This story has a happy ending. (An R5 Fanfiction)

Chapter 6

A tour bus full of people shouldn't feel so lonely, but Ross can't help but wonder if something is missing now that he's hundreds of miles away from Melonie. Tour has only been going on for a week but it feels like they've been apart for years.

Of course they talk on the phone every night and text pretty regularly, but it's not easy for Ross. He can't tell her about his day because she doesn't know what he's really doing. Melonie thinks Ross is on a tour of airports so his dad can do research on his book. She has no idea that Ross is actually on tour with his band playing sold out tours across the country.

And she's going to kill him when she finds out he's been lying.

Thankfully Ross and his dad really do love airplanes and they've been making pit stops at small airports and air museums whenever they have a chance. This has given Ross plenty to tell Melonie, and he's even sent her a couple of pictures of the airplanes they've seen.

Ross's brother Rocky jumps down from his bunk and joins Ross on the couch. "How you holding up little brother?" Ross shrugs and Rocky laughs. "I'm curious. How exactly did you explain the whole leaving for three months thing to Melonie?"

Ross gives his brother a sharp look but sighs. "I told her we were going on a tour of airports so Dad could do research for his next book about airplanes."

Rocky pats Ross's back and tries to hold back his laughter. "Why didn't you just tell her the truth? She wouldn't have cared. It would have been better to get it out of the way."

"I just couldn't okay. I really wanted to but I just... I don't know. I guess I'm afraid she's going to change her mind about me once she knows who I am."

"Ross, you shouldn't be looking for someone who loves you in spite of your career and you shouldn't be looking for someone who loves you because of your career. Just find someone who loves you, period."

Ross looks at Rocky with an open mouth. He's used to being the philosophical one in the family so Ross was surprised to hear this kind of advice from Rocky. Rocky shrugs and goes back to his bunk without another word.

His watch reads three pm so Ross is supposed to Skype with Melonie. They decided three would be the best time for both of them but once he leaves the west coast it will be harder for Ross to keep up with their daily chats. "Hey," he says when she answers his call. She looks just as beautiful as she did when they first met but a bit paler. It's probably just the lighting or the quality of the video though.

"Hey!" Melonie responds a bit too loud. They both laugh and she repeats the greeting a little softer. "How was your day? See any cool planes?"

"Yeah!" Ross lies. He hasn't left the bus all day since they had to drive a pretty far distance to get to their next show. "I'll send you some pictures later. How was your day?"

Melonie adjusts her position a bit. "It was pretty anti-climactic. But guess what?"

"What?"

"I get to leave the hospital tomorrow!"

"So you're all better?" Ross asks, thrilled. Melonie didn't seem all that sick when he was rooming with her but she had to have had a really bad case of the flu to be stuck in a hospital. "I'm so happy! When I get back we'll definitely go for that plane ride I promised you."

"I can't wait," she says. She sounds different but Ross chalks that up to the video quality as well. "Do you know how to surf?"

Ross smiles. During their first Skype session Ross and Melonie realized they didn't really have all that much to talk about because they didn't know each other that well. In order to get to know each other, they started playing the favorites game that they started on their first date. They decided to make it about other things though, not just favorites. Now any question is fair game no matter how awkward or embarrassing. So far the game has stayed PG but as they learn more about each other Ross and Melonie feel more comfortable asking deeper questions. They always start off with easy ones though. Like favorite color.

"Yes and I love it," Ross answers. "Who was your first crush?"

"Celebrity or normal person?"

"Normal person," he says quickly. Talking about celebrity crushes is too dangerous a topic when he's hiding his celebrity status from her.

Melonie's face scrunches while she thinks. "Austin Medriff when I was fourteen. He was... a good friend. But I haven't seen him in a really long time."

"Austin is a weird name," Ross says. It's a nervous reaction considering he plays an Austin on TV.

"This coming from a boy named Ross," Melonie quips back. They joke easily with each other that sometimes they forget they've only been friends for a short time. "How old were you when you had your first kiss?"

"Eleven." Ross is careful not to include that his first kiss happened twenty two times and that it was for a short film. "How old were you when you had yours?"

Melonie's cheeks turn bright red, which makes Ross realize that she really is pale; it's not just the computer screen making her look that way. "Sixteen," Melonie says quietly.

It takes Ross a few seconds to catch up and realize that he was her first kiss. "Oh. I didn't..."

"It's okay," she says quickly. "It's not a big deal."

Now Ross is blushing just as red as Melonie. "I'm honored," he says. "I just didn't know that it was your first kiss. I mean, it didn't seem like it. You were good. It was good." He slaps his hand over his mouth.

Melonie starts to laugh which is the most pleasant sound Ross has ever heard. "Do you dye your hair or is it naturally that yellow?"

"It is not yellow!" Ross says. He runs his fingers through his hair. He's been growing it out lately and it's nearly as long as Rocky's. A lot of fans think he should cut it but he really likes it long. It makes him feel more like an alt rock kind of guy. "But I do bleach it on occasion. It's naturally blonde but not this blonde."

"I knew it."

He sticks his tongue out at her. The game continues back and forth until four when they both need to go. It sucks that they only get an hour to talk but it's better than nothing that's for sure. "Talk to you tomorrow," Ross says before hanging up. "I miss you."

"I miss you too."

After he ends the call Ross feels worse than before. His family is pretty good about giving each other privacy on the bus (not an easy thing to do) but for once he wishes they would invade his personal space. He wants them to tell him he's not making a mistake, or tell him he is, it doesn't matter.

He just doesn't want to feel so lonely anymore.