You Know That I'm Better in the End

***The night of Scar's birthday, Ronnie's POV***

Just got off stage, and I was scared shitless. BVB was up next, and we all knew what that meant. If the rumor going around was true, which it seems now like it is.

I gave Trav a hug and kiss after getting off stage, since him and Scar were standing on the side watching the show. The guys and I hurried to our dressing room to try and "de-sweat" ourselves and to chug 10 bottles of water each.

"Fuck I'm scared," I whined as soon as we reached the room, grabbing a towel and wiping myself down. "if he proposes, all hell's breaking loose."

"Shit will hit the fan for sure." Derek sighed, cracking open a water bottle. I rubbed the towel over my hair roughly before throwing it on the ground and sitting down. I rested my elbows on my knees, and my head in my hands. "I can't deal with this, you guys."

"Yeah you can." Ryan said. "If he proposes, and she says yes, it's not over yet. They'll just be engaged. And engagements can be broken off."

"But if she says yes...oh god." I groaned, lifting my head and leaning back on the couch. "All I'm saying, is that you all shouldn't be surprised if I become depressed extremely fast after tonight."

They didn't say anything, they all just kinda looked at each other. I shook my head slightly, my eyes looking down at the ground. "Did you give her your present yet?" Mika asked. I shook my head. "For some reason I wanted to wait after the show was over. After Andy proposes. After I sink into the deepest depression ever."

"No, the deepest depression you've ever had was when she first divorced you." Derek said lowly. "Look, Ronnie; you almost fucking kissed her today. She didn't look like she was trying to stop it, either. She still loves you, she's still IN love with you, whether she admits it or not." I stared at him as he gave me a little pep talk. "If he proposes, and if she says yes, it's not the end. Trust me."

"But just the thought of her agreeing to marry him...and the thought of him proposing...and me having to watch it happen..."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Derek asked, sounding a little annoyed. "Because I will."

"Talk to her about what?" I asked, confused.

"About how fucking desperate you are for her." The guys stifled their laughter, and I gave them all a little glare. "I will sit down with her and smack some sense into her. Not literally, obviously, figuratively. You get the idea."

"Remember when you smacked her and she was super pissed and stayed with Max for a little, and you were all mopey and depressed like you are now, Ronnie?" I groaned when Mika asked this, covering my face with my hands as the guys laughed. "Why don't we just go over ALL the things I fucked up with Scar, guys? Jesus Christ."

"Alright, let's get back out there and watch the show." Ryan declared. "Come on, Mopey." He gestured for me to get up, and I glared. "You guys go out there, I'll be there in a minute." They all nodded and walked out. I grabbed a fresh shirt and slipped it on. I also grabbed a bottle of water and the small, rectangular jewelry box wrapped in pink gift wrap, a small silver bow adorning the center of it. I grabbed the pink envelope with her name on it last, and I made my way out of the dressing room and back to the side stage, where the guys, Scar, and Trav all were watching the start of the BVB show.

"What's that?!" Scar yelled over the loudness of the music and fans screaming, pointing to the gift in my hand. She had a grin on her face, and now I did too. "I dunno! I just found it in our dressing room." I winked and she laughed, trying to grab it from me. "Hey! I'll give it to you later!" I laughed, holding it above my head.

"Then why'd you decide to tease me with it now?!" She whined.

"'Cause I love being a tease." I smirked. She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Just like YOU were early this morning." I stated. She stared at me for a second, obviously not getting what I was talking about, but then she laughed, looking back out at the stage and watching her boyfriend perform. I set her gift on an amp that was right behind me, along with my water and her card, and picked my son up, grinning at him. "What'd you get Momma for her birthday?!"

"I made her a card, and got her flowers, and got her earrings!" He exclaimed, pointing to her ears. I laughed and nodded. "You did good this year, bud! Think you might've done better than me!" He giggled and wrapped his arms around my neck, turning his head to watch the show too.

The end of the show was near, and I gulped as they finished what I think might have been their second to last song. I only got even more nervous as Andy started talking.

"So, some of you may or may not know this, but today is my beautiful girlfriend of over 4 years, Scarlet's birthday!" The crowd cheered in reply, and Scar laughed, shaking her head at Andy as he looked over and grinned at her. "And I haven't given her her gift yet, so I figured, maybe I should just give it to her on stage?" They cheered louder, and Ashley spoke into his microphone.

"You're gonna give her oral sex on stage?!" Andy laughed loudly, and Scarlet put her face in her hands, shaking her head. "Oh dear god," I heard her say.

"No, that's for later," Andy grinned. I growled, setting Travis down and letting him run over to Derek. I crossed my arms and stared at the stage with my eyes narrowed.

"Scarlet! Get your ass out here, birthday girl!" Scar laughed and walked out there, everyone cheering and screaming loudly. She waved and stood next to Andy, his arm going around her waist. "I figured, since this birthday present is so special, I should give it to you in front of everyone." He smiled down at her, kissing her forehead before pulling away slightly. She laughed and nodded.

