One Last Dance

One Last Dance (Chapter 40)

<<Epilogue>>

~4 Months Later~

LAURA's POV:

"Okay class, please take out your 'To Kill A Mockingbird' books. We are going to finish reading chapter four."

Every student reached inside their bag and brought their book to the base of their desk.

A knock rang against the classroom door.

"Who is it?"

The door opened slightly.

Mr. Hammer.

He smirked. "Someone's home from tour."

My eyes widened excitedly. "Is he here?"

He nodded. "He's in the lobby waiting for you."

I looked at my students and bit my lip.

Mr. Hammer laughed. "Go ahead, Laura. I'll watch the class for fifteen minutes."

I smiled. "Thank you so much!"

I rushed out of my room as he rushed in.

R5 went on tour two months ago for Canada. I went along the first month but I had to be back here for the start of school.

I kept in contact with Ross every night by FaceTime but I just wanted to see him again and hold him and kiss him.

Since he and our family have been gone, I've been stuck here with Mr. Hammer. We've talked and we've become close, despite all the difficulty we had getting along in the past.

This may sound crazy, but we've become so close that I kind of feel like I have a father again, a good one.

I ran down the three flights of stairs and rushed through the cafeteria and to the main lobby.

When I saw his face, my excitement clouded the better of me.

"Laura," he yelled stepping forward.

"Ross," I yelled running into his arms.

He bounced back from my impact but hugged me back, tight.

"Oh my god," I said. "I missed you!"

He laughed. "I missed you too, Laur!"

We pulled apart.

"How was tour," I asked.

He shrugged. "Awesome as always, but I wished you were there for the whole thing.... How's school?"

"Fine."

"Mr. Hammer?"

I snickered. "He's been pretty great."

"I heard your album came out two weeks ago! How's that going?"

"Amazing," I answered. "It's been #1 on ITunes since last Wednesday."

"And yours truly and his band's new EP is still #2," Ross grinned.

I laughed. "We have mutual fans, I believe."

He booped my nose. "Well, of course. What R5 fan doesn't love Raura?"

"And what Laura Marano fan doesn't love R5," I joined.

We both giggled.

"The rest of R5's waiting in the car," Ross said. "How long a break did Mr. Hammer give you?"

"Fifteen minutes."

He put his arm around my shoulder and walked out of the school as he said, "Just enough time to say hello to everyone."

I stopped him.

"Ross?"

"Yes?" He asked.

I sighed, "I really did miss you."

"I really missed you too."

I leaned in for a quick kiss but when I pressed my lips against his and tried leaning back, he held me there.

He kissed back passionately for a few seconds before pulling away.

"What was that for," I asked him softly.

He shrugged. "I missed that too."

I blushed.

"Thanks for giving me one last dance, Laur."

I smiled. "Thanks for not giving up on me, Ross."

He kissed my lips one more time, and this time, when he tried pulling away, I held him there and kissed him passionately.

This time though, I didn't let go. We kept on kissing, as our lips moved together in perfect sync.

HONK!!

We broke apart.

"Come on Love Birds," Riker yelled from the window of the Jeep parked five feet away. "We're gonna go get ice cream."

I hesitated. "I would love to but I have one more class to teach today."

"Go ahead."

I looked around. Who said that?

My eyes stopped at the window on the third floor.

Mr. Hammer and my whole fourth block class were standing by the open space.

"Go ahead," Mr. Hammer replied. "I can take over for the last half hour."

I smiled. "Okay, thanks!"

I turned to Ross. "I guess I can go!"

Ross looked confused. "Mr. Hammer's letting you go on a break...? What happened to him?"

I shrugged. "Beats me. Guess he's just had a change of heart."

"Wow," Ross said. "Good for him."

I nodded.

HONK!

"You two coming or not," Riker yelled.

We ran over to the truck. "Coming!"

As I hopped into the Jeep, in the seat next to Vanessa, I grinned.

Ross hopped in next to me and put his arm around me comfortably.

I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Nice to see you again, Laur," Rocky said.

"You guys too!"

"Laura," Rydel yelled. "We heard your whole album on the way here! Me and You will always be my favorite song!"

I looked at Ross. "Same here... Hey Vanessa! I heard from Ross that you and Riker had something going on last month. Is that something still, you know, going on?"

She blushed.

Riker laughed. "Yep. And we're happy about it! But you guys can't forget about Rydellington! That started up like a day after you left us for school."

I raised my eyebrows and stared at Rydel. "Why haven't I heard about this already?"

Riker chimed in, "They're trying to keep it a secret from fans. They don't want anyone to know. Not yet."

Rydel nodded. "Yeah, but we like it like that."

She looked back at Ratliff who sat in the back with Ryland.

Ratliff smiled. "I love you Dells."

"I love you too, Ells."

I looked at my amazing boyfriend.

"I love you, Ross."

He replied, "I love you too, Laura."

Riker started the car and drove out of the school parking lot. "To ice cream, we go!"

"I love happy endings," Vanessa concluded.

I burrowed my head in Ross' chest. "Me too, Ness, me too."