One of the things that he loved about Australia was that he could essentially go from one place to the other without anyone actually noticing him. However, when he went to do just that this morning and walk the five blocks from their hotel in Sydney to his record label's offices, he was met with one of the biggest crowds of fans he'd ever seen or encountered. The moment he stepped out of the door and onto the sidewalk, he backed up right back into the hotel. While traveling with R5 to countless countries on their tour, the crowd was never that insane. Then again, this wasn't just Riker, Rocky, Rydel, Ratliff and him. This was him, and Laura, and Milo and Gale, and Summer - who may or may have not just scored a majorly coveted role in the next Star Wars odyssey; a role that was most definitely written and meant for her.

Now back in the safety of a car that the hotel had called for him, he hated leaving all the fans behind but there would be time to try and meet them later. Hopefully. Right now though, he had to lay down tracks for the three songs the bad had started to work on for an upcoming album...or even a little EP. Rocky had sent the base files to him on the long flight over the Pacific and in between helping Laura with her lines for Soleste, her helping him with his for Permafrost and the little sleep he actually managed to get, Ross had listened to them and had sent lyrics back to his older brother as soon as they landed. If anyone looked at their text messages back and forth to each other, they'd have so many questions about what was actually going on between them.

Watching the blocks whisk by on his way to the offices, Ross took the time to actually appreciate the little downtime from the manic movie promo. It wasn't much, but it was something. After the LA premiere, he and the rest of the cast were off again to their disappearance cities from the movie for more screenings, before Tokyo. After Sydney though, they were all headed to Cape Town before Mexico City a month later. Poor Mexico City, they were always the last to get anything.

Sprinting up the stairwell to the fifth floor for the recording level, nixing the elevator option altogether to keep up with hits fitness schedule to make Joseph as buff as possible considering the character was in for a major change soon on the show. The tempo was in his head and he was anxious to slip on the headphones and get the lyrics out into the demo track that could possible become the band's next hit. He had a feeling about this song, too. They didn't have anyone in mind when they were texting the lyrics back and forth, but as the lyrics laid before his eyes on the stand, Ross could definitely say that he saw Laura in them.

He and Rocky had become this major songwriting duo in the business and he never really put his personal relationships into a song before. There'd been little lyrics jotted down after a girl left and broke him, but never a full song dedicated to just one person. Not like Ratliff had done for Rydel or even Riker for one of his former girlfriends. This one though, it could definitely be about Laura. Maybe that's why he was singing so hard right now and putting his all into it and the moment he thought that, he'd flubbed the notes. Apologizing for the flub, he ran them over again, singing as close to the microphone as he could. And again. And again. The third time was the charm, wrapping up the base for the song and as he listened to the playback, had conferenced in Rocky, who was just about to call it a night.

Ross was a little sorry about that, but not too much since this was about the song. Rocky would always be up to talk about the music they were making. They discussed the background vocals and ultimately made the decision to get Rydel to do them all since her voice complimented his the best anyhow. At least in his opinion. Sticking around the offices for a little while longer, Ross checked his phone just as he was leaving and smirked at the message Laura had left him.

Jumping off a bridge today. I shall tell you the epic story of how I survived later.

He laughed even more when he saw her follow up text.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

After changing into some of his workout clothes he had brought with him in their hotel room, Ross grabbing the phone again, his headphones and the latest issue of THR before heading down to the fitness room. That bit about Joseph becoming a different person wasn't a lie. In the second half of the first season of Permafrost, he was going to go from the sort of strong security officer brother into a super strong version who, with just the flick of a wrist, could send someone to the ground. Hopefully he'd actually be able to do that too. Climbing onto the elliptical cross trainer, Ross flipped open the magazine to Stevenson's cover story and dived into it.

He'd been a phenomenal director to work with on Into Thin Air and he was hoping to work with him again someday. Ross read about his early career where he started out as most do - as the gopher getting everyone coffee and messing up everyone's entire order so he had to spend even more time away fro the set instead of on it; and of his first bigger job, after getting all those coffee orders rights, as a prompter who fed lines into the mouths of actors who probably wouldn't remember them even if they tried. Stevenson had come along way from then, getting to work with directors that he looked up to and learning from them all, taking away something from each of them that he used in all his pictures today. The article segued into his first major picture and to now, working with this movie and a studio that he hadn't worked for before at all.

