Rydel's POV
"Group photo everyone!" My mom, Stormie, yelled for everyone's attention. Me, my brothers, and Ellington all stood together in front of her. Ellington wrapped his arm around my waist and I wrapped mine around his. The second his hand touched my side, I felt chills. He was always like a brother to me since we were younger, but lately it was different. I had different ideas in my head than I did before. His usual silliness was the same, but this time I wasn't just laughing because it was funny. I found myself laughing at his jokes and giggling at how happy it made me whenever he spoke.
He gripped his arm around me a little tighter. I held my breath. My mom took the picture and I stepped to the side a little. I didn't want to be any further from him, but if I wasn't I might show the butterflies in my stomach.
"Cute!" My mom said.
The boys went back to their conversations and I tried to look away, just in case my cheeks were turning pink. We were about to go on stage in Boston. We'd been looking forward to this show for months. Andre and my dad called us in for soundcheck and we followed them inside. I took a deep breath. I was so distracted with hiding how nervous and excited I was about both the show and Ellington, that I didn't even notice him right in front of me. He stopped short, why did he stop short. I ran right into his back and nearly had a heart attack. I looked up to see him and my brothers laughing at me.
"Woah, there." Ell laughed and put his hand on my shoulder. I shivered.
"Did you forget how to walk?" Rocky joked.
"Maybe she was just distracted by my beauty." Ellington pretended to flip his hair over his shoulder and laughed.
I faked a laugh and thanked the universe for making the backstage dark enough to hide how stunned I looked. I pulled myself together enough to throw a come back at him. "Don't flatter yourself there, bud." I responded. I hoped my voice didn't shake. He never made me feel like this before, and I didn't want to let it start now. I walked to the stage and stood behind my keyboard. Ellington went to his drums, and my brothers all went to their mics. He started pounding the beat of one of our songs. It was all I could hear. After a while of trying to rehearse, I gave up and just listened to him playing. I could usually drown him out enough to practice, but right now he was all I could think about anyways.
"Rydel!" Riker yelled. I shook myself out of my daze and looked at him. He did not look too happy.
"What?" I asked.
"I've been saying your name for like 2 minutes." Riker sounded annoyed.
"Sorry." I apologized. "What is it?"
"Can you play the bridge of Forget About You?" He asked. "Ellington, you play too."
"Yeah." Ell and I both said in unison. I tried to hide my smile.
By the time we finished playing the part, it was time for the meet and greet. It was all the usual questions, what's your favorite song, will you marry me, typical things our fans asked. I felt a slight tinge of jealousy when Ellington told a pretty girl with long brown hair that they'd get married, but I brushed it off immediately. Was I really about to be jealous of a girl who I'd never met before, absolutely not. Another girl in an "I heart drummers" shirt rose her hand. I was suddenly noticing everything that could possibly make me jealous and I hated it. I called on her.
"Rydellington." She yelled. Everyone in the audience started giggling.
Ellington and I both looked at each other and laughed. Of course my laugh was for a different reason than his, I was trying to hide how happy it made me that someone brought it up, then I realized what his response would be.
"That's not really a question, but, yes." Ross answered sarcastically.
"Nah, man." Ell laughed.
Part of me wanted to say 'Maybe' or 'I wish' but that would not be good. "Look at him he's like my brother." I faked a laugh.
My brothers, Ell, and I started taking the VIP pictures. I stood next to Ell in every single photo. Each time he put his arms around my waist, I felt my stomach doing somersaults. All I knew was that the smile on my face in those pictures was the most genuine it could ever be. I wondered if how close we were standing would show up in the photos.
During the entire concert, Ell and I did our usual unspoken conversations on the back of the stage. I somehow found a way to forget about how I felt for the rest of the show. By the end of the night, I nearly felt normal again. It wasn't until we were back on the bus that every thing I felt towards him came back.
"Hey Rydel, come here." He said right before I stepped onto the tour bus. I looked forward to see if my brothers heard him, and walked back to where he was standing.
"What?" I giggled. I found it a little strange that he'd want to stay in this freezing cold weather any longer. "It's freezing."
"You're cold?" He asked. Before I could even answer, he took off his jacket and put it around my shoulders. I loved wearing his clothes more than anything. "I wanted to ask you about tonight, but I didn't want the boys to hear."
I was confused. Did he want to talk about a solo I played really well, or how bizarre I was acting? "About what?" I asked.
"You've been kind of different lately." He whispered.
I felt nerves forming in my chest.
"Not in a bad way!" He continued. "Just different. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
"No, well," I didn't know if I really wanted to tell him about this right now, on this sidewalk in the middle of Boston. I figured this may be my only chance. "Sort of."
"Really?" He nearly smiled. "So do I."
I was slightly shocked that he had news for me too.
"I don't want you to freak out." He said.
"I won't, I promise." I smiled.
Suddenly, Ellington got closer to me. I felt chills when he put his hand on my arm and his mouth near my ear. "I think I like you."
