said and with that they all followed him to the basement.

Laura was having so much fun with Stormie and Vanessa. They had baked cookies, cupcakes and other things to surprise Ross with when he was done with rehearsals.

"So, how is your relationship with Ross going?" Stormie asked as they took a break to sit and drink tea.

"It's going amazingly." Laura smiled, looking down at her tea. She looked back up, "he's pretty much the best."

"Aww…" Vanessa leaned her head against Laura's shoulder and sighed dreamily.

Laura smiled and then sipped her tea just as what sounded like a herd of elephants ran into the kitchen.

"So thirsty!" Ross exclaimed.

"Sweaty!" Rocky added.

"Hot!" Rydel continued.

"What they said," Ellington finished.

"I'm perfectly fine." Riker said stealing a banana from the bowl in the counter in front of Laura. He peeled it and then took a bite, "what have you guys been up to?"

"Girl talk." Laura answered, "we need to steal Rydel from you, you guys done with rehearsals?"

"About done, yes," Riker said.

"No, we're done," Rydel said, pushing Riker out of the way, she smiled. "Let's talk."

"Well, what are we supposed to do with out you?" Rocky whined.

"Yeah, I second that." Ellington agreed.

"I bet you do," Laura said and Ellington looked down, she saw a tint of pink on his cheeks and smiled.

"Guys, we've rehearsed without a band member before, Ross especially, you can handle it without me." She assured them and turned Riker around giving him a gentle push. "Now go."

"Wait," Ross turned around, holding his finger in his sister's face, he smiled and then walked over to Laura, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Okay, ready." He smiled again adorably and with that ran with his brothers back to the rehearsal room

"Oh yeah," Rydel nodded, turning to Laura, "girl, we've got a lot of talking to do."

Laura stared up at Ross as he took off his shirt and changed into a clean one. She was lying backwards on the bed, her head hanging off the edge as she just stared up at him.

"Did you like your cookie and cupcakes surprise?" She asked him and he nodded, smiling.

"I did thank you." He looked at her for a moment. "You could pass out if you keep up like that," Ross teased her. "Why are you lying upside down."

"Why not?" She asked him. "You have like no sense of adventure."

"Adventure? You're just lying there. Your face is turning red by the way," He said and then laid down beside her. Though after a few moments, he realized he didn't want to lie down like that, so he just laid his body on top of hers, laying his head on her chest. She giggled, "you're so comfy."

She lifted her head to look at him, "you're lying on my boobs."

"I know." He smiled and then lifted his head to look at her. She sat up a bit, her hands behind her, supporting her and then he pressed his lips against hers. One of her hands went to the back of his neck and she pulled him closer, kissing him deeper. He bit down on her bottom lip and she moaned, both her arms wrapped around his neck, she kissed him faster, deeper and harder.

He broke the intense kiss, panting slightly as he just looked at her and then kissed her again, softly.

"Why did you stop?" She asked him.

"Because if I didn't, I don't think I would have been able to stop."

She titled her head to look up at him, "so, what's… wrong with that?" She asked a few seconds later.

He swore he felt his heart stop, "I-we…" He closed his eyes taking a deep breath, "I don't want to rush… us, you know?" He hoped he got his message across and knew he did, since Laura was one of the few people who could pick up on almost anything he said or did quickly without needing too much information. The only other people who could were occasionally Raini, Maia and Calum and almost all the time, his brothers, sister and Ellington.

"Rush us as in have sex?" She asked him. "That's rushing?"

"We've only been official for a month," He reminded her.

"We've been dating far longer than that," She reminded him. "We've also known each other for years and I do remember your morning friend that visited and how one day I promised you I would take care of it."

His heart skipped, "but I don't want to hurt you."

She smiled, "you're adorable and sweet," She softly kissed him, her hands going to his cheeks. "But don't worry, I can handle it."

He nodded and then flipped them so she was on top of him. "Okay, we'll… um, let's just take it slow okay? I really don't want to rush anything."

"So, we can do other things?" She asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, you know, if that's cool with you."

Laura laughed, hiding her face in his chest, "I can't get over how cute you are." She told him, lifting her head to look at him, she bit her lip.

"Keep moving like that and you'll get a visit from a good friend of ours." He told her, "he's totally not as cute as me though."

"Sure about that?" She teased him, biting her lip, she hovered above him for a moment and then leaned in closer. "We should find out."

"We will," He promised her, "one day."

"Not today?" She pouted and he sighed.

"I can't just make it happen you know, you have to-oh, yeah okay, that might uh, work yeah." He closed his eyes and wondered when and why Laura had gotten so bold. Maybe it was the fact she was eighteen and probably being an normal teenager. He wasn't quite sure about that though.

She smiled innocently at him, "you're lying and ready for it."

"Damn you for knowing me so well."

She giggled and then sat up above him, she then leaned forward and gave him a meaningful kiss.

"I trust you, Ross, okay? Never forget that."

He stared at her, "never."

She smiled.

"And so you know and never forget this either, I trust and I love you." He said, his eyes never leaving hers.

