Even If You Don't

Ashton's POV

"It happened!" Kaylynn screeched, running into the girls' dressing where both of our bands were hanging out before soundcheck.

"What happened?" Kenzie furrowed her eyebrows as everyone else looked on with the same confused expression.

"It happened!" she repeated, grabbing the singer's shoulders and looking her in the eye, "It!"

"And 'it' is...?" Michael wondered.

"It!" she shouted for the third time, "We all split up and Mari and Calum went together and we hadn't seen them in a while so we went to look for them and we finally found them it was happening!"

"That tells us nothing, Kay!" Vanessa shouted as well, throwing her arms up.

"It..." I finally spoke, putting my hands on Kaylynn's shoulders to get her to calm down. "...meaning they fessed up to each other; Calum was kissing Mari when we found them."

"Finally!" everyone shouted in unison.

~

Calum's POV

"You know Kaylynn probably already blabbed, right?" I mentioned, my thumb rubbing the back of Mari's hand as she played with my fingers. We were walking back through the venue hallways to our dressing rooms, neither of us exactly sure what awaited us when we got there.

"Yeah..." Mari murmured. I lifted her hand up, kissing her knuckles as she looked at me.

"But teasing is just what friends do," I reminded her, "Doesn't mean I'm gonna like you any less." She rolled her eyes, but I noticed a small smile pull at the corner of her mouth as we approached the room.

We could hear everyone talking – not about us, much to our relief – but we knew Kaylynn and Ashton had told them what happened; We weren't stupid, after all. We walked into the dressing room, our bands turning to look at us. They all smiled subtly – their grins only widening when they saw me and Mari's hands linked together.

"Alright, let's get a few things out of the way," Mari stated, releasing my hand and walking across the dressing room, "Yes, we did. It was great. We're not gonna talk about it again. Cool? Cool." She ended her short rant by going into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The group watched the door for a moment before turning back to me. I simply shrugged, turning and going to my own dressing room to get another shirt before they saw my smile.

~

Mari's POV

At the end of soundcheck, Kenzie, Vanessa, and Kaylynn looked at me over their shoulders. I cocked an eyebrow as I put my drumsticks away, shooting them a confused look.

"What?" I asked.

"This is the point where you usually break out into a Disney song," Kenzie reminded me.

"Oh, God," my eyes widened, "What song haven't I done yet?" The girls paused, trying to think of one as well.

"Can I make a request?!" we heard Michael shout obnoxiously as he walked out onstage with Calum right beside him.

"Depends on what it is, Clifford," Kaylynn replied.

"I wanna hear Mari and Calum sing something from High School Musical," he stated.

"Shocking," Vanessa snorted while I just rolled my eyes.

"Mike, I'm not-" Calum started before I cut him off. I hopped up from my seat and trotted toward the two boys.

"Take my hand, take a breath, pull me close, and take one step," I sang, holding out my hand to him with a stupid grin on my face. Calum looked at me for moment before letting out a short laugh. He finally took it, letting me pull him onstage. "Keep your eyes locked on mine, and let the music be your guide."

"Won't you promise me-" Calum sang as we carefully waltzed around the stage.

"Now won't you promise me that you'll never forget-" I went on. "-to keep dancing-"

"-we'll keep dancing-" He sang before we started singing in unison. "-wherever we go next. It's like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you. It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do. And with every step together, we just keep on getting better. So can I have this dance?"

"Can I have this dance?" he echoed.

"Can I have this dance?" I joined in again.

"Take my hand, I'll take the lead, and every turn will be safe with me," Calum went on, "Don't be afraid, afraid to fall – you know I'll catch you through it all." He sounded so serious as he sang Troy's part, it almost made me choke up a little. But I was able to push the feeling aside and continue without even so much as hinting that I was getting emotional about it. "And you can't keep us apart-"

"Even a thousand miles can't keep us apart," I sang over his voice until we came together yet again, "-'cause my heart is wherever you are. It's like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you. It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do. And with every step together, we just keep on getting better. So can I have this dance?"

"Can I have this dance?" he grinned slightly.

"Can I have this dance?" I rejoined before he stopped so I could go on solo, "Oh, no mountain's too high and no-" Calum came back in. "-ocean's too wide, 'cause together or not, our dance won't stop. Let it rain, let it pour – what we have is worth fighting for. You know I believe that we were meant to be, oh. It's like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you. It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do. And with every step together, we just keep on getting better. So can I have this dance? Can I have this dance? Can I have this dance? Can I have this dance? Can I have this dance?"

Calum and I kept dancing, finding ourselves unable to pull away. There was something about the way he was looking at me – a look I hadn't gotten from a guy in a while – and I could feel my face warming up under his gaze. But, to be honest, I could have stared into his eyes all day. Unfortunately though, that wouldn't happen today.

Someone cleared their throat, causing Calum and I to remember that we weren't alone. We looked over at our bands, finding that every single one of them was trying to fight back a smile.

"I hate to ruin the moment," Michael smirked, "But we still have to soundcheck too." He, Luke, and Ashton then came onto the stage as Calum and I smiled shyly at each other.

"I'll find you when we're done," he murmured so no one else heard him. I nodded slightly, my bottom lip caught between my teeth. He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before letting go of me and leading me to the side of the stage where the girls were. He grabbed his bass and stepped back to the microphone – allowing me to hear his laugh as the girls dragged me away, already hounding me with questions about Calum and I.