Across the Miles (3 page)

Wow. What in the world was he thinking?

Chapter 4

Rose and Liam set off after about thirty
minutes of waiting inside the venue, allowing the crowd to clear a
little bit before they ventured outdoors again. And this time, Liam
made sure that a security guard went outdoors first, so that he
wouldn't get attacked by a mob of fans.

They found a coffee shop a few blocks away
and decided to drink outside, walking around a park that was
nearby. Neither had ever been to St. Louis before, so they wanted
to take in the new and exciting sights.

The streets were basically empty since it was
now around midnight, so Liam told his security guard that he could
take the rest of the night off and get some rest. Liam figured they
would be safe enough from fans now that they had wandered a few
blocks from the arena.

As they began walking down the street, coffee
in hand, Liam asked Rose to tell him a little bit about herself,
but Rose brushed it off, saying,

“There's nothing really worth telling. I
mean, I'm just a plain old college student making her way through
life in hopes of one day becoming a singer. Or a fashion designer.
Or maybe both.”

Regardless, Liam was impressed. Rose had
goals in her life, and Liam found that respectable.

“Why don't
you
tell
me
about
yourself?” Rose asked Liam.

“Haven't you read all the tabloids? I'd
expect that a fan such as yourself, willing to follow me around the
country, would already know everything worth knowing,” Liam joked,
surprised that Rose cared to get to know him at all.

“I actually don't read tabloids. I stick to
Vogue, mostly. I'm more into fashion than gossip. I mean, I know
that you write your own songs. And you seem to have a thing for bow
ties. But aside from that, I don't really know anything about you.
I mean, the
real
you. I just have a deep appreciation for
your voice. You are extremely talented.”

Okay, and now Liam was definitely in shock. A
fan who was willing to follow him around the country, all for his
voice.

“Okay. So I have one last question for you.
Do you have a poster of me in your room?” Liam jokingly asked,
teasing Rose.

Rose blushed.

“No. I don't, actually. Not that you're not
lovely... because... err... umm... you are. Uh... yeah. But no.
Sorry.”

Liam was blushing now too.

“Thanks? I guess. I mean, you're lovely
too... I mean... uhhh... Yeah. Sorry if that was awkward of me to
ask. I just wanted to know how crazed of a fan you really are,”
Liam continued teasing.

“Crazed?” Rose laughed. “I don't know if I'd
call myself crazed. Excited, yeah. But I try not to freak out too
much. I mean, I sing too, although not really in front of people,
but I still get it. You're a singer. It's what you do. Just because
you're famous for it shouldn't make you any different from me. I
mean, I'm not assuming we're anything alike. Then again, who knows.
But yeah... I don't see why people always have to scream and freak
out.”

Rose now officially felt awkward. She didn't
know why she kept rambling on and on like that, but Liam seemed
un-phased by it all, which was reassuring.

“So you weren't excited when you met me?”
Liam teased.

“Oh, I was definitely excited. And nervous.
You're so talented! I mean, I thought
I
had an incredible
voice, but, wow. Just wow.”

“So do you study singing or is that just
something you do for fun?”

“I major in it, yeah. But I mainly just sing
in the shower and stuff. I have a major case of stage fright,
unfortunately.”

“Ah. That's too bad.”

“So... back to what I was saying earlier.
Tell me about yourself. I don't really know that much,” Rose said,
changing the topic.

“Umm... well, I don't know what to say. What
do you want to know?” Liam questioned, not knowing where to
begin.

“Tell me about your past. What was life like
before you got famous?” Rose asked, hoping she wasn't crossing any
lines, prying into this man's life.

“Well... that's not exactly a fun story. In
fact, it's pretty deep for first date material...”

Rose cut him off, almost choking as she took
a sip of her coffee.

“First date?! Is this a date?”

“Oh... umm... well, yeah? Yes. I mean, if you
want it to be. Do you want it to be?” Liam questioned, suddenly not
so sure of himself.

Rose stopped walking for a minute, silently
thinking it over. To be completely honest, she wasn't sure if she
wanted it to be a date or not. She barely knew this man. Yeah, she
looked up to him and everything, but she didn't know all that much
about him. For all she knew, he could be a jerk who was completely
full of himself. Of course, Liam wasn't exactly giving off that
vibe, but you never know. And what if he ended up being a complete
womanizer? Rose just wasn't sure.

“I'll let you know,” Rose finally answered,
beginning to walk again. Liam followed her cue and stepped up his
pace, falling in line with her again. “In the meantime... I don't
mind deep talk. That is, if you don't mind sharing with me. I'm a
good listener. And I promise I won't go blabbing to tabloids.”

“I believe you,” Liam admitted. And he
honestly did believe her. Liam had no idea why he put so much trust
in this woman, but he did. He just hoped to god that it didn't come
back to bite him in the ass.

“Well... I was bullied pretty badly when I
was in high school. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little...
eccentric. I just like being true to myself. But other people
didn't like that so much. I won't go into deep details, but...
teenagers can be pretty brutal when they set their mind to it. And
being different in Kansas isn't exactly ideal.”

“Yeah... tell me about it,” Rose agreed.

“Wait... you grew up in Kansas too?”

“Yeah. Colby, Kansas, to be exact.”

“Oh wow! Me too! What high school did you go
to?”

“Lincoln. How about you?”

“Shelby. So, I was like, thirty minutes from
you. Crazy!

“You didn't happen to be in the glee club
there, did you?” Rose asked.

“Yeah! I was, actually! Wait... if you went
to school at Lincoln and, assuming you were in the glee club there,
that means... no way... you totally beat my glee club at
competition all four years of high school! I was crushed!” Liam
said, joking, grasping at his heart.

Rose laughed.