Her eyes filled with tears, "I love you too." She whispered and then they shared an intimate kiss that didn't end sooner than they both wanted. He had kissed her deeper and harder, she had moaned and then they took their relationship to the next level.

Laura laughed, her hair spinning behind her as Ross twirled her around in the falling snow. She looked up at the sky and then fell against him again, smiling at the snow that was falling around them.

"Feel good?" He asked her and she nodded.

"I feel great." She smiled and then kissed him, before he turned her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She looked at his arms and then put her arms over his. "Don't let go."

"Never ever," He promised, whispering the words in her ear.

She smiled and then thought about the night before. Though, they had talked about sex and had taken their relationship to the next level, Ross had stopped her before anything really happened. He had excused himself to the bathroom, like he had when throughout their friendship (especially at age 15) and then laid down in the bed beside her hugging her tight.

She was glad he had stopped it from going further because even though they did intensely make out and actually did so with just their underwear on, he hadn't made her do anything she wasn't comfortable with. She had wanted to go further, but felt that just because he had told her he loved her, it wasn't necessary, they could always move on and do it another day.

She had also come to the conclusion in that moment that she had never been more in love with him then right then.

It was the day before New Year's and she had to go home while he went to Pennsylvania with his his band to perform. She would have gone, if she hadn't had made plans with her family to go visit some relatives in Nevada for New Year's. He promised to text her as much as he could, except for when he was on stage. That she understood. He had also assured her they had a guy who was going to film everything and that she would get to see everything and it would be like she hadn't missed it at all.

"Hey lovebirds," Rocky came outside and they turned around to look at him, "glad to see I didn't interrupt anything this time, but uh, we've got a plane to catch. Vanessa said you guys have to head to the airport as well," He said to Laura and she nodded.

They broke apart and then walked to the front of the house where their bags and a two cabs were waiting. After emotional goodbyes with his family, they had all walked towards the cabs to say goodbye to the sisters.

"Gonna miss you," Ross said to Laura.

She smiled, "I'm gonna miss you too."

"We shouldn't be sad, we'll see each other… soon, yeah." He nodded his head and Laura laughed, realizing they were pretty much reenacting an Austin and Ally episode.

They then shared a hug and then a long, meaningful and romantic kiss. Ross was the one who broke it and whispered in her ear, "I love you."

"I love you more." She pulled away, winking at him and with that, she let go of his hand and got in the cab. Vanessa said goodbye to Rocky, hugging him and then Ross watched as he kissed her cheek and she blushed. She got in the car and with one last wave, they were off.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do and lots of time to do it," Ross told him and he nodded.

"I know." He grinned and Ross just shook his head and got in the cab.

"So, good birthday?" Ellington asked him as the cab drove off towards the airport. He had been staring out the window. He looked at Ellington and nodded a smile on his face.

"The best way to turn eighteen," He smiled at his sister, "thanks for the surprise, Rydel."

She nodded and then her eyes lit up, "oh yeah, I remember you promised Laura you'd text her and last I checked you didn't have a working phone, so…" She pulled something out from behind her and his eyes lit up, grabbing the brand new phone. It even had his old case on it.

"Dude! Best sister ever!" He reached over and hugged her. She giggled.

"Aaaand of course, Rocky's the best brother ever. No need to thank me, psh." Rocky said.

"No, best brother is still Rydel." He told him and then laughed at the look on his face. "Thanks Rye."

"Of course, couldn't have you go without a phone, though I'm sure you enjoyed that a lot." Rydel winked at him.

"You have no idea." He smiled at her.

"We were in on the Laura surprise too," Rocky muttered, "all of us were, that's what Riker and I had planned since we didnt do much after she got there." Ross laughed and then turned his phone on to see he already had a message from Laura.

Miss you, Mustard.

Miss you more Ketchup. He texted back and then settled back in his seat. There was a huge smile on his face, one that he knew would be there to stay for a long, long time.

Next chapter, they're nineteen! I'm gonna make up what happens though since I don't actually know since they're both still eighteen and all. Haha. Or I might just put in what's happened since they turned eighteen. Yeah? Or should they be nineteen. That's kinda how I was gonna go with it, but I dont know, I may change it up. After all, they had a world tour and everything... so yeah.

Okay, can I just talk about how fucking amazing the R5 concert I went to on saturday was? Holy crap. It was... like there are no words. They all killed it. Ellington is one of the most amazing drummers I have ever seen, they all can sing and they are all so talented and Ross needs a haircut. Oh yeah, I was also in the same vicinity as Austin Moon, that part was cool too. Oh and Ross and Rydel wearing a jean jacket and a long sleeve shirt and pants while everyone else was wearing either a sleeveless shirt or a t-shirt when it was over a hundred degrees out didn't make any sense to me, but okay. Whatever makes them happy, I guess. This paragraph makes absolutely no sense, but I literally can't put into words how amazing the concert was. So, there's my attempt at telling you how it was. Hope you enjoyed it :)

Okay, no one reads these things, sooo I'm out.

Much love! xx