I watched in horror as Andy got down on one knee, the crowd screaming the loudest they had all night, and Scarlet's hands slapping over her mouth. "Oh, fuck." I groaned, throwing my head back and closing my eyes. "No." I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked to see it was Ryan, smiling sympathetically.

As soon as Andy started giving a little speech to her about how much he loved her and what not, that's when I knew I couldn't take it. "I can't," I shook my head, turning around and walking briskly past the guys and everyone else backstage, heading for the dressing room.

* * *

***Scar's POV***

"...I love you more than anything, and know that now is the perfect time in our lives for this."

I was crying like the biggest baby ever, the crowd screaming as Andy talked while he was down on one knee. I sobbed happily when he pulled the small black box out of his back pocket of his jeans, the grin never leaving his face.

"So, what I'm actually trying to ask you is..." He flipped it open, revealing a gorgeous diamond ring. "...will you mar-"

"YES!" I screamed, nodding frantically. He laughed and jumped up, wrapping his arms around my waist in the tightest hug and picking me up off the ground, spinning us. My arms were wrapped around his neck, and I had my face buried in it as the whole room erupted into screams, cheers, and whistles. He set me down on my feet and smashed his lips to mine, tangling his fingers in my hair. I laughed and cried at the same time into the kiss, making him laugh also. He pulled away and grinned down at me, pressing our foreheads against each other. "I love you."

"I love you more!" I sobbed, my face going right back into his neck. I could feel him chuckle as his hand rubbed my back. I pulled away again and laughed, wiping at my eyes as Jake practically attacked me in a hug too. "Congratulations!!" He exclaimed, grinning like a maniac. I giggled and gave him a hug, also giving quick hugs to Ash, Jinxx, and CC.

Time seemed to fly by after that. After the show, the boys in BVB had set up a huge party for Andy and I, to celebrate our engagement. Drinking, dancing, talking, and having an amazing time; this went on until the wee hours of the morning. I was the happiest I'd been in a while, and I could safely say this was one of the best birthdays I've ever had.

"Baby!" I giggled, stumbling a little as Andy pushed us towards the bunks with his hands on my hips and his lips pressed to my collarbone. I was just a tad tipsy; no where near drunk though. I never really got drunk, but I guess you could say I was "drunk on love", as cheese-tastic as that sounds.

"Where're we going?!" I laughed as he kept pushing us backwards, past the bunk we shared. He laughed into my neck and lifted up his head, reaching behind me and opening another door. "In the back room."

"No one's gonna wanna ever be in here again, huh?" I purred after he'd kick the door closed again and lifted me up onto the table, my legs wrapping around his waist and my arms wrapping around his neck. He smirked devilishly and shook his head, quickly working to get my clothes off as fast as possible. "Not after we get done in here."

* * *

I woke up with my face smushed against something warm. As my senses came to me and I woke up a little more, I smiled, realizing I was snuggled up to Andy. I pulled away barely and my smile grew as I admired his cute, sleepy face. I pecked his nose and he scrunched up his face in his sleep, making me laugh tiredly. This caused his eyes to flutter open, and a smile to grace his features as well.

"Morning, baby." I cooed, kissing his cheek now. He pulled me closer, his arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace. "Morning, future wife." I laughed, lifting my hand up and admiring the rock that adorned my ring finger. "Did I do a good job with the ring?" He grinned lazily. I giggled and nodded. "You did a great job, it's gorgeous."

"Not as gorgeous as you." He whispered, pecking my lips softly. I smiled as he pecked me three times in a row before letting me bury my face back in his neck, his fingertips dragging up and down my back lightly. "Should we get up?" I mumbled into his neck.

"I kinda wanna sleep for another couple hours, last night wore me out." He laughed. I giggled again and lifted my head. "Last night wore you out, or I wore you out?" He smirked, pressing his lips to mine again before answering. "You definitely wore me out, babe." I chuckled, pecking his lips once more before pulling away. "Alright, you go back to dreamland, I'm gonna go face the real world."

"Have fun, I heard the real world sucks." He joked. I laughed and nodded. "Sometimes it does."

I carefully got out, feeling a little chilly since I was only dressed in my underwear. I made sure to close the curtain back to the bunk before getting a pair of pink sweatpants and a white tank top to change into. I quickly did so in the middle of all the bunks, before heading out to the main part of the bus, all the guys looking at me as I entered the room.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Ashley grinned. I laughed. "Have fun with Andy last night?"

"You guys weren't on the bus, right?" I chuckled.

"We knew better, so no. We came back at like, 6:30 in the morning." Jake laughed. I grabbed his phone and checked the time; almost 2 in the afternoon.

"Jesus, we're all lazy." I groaned, running my hands over my face.

"I think we had an excuse to be today; it's our day off and we had a crazy party last night." Jinxx yawned. I nodded and smiled, seeing a rectangular pink box with a silver bow sitting on the table, along with a card. "Isn't that from Ronnie?" I asked. Jake shrugged. "It was here when we all got back last night." I nodded, sitting down at the small table and opening the card first. I smiled slightly at the "Love always, Ronnie signed at the end of it, and then I proceeded to open my gift.

