Connection -- A Ross Lynch Story

Discovered

"What are you doing?" Ross giggled as I tugged on his arm, pulling him away from all of the commotion. In one hand, he held a paper plate of grilled ribs and barbecue sauce. In his other, there was a glass bottle filled halfway with beer. His clumsy footsteps followed mine as he walked nearly backwards. "Trina!"

My free hand clutched the handle to the Neon Lightning tour bus and pulled the heavy door open before releasing the sleeve of his shirt. "C'mon," I laughed, nodding my head towards the open door. A soft glow illuminated the entrance and the smell of apples and cinnamon flowed through both of our nostrils from my favorite air freshener. When he didn't budge, I got behind him and pushed until he finally took the couple of large steps into the bus. "Finally," I huffed in feigned frustration as I followed him.

Ross made his way over to the booth and sat his food down on the table before plopping down on the bench. The fairy lights around the windows caused little flecks of light to reflect in his eyes. "Nice touch," he said before taking a swig of beer.

"Thanks." I sat myself across from him and rested my chin in my hands. "Piper and I thought it would make the place really pop." My eyes were mostly focused on the lights now, and how the dark tinted window still let through a little bit of glow from the bonfire outside. When I glanced back over to him, I found him mimicking my posture, his eyes fixed on me. "It's a little too girly for Asher and Carson, though," I finished.

"So what are we doing," Ross asked, tilting his head slightly. Underneath the table, his foot nudged mine before running up and down my leg. "I know you didn't bring me in here to talk about lights."

I got up and made myself comfortable next to him. There wasn't a lot of space, so our bodies were pressed together. The heat between us was even warmer than the fire outside. "I'm just making time for us, I guess." My hand found its home, fitting perfectly at the nape of Ross's neck. Ignoring the butterflies in my stomach, I leaned in and kissed him. He hummed in delight, pulling me even closer and licking my lips carefully, begging them to part enough for him to make his way in. I shook my head and muttered, "this isn't comfortable," before raising my leg over his lap.

"Wow," he groaned, holding onto my hips firmly as I leaned back down to attach my lips to his once more. This time it was deeper, more passionate. Our tongues met and danced together as my hands dipped underneath the collar of his shirt and held onto his muscular shoulders tightly.

It would've went further. We both wanted it.

"Ummmm," a dainty voice hummed hesitantly from behind us. My heart nearly jumped up my throat at the interruption and I jerked up from Ross's embrace. When I turned around, I saw Piper standing at the entrance to the bus. Her eyes were fixed on the opposite wall, but she was smirking. "Sorry, didn't mean to intrude."

Asher stood beside her as usual, but his expression was different. While Piper was shocked but amused, Asher looked scared. It was as if he knew something that the rest of us didn't. "Wow, umm...okay," he mumbled, making his way past Piper to the bathroom.

"So when did this all...?" Piper asked. Her smirk changed to a giddy smile and I could tell it was taking everything she had to not jump up and down and beg for details.

"A little over a couple weeks ago," I said. I was so relieved that she wasn't upset with me. Ross helped me move off of his lap, but kept his arm around my shoulder as we listened to Piper gush about the bonfire.

Once Asher got out of the bathroom, he tugged Piper along with him to the bunks. I could've sworn I heard him mumble something under his breath, as if I weren't supposed to hear it. "Trust me," he said, "you don't want to be over there when Carson gets back."

I tried not to read too much into that little comment. Maybe I had heard him wrong. It could mean a million different things. Instead of running down the list of possibilities, I decided to be completely in the moment with this amazing guy next to me, who was running his hand through my hair. "When's bus call for you?" I asked him, resting my hand on his knee.

"In about an hour, but --"

The latch to the door unhinged and the smell of smoke entered the bus once again. Heavy footsteps landed on each step and Carson stood tall, his eyes fixed on me and Ross. Time slowed down as if everything were in slow motion. He flickered his stare from Ross to me, confusion painted across his features. Then he saw how my hand sat on Ross's knee, and how his was on my shoulder. It all clicked. "Oh, really cute," Carson spat before storming past us. He grabbed a pillow from his bunk before heading back towards the door. "I'll be on the crew bus tonight," he yelled. The door slammed.

I was speechless. My muscles tensed. I didn't even realize I was clenching Ross's leg, my nails nearly piercing the fabric of his pants. "Trina," he asked, wrapping his hand around mine and unlatching me from his leg. I mumbled a dazed apology, but I couldn't really move. "What was that about?"

"I have no idea..." I wanted to cry. I could feel it building up in my chest. My eyes glossed over and my cheeks burned. Something was really wrong. "Ross, I am so sorry," I said with a strained voice. "I have to go talk to him."

He took my face between his hands and kissed me sweetly before getting up. "It's cool," he said. "I'll walk you out." We both stood up and he took my sweaty hand in his, not even blinking at the moisture. Once we were outside, ready to part ways, he gave me a small hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I watched him walk away before I could even force my legs to move at all. Slowly, I trudged the opposite direction towards the other bus. Carson wasn't even inside yet. He just leaned against the bus, rubbing his temples with a couple of fingers. I felt so many emotions. I was angry, confused, scared even. He opened his eyes and saw me approaching and before I could even open my mouth, he spoke the first words. "How could you?"