“All finished!” Stormie said as she straightened the last few strands of your hair. Rydel walked over and began fixing your makeup. “You nervous?” she asked, brushing on your foundation. “A little.” You admitted. You were an up-and-coming artist trying to break into the music industry. You were a family friend of the Lynch’s so they invited you to be the opening act on their summer tour. Tonight was your very first show. “Don’t be!” she replied, moving on to your eyes. “You’re gonna do great.” You half smiled. “I hope so. I’ve never performed in front of such a huge crowd before.” You said nervously. Ross came walking over to pick up a banana off of your dressing room table. “You’ll find that you actually like it better. It’s harder to see individual faces in a huge crowd. And with the spotlights, you can barely see past the first or second row. You won’t be nearly as nervous once you get out there.” He said, smiling at you before walking back out. Rydel spent a few more minutes perfecting your makeup. “Done!” she announced, handing you a mirror. “Thanks Ry.” You said, admiring yourself in the mirror. “Anytime. I’m going to go get dressed.” She replied, and walked out. You sat in your dressing room for another 15 or 20 minutes before Ryland came in. “Rikki, it’s time.” He said. You froze. “Already??” you asked, suddenly gripped with fear. He laughed. “Relax, you’re going to do fine!” he assured you. You followed him out the door and down the hall towards the stage. Stormie handed you your microphone. “Ready?” she asked. You adjusted the waistband of your pink skirt and took a deep breath. “Ready.” You said, managing a weak smile. You stepped out onto the stage and were instantly greeted by the roar of the crowd. “HELLO LOS ANGELES!” you yelled into the microphone. The crowd screamed in return. “Are you guys ready to rock??” you called again. More screams from the crowd. You began the first of the three cover songs you did, ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ by Taylor Swift. You continued on to sing ‘Troublemaker’ by Olly Murs and ‘Heart Attack’ by Demi Lovato. “Are you guys ready for R5??” you asked breathlessly. The crowd cheered in response. “Here they are!” you called, turning around to walk offstage. You stopped to hug Rydel as they ran onto the stage. “You were amazing!!” Stormie gushed, wrapping you in a tight hug. “That was so much fun!!” you cried. “Ross was right. It’s much more fun performing in front of a large crowd. The energy from the crowd was insane!!” Mark came walking over to where the two of you were standing. He held up his hand for a high five. “You killed it out there Rikki!” he said. You reached up to slap his hand. “Thanks Mark.” You replied. “I think I need some water.” He laughed and showed you the way to the refreshment table.
Around midnight, you were sitting on the tour bus with Ross, Rocky, Riker, Rydel, Ellington, and Ryland. The parents rode on the second bus with the rest of the crew. “I’m so bored.” Rocky complained. “I am too.” Riker chimed in. “Let’s play a game or something.” You suggested. “Truth or Dare!” Ross offered excitedly. Everyone groaned. “Truth or Dare? Really Ross? That’s so middle school!” Rydel laughed. Ross looked over at you and poked out his lower lip pleadingly. Next to Rydel, you were closest to Ross. You sighed and looked at the rest of the group. “Oh come on guys, a few rounds of Truth or Dare couldn’t be THAT bad.” You said. They all groaned in unison again. “Fine, but only a few rounds!” Riker grumbled. “Who’s going first?” Ryland asked. Everyone thought for a few moments. “Why don’t we let Ross go first? Since he suggested it. And go to the right.” You suggested. “Sounds fair.” Ross said, turning to Riker, who was on his right. “Riker, truth or dare?” he asked. “Dare.” Riker said without hesitation. Ross grinned wickedly. “I dare you to let Rydel and Rikki put makeup on you, then post a picture of it on Twitter and Instagram.” “And Facebook!” Rocky chimed in. Riker groaned. “Fine.” He sighed. Fifteen minutes later, you and Rydel were putting the finishing touches on Riker’s makeup. “Aaaand, done!” you announced. You and Rydel had gone way over the top; heavy eyeliner, neon eyeshadow, and bright red lipstick. “Oh God.” He groaned, looking in the bathroom mirror. “Picture time!” Rydel giggled. She snapped a few shots of Riker before uploading them to her Instagram and Twitter. You gave Riker a few minutes to take the makeup off of his face before continuing the game. “Ok Riker, your turn.” Ross said. Riker turned to his right to look at Rydel. “Truth or dare?” he asked. She thought for a moment. “Truth.” She said nervously. “Hmm…if I could hook you up with any of my friends from the Glee cast, who would it be?” he asked. She rolled her eyes. “Oh gosh Riker, I don’t know! Um…probably Grant. Or Nolan.” She admitted. “You should make that happen Riker. It’s about time Rydel got her first kiss.” Ellington said, winking at Rydel. She blushed. “Shut up!” she snapped at Ellington playfully. The game continued until it was Ross’s turn. “Truth or dare Ross?” Rocky asked. Ross thought for several long moments before speaking. “Dare.” He said, grinning. A sly smile crossed Rocky’s face. “I dare you to kiss any girl of your choice in this room.” He challenged. Ross’s jaw dropped. “That’s not a fair dare! There’s only two girls in here, and I’m related to Rydel!” he cried. “You could always kiss Ellington.” Riker reminded him. Ellington playfully made kissy lips at Ross. He shook his head. “Nah, I think I’ll stick to Rikki.” He mumbled. You frowned. It almost seemed like Ross didn’t want to kiss you. He stood up and you followed him in the direction of the back lounge. “Don’t make us have to come in after you guys!” Rocky teased. You shut the door once you and Ross had both stepped inside. Ross ran his fingers through his blonde hair nervously. “We can just lie and say we did it. I can tell you don’t want to kiss me.” You said quietly, looking down. Ross groaned. “Ugh, no! That’s not it at all.” He frowned and began to pace back and forth. You looked at him, confused. “Then what is it?” you asked. He sighed and turned to face you. “I like you Rikki. A lot. I was going to tell you eventually. I really didn’t want it to happen like this.” He said, laughing nervously. You smiled. “I like you too Ross.” You admitted. He smiled back at you, but stood frozen in place. He was so shy it was adorable. You moved closer to him, bringing your face inches away from his. “Kiss me.” You whispered. He leaned in slowly, pausing before pressing his lips against yours. He put his hands on your waist, pulling you closer as you locked your arms around his neck. You reached up to touch his hair, tangling your fingers in his blonde locks. “Whoa guys, calm down!” you heard Rocky bellow. You and Ross quickly broke apart, blushing ten different shades of red. You hadn’t even heard the door open. “We would like to finish the game tonight, if that’s ok with you guys.” Ellington said. “Yeah fine.” Ross muttered, pushing past them to walk back to the front of the bus. Rocky turned to look at you. “You’re welcome.” He said smugly. You rolled your eyes and smiled slightly, blushing again. You followed Rocky and Ellington back into the front lounge, sitting down next to Ross. He took your hand in his, smiling over at you. “Awwwwh!” the other five chorused. “Shut up.” Ross snapped, as the game continued.