"Oh my goodness," I murmured in surprise as I flipped open the jewelry box, seeing a gorgeous diamond necklace sitting perfectly in there.

"Wow," Jinxx said from behind me. The boys all stared at it and I smiled a little. "He shouldn't have bought me this," I sighed. "It's beautiful, but...good lord."

"Doesn't look cheap." Jake stated. I shook my head. "Not at all."

"Oh well. It's a diamond. Aren't diamonds a girl's best friend or some crap like that?" Jinxx asked, making us all laugh. "True!" I grinned, closing the box and grabbing the card. "I'm gonna go and get ready for the day." I walked back to the bunk area, setting the box and card in one of my bags. I grabbed my phone and clicked it on, noticing I had a text from Derek.

whenever you get this, call me. (:

I did just that, pressing the "call" button as I walked towards the bathroom. I walked in and shut the door behind me, leaning against the counter with the phone to my ear.

"Hey Scar," Derek greeted.

"Hey hon," I smiled. "Whatcha want?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go and maybe get a coffee or something and talk for a little bit." I nodded at the idea. "Yeah, that sounds like fun! You know where a Starbucks is?" He laughed and I grinned, turning around and turning the faucet on the sink on to let the water get hot. "Yeah, I already found one, it's not too far from our bus."

"Where's your bus?" I asked.

"Not too far from yours." He chuckled.

"Alright, I'll be ready in about 20 minutes. I'll text you when I'm done so you can tell me exactly where the Starbucks is."

"Sounds good, see you soon." We exchanged goodbyes and I ended the call, slipping my phone into the waistband of my sweatpants. I did my normal, everyday routine of washing my face, wiping myself down with baby wipes, drowning in cupcake scented body spray, and doing my hair and makeup. I was done with all of that within 15 minutes, and then I went to go get some nicer clothes to put on. I decided on a black v-neck that had a zombie pin up girl on it, some dark blue jeans and some high-wedge black sequin sandals, along with my sunglasses and purse. I told the boys I was going to meet Derek before leaving, texting him and asking him where the Starbucks was. He gave me the directions, also telling me he was already there.

He was right about it not taking too long to get there; it took me less than 10 minutes before I was walking into the infamous coffee place. I waved at him when I saw him sitting at a table, and walked over when I saw he'd already ordered my drink for me.

"Thanks for ordering for me!" I grinned, leaning down and giving him a hug. He smiled. "No problem." I sat down, setting my purse next to me on the floor before taking a sip of my Strawberries and Creme frappe. "So, I wanted to talk." Derek started.

"That's frightening," I nodded, making him laugh. "carry on."

"About Ronnie."

"Now it's horrifying," I nodded again. "but carry on." He laughed again. "He's not doing too good today." I frowned a little. "Because of last night...?" He nodded. "Yeah. Jacky took Trav out to go and have fun and hang out, and Ronnie's stayed in his bunk ever since last night."

"Oh shit," I sighed. "He's depressed." Derek nodded. "He's really in love with you still, Scar."

"I know he is." I mumbled, picking at my nails. "He makes sure I know it, too."

"And I know you're just as in love with him today as you were when you first started dating him." My head snapped up and I stared at Derek like he'd grown another eye on his forehead. He smirked smugly. "And don't try to deny it, because I see right through it."

"I love him still, I'm not in love with him still." Derek scoffed. "Scarlet, you're my best friend, and I know you're still in love with him. And I know you want him back, but you deny it and say you don't because you're with Andy now, and you don't want to hurt him." I stared at him, not saying anything. "You wanna get back with Ronnie and you know it. But you're acting like you don't want to get back with him, because you're too nice to leave Andy for the guy you actually really want to be with. You don't want to break Andy's heart."

What if Derek was right? What if I did want Ronnie back, but I just didn't know it because maybe I tried to deny it all the time? What if I was truly still in love with him?

"I don't want to be the asshole and say this, but Ronnie's not going to, so I guess I have no choice," Derek sighed, leaning back into his chair. "You're making a mistake, Scarlet. You think you're in love with Andy, but you're not. You just care about him a lot. You're blinded by that. You know damn well you're still crazy in love with Ronnie, and you know damn well Ronnie's who you're supposed to be with for the rest of your life." I gulped, my eyes shifting from my lap, to the table, to the window, to the floor, and everywhere else but Derek's face. "The only thing holding you back from Ronnie, is the fact that you don't want to make Andy feel like he was a rebound for all these years, and just up and leave him for Ronnie. You're too much of a sweetheart, and you're very committed to whoever you're in a relationship with. And that's a great quality to have, obviously. But you and Andy aren't meant for each other. You and Ronnie are."

"OK." Was all I could squeak out. And when I say squeak, I literally mean I squeaked like a little mouse, making Derek grin. "And you know I'm right."

"So are you basically saying everything Ronnie wanted to say to me?" He nodded. "He won't do it, so I guess I have to for him."

"Wow..." I bit my lip, chewing on it in thought. Maybe Derek was right. Maybe I was blinded by the love I had for Andy. Maybe I really do think Ronnie's the one I'm supposed to be with.

Maybe Ronnie is the one I'm supposed to be with.