“Yep. That was me. Not that I ever got a
solo. But yeah... your glee club was fantastic, though. Which makes
a lot of sense now, considering that you sang with them. I can't
believe we actually beat you guys! That's crazy!” Rose said in
disbelief.

“Yeah, well, you must be an amazing singer to
have beaten me,” Liam joked, nudging his shoulder against
Rose's.

It was official. Liam just had to hear Rose
sing. Yeah, Rose said she didn't sing in public, but her old glee
club was amazing, from what Liam could remember. I mean, for god's
sake, they had beaten him! Rose must be a phenomenal singer. And
now Liam wanted nothing more than to hear this beautiful woman
beside him sing. He'd have to make that happen, and soon.

“So, what was life like outside of glee club?
I know for me that glee was my safe-haven. Was it the same for you?
I mean, singing must mean something important to you for you to
still be doing it professionally,” Rose asked.

“Yeah. The glee club was like family to me. I
was accepted there. College was a little bit better than high
school. I only went for half a semester, though, before I got a
record deal. And then I was in California, so everyone was pretty
accepting there. I had a few run-ins with people who spoke their
mind to me, still. Lots of people telling me I was too flamboyant,
too metrosexual to be straight... but I just ignored them, even
though their comments still hurt,” Liam said, before quickly
backtracking and explaining. “It's not the fact that they're
calling me gay that upsets me. I don't have a problem with that at
all. I just wish they wouldn't try to mislabel me. Or spread rumors
about me. I know it's inevitable, being a famous singer. But still,
for once, I'd just like for someone to see me for the real me. For
someone to see me for who I really am.”

Rose grimaced, knowing exactly what Liam
meant. She had always dressed in her own style, and been her own
person, no matter how much she differed from the status quo. She
had been called eccentric and odd way too many times in her life,
and while she generally ignored comments like that now, it still
hurt every time someone called her a freak.

“What about your family? Did your family
support you throughout all of this?” Rose asked, wanting to learn
more about Liam. She was completely intrigued by every word that
came out of his mouth, and shocked by how similar they seemed to
be.

“I guess you could say they were supportive
of me. I mean, they supported my decision to follow music as a
career, even if they didn't completely understand it. And they told
me to my face multiple times that I was trying to live an
impossible dream... but, look at me now,” Liam responded,
shrugging. “I assume that your family was supportive of you,
too?”

“Yeah, my family is great. They've always
wanted the best for me. As far as everyone else, though... not so
much. I was bullied pretty badly my whole life. I have a quirky
personality, and that doesn't exactly work in my favor. I was booed
regularly at every concert I ever did with glee club at school,
which did wonders for my self-esteem,” Rose explained,
sarcastically. “If I wore something that made me stand out, people
would throw spit balls and trash at me. I'm pretty sure people in
Colby don't exactly get the whole concept of being fashion-forward.
And I was beat up a few times throughout high school. The students
always got expelled, but that didn't stop others from trying to
fill their shoes. I was only put in the hospital once, though, with
a broken wrist and a few bruises... some girls caught me off-guard
in the locker room one day. But that's all behind me now. I live in
New York City, and I actually kind of blend in more than stand out
there, even though I haven't changed a thing about me,” Rose
admitted proudly, before catching the upset look on Liam's
face.

“I'm so sorry... I wasn't even thinking. I
don't normally just dump my past on random people that I've just
met. That was way too much info about myself,” Rose quickly
apologized

“No, no. Don't apologize. I like learning
about you. You are... incredible, Rose,” Liam just shook his head
at her apology. He wished he could be as strong and mature as
Rose.

“How old are you, Rose? I just realized we've
been talking all this time and I don't even know how old you are. I
mean, I assumed you're the same age as me since you're in college,
but you can never be too safe,” Liam joked, winking at Rose.

“I'm twenty,” Rose answered, grateful that
Liam was willing to change the topic. She was also happy that Liam
didn't give her any pitying looks or apologize about her past. He
understood, accepted it, and just moved on to the next topic. That
was exactly what Rose needed.

“Oh! Cool! Me too! Cool...” Liam said,
blushing again. Why couldn't he stop blushing around this girl?

“So... I have another question for you,
Liam.”

“Shoot,” Liam responded.

“Do you normally take your fans out for
coffee?” Rose asked, a smirk on her face.

But Liam responded seriously.

“No. Never. Only you.”

“Why is that? Why me?” Rose couldn't help but
ask.

Liam stopped walking, pausing to think over
his answer. He couldn't come up with one.

“I don't know,” Liam responded, honestly.

“I never do this. I'm very careful with my
heart. I've had some bad experiences in the past with my 'friends'
using me for my fame. They make sure the paparazzi get a good shot,
and then they're done with me. I make it a rule to never date
fans... but then again, we're still not sure if this even is a
date, so...” Liam sighed, before continuing. “Fans don't really
know me. They think they do, but they don't. They know me as who
they want me to be. But I'm really not all that great. I mean, I
like who I am, and I like where I'm at in my life, but I'm not who
everyone thinks I am.”

“Well, I think you're pretty great. And
that's after a night of talking to you, so does that count?” Rose
asked, completely serious, not understanding how Liam could not see
what a great guy he was. Rose completely understood why his fans
looked up to him so much. Liam was genuinely a sweet, interesting,
understanding, fun guy who was extremely passionate about the
things he loved.

Liam smiled at Rose.

“Yeah, I guess that can count.”

When Rose and Liam looked away from each
other, they suddenly realized that the sun was beginning to
rise.

“Oh wow. It's morning. I have a show tonight
in Nashville. I should get back to the tour bus,” Liam checked his
phone and, sure enough, he had seventeen missed calls from his
manager.