Say You'll Stay

Mickey's POV

"Mickey, can I talk to you?" Mark asked.

"Y-yes," I forced out. Ross walked over to the rest of his family.

"I was blind. I don't know what possessed me to not see how much you and Ross care for each other. I mean, I know that you do, but I couldn't accept it, process it through my mind. I love my children very much. I guess I just went overboard on being protective. I want to say I'm very, very sorry for how I acted. I was wrong, and after watching Ross do that interview, I can see that now."

"I know how hard it must be to raise five kids that are in a band and on tv shows. I saw where you were coming from. I can understand that you were just doing what you thought was best. I accept your apology."

"Can we start over and pretend all of this never happened?"

I smiled.

"Of course."

He came up closer and gave me a friendly hug. We pulled apart in laughter when we heard clapping and cheers from the rest of the Lynch family. We made our way over to their driveway and Ross came up to me, putting his arm around my waist. I smiled up at him as his eyes sparkled. Everyone went inside and Ross and I went to
his room.

"Now let me do something I thought I'd never get to do again," he whispered, leaning down and pressing his warm, soft lips to mine. I kissed him back, my arms draped around his neck. He lifted me off the ground and held me up by my thighs. I wrapped my legs around his waist and continued kissing him. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sneaking through my lips and brushing against mine. After a few minutes, we pulled away for air. He smiled with that special smile that he gives no one else but me.

"I love you so much, Ross," I whisper.

"I love you, too," he responds.

"So, I guess this means we're back together?"

"Mick, in my eyes, we were never apart. I gave you my heart and you still had it the whole time."

"Ross, that is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard," I said, hugging him tightly.

. . .

For the next few weeks, Ross and I had to shoot Austin & Ally episodes. We decided that once school started again, we would homeschool so we wouldn't be extremely busy. Also, I was becoming very close to Laura and Raini. I didn't really spend a whole lot of time on twitter. Every once in a while I would read some mentions and answer the questions of nice girls that asked about our relationship. I obviously still got some hate but I ignored it. I was happy with how my life was going so I wasn't interested in anyone else's opinion.

. . .

Soon, the nineth of August came along. I woke up in the morning to Ross tickling me.

"I'm awake, I'm awake! Stop!" I forced out between laughs. He chuckled and picked me up bridal style from my bed and kissed my forehead.

"So, you excited for Rydel's birthday party today?" he asked, putting me down.

"Yes!" I shouted, grabbing his arms.

"Good," he responded with a smile. "She's gonna love the gift you got her."

"I know! That's why I'm so excited!"

He laughed and took my hand, leading me downstairs to the kitchen. Breakfast was already on the table.

"What the..?" I trailed off.

"I came over early to surprise you," Ross explained.

"Aawwhh, Ross! Thank you. But shouldn't you be surprising your sister since it's her birthday?"

He laughed.

"Eat, it's gonna get cold."

I obeyed, cutting my pancake into pieces. Ross leaned over the back of my chair, playing with my hair and rubbing my shoulders. I put my head against the chair, looking up at him. He moved his head down and kissed me.

"Mmmm, syrup," he said, licking his lips. I laughed and sat back up. Once I finished eating, we went back upstairs so I could get a shower and put on clean clothes. He tried to stay in the room but I wouldn't let him. "Aawwhh but you look so cute in your towel."

"Shut up," I said with a laugh, pushing him out the door and locking it. I put on a Hollidaysburg Volleyball t-shirt, a pair of jean shorts, and black Old Navy flip flops. I was one of those girls who liked dressing comfortable. I would wear good tank tops and things like that to school and other events, but I was mostly a t-shirt kind of girl. Plus, if I wore a t-shirt to school that had another school's name on it, who knows what would happen. Summer vacation gave be the chance to wear my favorite shirts, the ones from where I grew up.

When I finished doing my hair, Ross and I headed over to his house. Rydel's party was a surprise so we had to wait for Stormie to bring her back from her birthday breakfast. That made me wonder why Ross didn't go with them. I disregarded it and came back to reality.

"We have to hide in the coat closet since everyone else will be behind the furniture," Ross explained.

"Fine by me."

"They're back!" Riker yelled and everyone ran to their hiding places. Ross and I jumped in the closet and left the door open a little so we could see. The front door slowly opened and Rydel made her way inside. We jumped out the same time as everyone else.

"SURPRISE!"

Rydel jumped, a huge grin forming on her face. She ran around and started hugging people, thanking them for coming and making small talk. She eventually got over to us and looked at Ross first.

"You are such a great brother!" she shouted, hugging him tightly. He looked like he couldn't breathe but he laughed anyway.

"Happy birthday, Sis."

She then turned to me, smiling and rubbing my arm.

"Thank you for coming, Mickey."

"My pleasure, girl," I answered as she hugged me. Just then, a girl I've never seen before ran up to us.

"Rydel, come outside, quick! Scott just showed up!"

"Oh my God, seriously?!" she freaked.

"Yeah! Let's go!" the girl shouted, grabbing her hand. I assumed that Scott was a guy they liked.

"Wait, I want you to meet someone," Rydel said, pulling her back.

"Who?" she asked, a confused expression showing up on her face.

"You already know Ross, and that blonde beauty beside him is his girlfriend, Mickey." I laughed at her little nickname for me. "This is AJ."

"Hey," I said shyly. "Nice to meet you."

"Back at you," she said. A small smile showed on her face as she looked over to Ross. I don't know why it bothered me so much but it did. She grabbed Rydel's arm and dragged her outside.

Ross and I went to the kitchen to find some snacks. He grabbed a paper plate and filled it with chips. I went to grab one for myself but he stopped me.

"We'll share," he smiled, gently pulling my hand away from the plate stack. I grinned as we made our way to the living room. "There's too many people in here. Let's go up to my room."

"Okay," I said, following him up the stairs. He still had ahold of my hand the whole time, which made me get that warm feeling inside that can't really be explained. We sat down on his bed and just talked. Every few minutes he would feed me a chip, which made me giggle.

After we ate our little snack, it was time to go swimming. Ross already had his trunks on so I went into the bathroom to change into my suit. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun, making sure it looked cute instead of messed up and stupid. I took off my glasses and put a bunch of sunblock all over my face since it burned the easiest. I rubbed a little bit of it everywhere else that showed and headed back downstairs.

I saw Rydel talking to a guy, who I assumed was Scott. I looked the other way and saw Ross talking to AJ. I was just about to make my way over to him when I saw something completely unbearable.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said to myself, and went back upstairs.