Across the Miles by Kristen Dickerson

start heading your way. Just, stay put till then. Are you
in a hotel?”
     
    Rose confirmed that she was, telling Liam
where she was and the name of her hotel so he would know where to
find her, then ended up staying up on the phone with him, catching
up with Liam about random things, just enjoying talking to the man.
They had only been apart for one day, but it felt like so much
longer.
     
    They talked on the phone during the entire
five hour drive to her hotel, in fact. They never ran out of things
to talk about. It was absolutely crazy how at ease Liam felt
talking to Rose. And now they would be together for another month
and a half. When Liam saw Rose this time, they wouldn't have to
leave each other at the end of the night. A whole month and a half
of them traveling around the country together. Liam was ecstatic.
He quickly told the driver to hurry up, eager to see Rose
again.
     
    What did Liam see in her, Rose wondered. Liam
had to have met thousands of fans by now, so why did she stand out
as different? Rose just blamed good old-fashioned luck for this. It
was luck that Liam had decided to talk to Rose for longer than he
usually did with other fans on that first night of the tour. It was
luck that Rose had rescued Liam from that massive crowd the night
Liam ventured out without security in order to find her. It was
luck that the man Rose admired for so long before even meeting him
just happened to have almost everything in common with her and that
they could talk to one another effortlessly. And, apparently, it
was luck that her car had broken down and Liam had come to the
rescue.
     
    A month ago, Rose never would have believed
that she'd have her idol's phone number, let alone that she'd be
riding around the country with him. Rose would have laughed in your
face if you had told her that. But lo and behold... it was
happening. As fate would have it, Rose's car broke down and Liam
decided that he just couldn't do the rest of the tour without
her.
     
    Rose's thoughts were interrupted by the sound
of Liam knocking on the hotel door. She quickly hung up the phone
and answered the door.
     
    And boy was Liam a sight for sore eyes. She
couldn't believe how much she had missed him, and it had only been
a little over a day that they had been apart.
     
    “So, you ready to go? Are you packed?” Liam
questioned a few seconds after Rose opened the door, both taking
their time to just take each other in after being apart.
     
    Rose nodded, grabbed her bags, and set out
after Liam, making her way onto the tour bus.
     
    And WOAH . This bus was AWESOME. Wait,
no. Awesome didn't even begin to cover it. Rose had always pictured
tour buses as being cramped and stuffy. But no. Liam's tour bus was
spacious and had multiple bedrooms and couches and TVs and a mini
bar and it was decorated with bright colors and a mini chandelier
and just WOAH. Rose could definitely get used to this.
     
    “I cleared a room up for you. Follow me and
I'll show you which one it is. Then you can put your bags down and
we'll watch a movie or something. Or, wait, are you hungry? The sun
should be rising soon, so we could have breakfast! I have a chef on
the bus and he makes delicious omelets.”
     
    “Ummm... I'll just unpack for now, I guess.
We can eat later. And I have to say thanks again for letting me
stay with you. I hope it won't cause you too much trouble,” Rose
said, following Liam into Rose's temporary bedroom.
     
    “Of course it won't cause trouble! How could
you even suggest that!?” Liam assured her.
     
    Rose sighed in relief and began unpacking,
chatting idly with Liam as she did so. It never ceased to amaze her
how easy conversation was for them. It was like they had been
friends for years. Everything just felt so natural with him.
     
    When Rose had finally finished unpacking, she
and Liam headed to the kitchen, and Liam surprised her by suddenly
saying, “You're my best friend, Rose. I'm sorry if that's weird of
me to say so