*Austin's pov*
"Why is Ruby on the counter?" I asked Ally as I noticed Ruby standing on the kitchen counter looking for something.
"She likes to be tall." Ally said. Ruby stuck her arm out and flipped her off before going on about her business.
"Why isn't she speaking? No snarky remarks?" I asked amused.
"She's on vocal rest for her show tomorrow. Leave her be." Ally said.
As we continued our conversation, we heard a loud thud in the kitchen.
We quickly rush in to see Ruby holding her toe.
"FUCK!" She yelled in pain.
"Language!" Ally said.
Snarky comment in 3...2...1...
"What else am I supposed to say, "Woe is I"?" Ruby sassed.
Ally stood there not knowing what to say.
"You have to accept that swear words are necessary sometimes." She said before hopping back on the counter.
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked as I stood behind her, my hands going to her waist to support her out of pure habit.
"Get your hands off me. I can't talk right now, I'm doing hot girl shit." She said as she grabbed six bags of Oreos.
I quickly took my hands off of her.
I immediately knew what was up.
"You're gonna pull the Oreos apart and shave off the frosting to make a mega Oreo, aren't you." I said.
"Maybe." She said as she hopped down and sat down at the kitchen table with Oreos, a butter knife, and a plate.
"Ruby stop talking you are on vocal rest!" Ally said.
Ruby went into her own pretty little world as she dissected Oreos.
*later*
*Ruby's pov*
"Okay, don't say anything, but we found you a duet." My mom said as she entered my dressing room while I was drinking green tea with honey.
I motion for her to sit down on the couch.
"You're gonna hate me for this, but he was the only one up for the job." She said.
Oh god.
Is it who I think it is?
I hope not.
"It's...Austin Moon!" She said as she flipped her tablet around to show his picture.
"No! No! No! I refuse! I absolutely refuse!" I said. She shushed me.
"Stop talking! You'll strain your vocal cords!" She said. I shut up.
"And you can't turn him down, he's your only option. Unless you want to do a last minute change." She said.
I shake my head no, we can't afford to change something right before the show.
I grab my white board to communicate.
"What time will he be here?"
"In an hour." My mom said. I groan and lay my head down on my vanity trying to brace myself.
*Austin's pov*
I knocked on Ruby's dressing room door.
"Come in!" She said with a sniffle.
I open the door to see her pacing around crying on the phone.
"Sarah, what do you mean you saw him with Kiara?" She asked as tears threatened to spill.
"I'm sorry, I saw the whole thing." Sarah said.
"What whole thing? What were they doing?" Ruby asked.
"More like what are they doing right now." Sarah said as she FaceTimed Ruby and showed her something.
Ruby's hand flew to her mouth as tears threatened to spill.
JJ's head whipped to the screen.
"Ruby wait! I can explain!" He said.
"She doesn't wanna fucking hear it, you lying, cheating, son of a bitch!" Sarah spat.
"I can explain!" JJ said.
"Explain to me what exactly? That you're a liar? Fuck you JJ Maybank! We are soo over! I never want to see or talk to you ever again!" Ruby said before throwing her phone across the room causing it to hit the wall and shatter into a million pieces.
She dropped down to her knees and cried.
I quickly caught her so she wouldn't hurt herself. This time she didn't push me away.
Instead, she held me like her life depended on it.
"Why does this keep happening to me?" She asked as we both sat down in the floor.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean, why am I never good enough for anyone? It's like whatever I do, I'm always doing it wrong. I'm always doing something wrong." She said.
"You're not doing anything wrong. He's the one who did wrong by you." I said.
She laughed.
"Clearly I'm not enough. I'm not the tall blonde girl with green eyes and long tan legs that everyone wants like Sarah. And I'm sure as hell nothing compared to Kiara." She said as she put her head down and curled her knees to her chest.
"Okay, that's your problem, you compare yourself too much. You shouldn't compare yourself to others and put yourself down. The real Ruby I know wouldn't do that."
She laid her head on my shoulder.
"Yeah, well the Ruby you know is dead now, she left when I left." She said.
I guess I am at fault for that.
"I know I'm the one to blame for that, and I'm sorry. I would give anything to change what I did in that moment. I wouldn't have said what I said if I knew it meant losing you, and you losing yourself." I said as I looked deep into her eyes.
"It's okay, it's not your fault I lost myself. I lost myself when I started dating JJ, he turned me into something I'm not, even if he didn't know that he did."
"You think the old Ruby is still in there somewhere? Do I need to lure her out with one big mega Oreo?" I asked jokingly.
She laughed
For the first in forever, I made her genuinely laugh
"I just need time I guess. And there will be no more relationships for me for a looong time." She said. That sentence broke my heart, but I know she is not ready to date yet. And it's her decision, not mine.
"WE'RE ON IN 20 MINUTES!" Her mom yelled as she walked by the door.
We quickly stood up.
"You sure you're okay?" I asked her. She nodded.
"Yeah, I just need to fix my makeup, then i'll be out." She said. She wrapped her arms around me and laid her head on my chest.
"Thank you for staying here with me, I really needed it." She said as I hugged her back and laid my head on top of hers.
"Anytime, I'll always have your back, you know that." I said honestly. She smiled.
*The next day*
I looked around as I stepped out of H&M at the mall.
Paparazzi have been following me around all day, and the video of me and Austin performing live last night went viral combining both our audiences.
"Hey Ruby! Over here!" I heard someone yell. I look to see a paparazzi dude with his camera ready to take a picture.
I take my shoes off, pick them up and put them in my purse, and take off running to Sonic Boom with the guy hot on my tail followed by many fans and other camera guys.
"HELP ME!!! DO NOT LET THEM IN!!!" I yelled to my friends once I entered the store.
"WHO?!" They all asked in worry as they blocked the doors.
"Paparizzi, fans, everyone in Miami pretty much." I said as I sat on the counter.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Austin asked. I nod.
"I'm fine, just really tired." I said.
I quickly hid behind the counter as the crowd tried to get in through the two front doors.
"