It was a transition for me. The studios I had worked for before were very ... I don't want to say strict, but they had their vision and I had mine and sometimes we clashed. With this studio though, it's really different. They've allowed me to have the full control and work with the crew and actors I wanted to tell this freaky, amazing story that I think audiences will actually really like.

Ross read on as the paper got in depth to each of their castings and Stevenson reflecting on what each of them had where he knew that they were the characters in the movie. He had to laugh about Milo's as he switched to lifting weights.

Riyadh, in the breakdown, was described as this guy who was a conservationist through and through. He doesn't like anything or anyone, he's very closed off from this society that this future has and I don't want to spoil what happens in the movie about his character, but I remember that he came in and we asked him to read these lines we had taken from the middle of Riyadh's story and he just wouldn't read them. My producer and I were going back and forth with him on why he wouldn't read the lines and he told us that Riyadh wouldn't even bother with the lines that he wouldn't have even come to an audition to begin with and Milo's attitude right there with the character, we just knew that he was it. He was Riyadh in that moment and I personally, had no doubt that he could make Riyadh not just this person you're going to hate, but you're going to love to hate him because he's just big jerk.

Laying the magazine on the floor, Ross got started on the last thing on his fitness schedule - the push ups, which had been upped to a 50/30/75/60/100/10 challenge as per his trainer's instructions before he left. He read on, smiling again when he saw his own casting mentioned before Laura's, who was really the first person to be cast, but the last to know. He read about the crew behind the crew, and where the original idea for it all came from. He know knew about which casting director to really thank and learned more about where the story lead in Stevenson's mind. He apparently wanted Magellan and Rory to lead another war, which Ross didn't even see how that was possible, but this was a movie. So anything could go.

Ross kept on reading and reading and in the middle of the fifth page of Stevenson's interview, he addressed something that he personally had been struggling with for months. He stopped mid push up and pulled the glossy in his hands, reading the question and the director's long answer.

That's a difficult thing to even address. During past movies, yes, I've had co-stars put together to promote a movie so it would be big at the box office and would guarantee a win for the studio against the others that were opening that same weekend. This movie also had a romance between two leads, but they weren't put together by the studio or even approached to. I don't even think the studio even had that in their minds at all. Our leads, Ross and Laura, had been nothing but professional while filming before and after and in between. I love them solo and I love them together. They truly did fall in love over the course of filming the movie and I think you can see and feel that love on the screen as they're playing Magellan and Rory. Putting these 'relationships' together for the sake of a movie isn't unheard of, it's been done for years. Just think of Doris Day and Rock Hudson or Hepburn and Spencer. These days however, it's very secretly done where no one but the actors and studio higher ups know. In our case though, no. That didn't happen. There was no secret plan to put Ross and Laura in a situation like that. They'd been friends since they were teenagers and I don't the studio, nor I, would've put that in jeopardy. We were all confident enough that this film could succeed at the box office without the fake romance and it did. Yea, them falling in love probably did help a bit, but even if they hadn't...I think fans still would come to see this movie because of the mystery behind it. There are 10 people who just go missing. Where did they go? Why them? What for? That's the appeal of the movie. The questions that need to be answered and learning about these freaky places all over the planet, which are right under our noses is why fans are coming to see the movie...and because Austin Moon and Ally Dawson are all grown up. Who doesn't want to see them all grown up and dealing with a hell of a lot more issues than just writing a song in a day?

Ross tossed the magazine aside, and still thought of Stevenson's words a half an hour later while sitting at the bar, nursing a beer that he would definitely want another of. No one was approached. Not her, not him. It wasn't even thought of...and it made him feel like an idiot. A huge ass idiot who thought of all the worst scenarios and went though a few months of not trusting her fully because of a silly gossip report and...damn, he just felt like shit right now and all he wanted to do was wish her by his side so he could apologize and beg for forgiveness for that and any future shit he was going to pull, because let's face it, he's a guy and guys do stupid shit.

"Dude," a smack came to his shoulder, snapping him out of the trance he was in. "Snap out of it."

He turned towards Milo, who looked to have had taken a seat next to him quite some time ago, seeing as he was on his third drink and not his first. "How long you been there?"

"About the same time you have. You did see me sit down."

"I did?"

"Damn, you must've been real out of it," Milo laughed, drinking the last sips of the glass in his hands. "Why so deep?"

Ross shrugged his shoulders. "Because I'm realizing how much of an asshole I've been in the past months."

"I could've told you that. You don't call or text me back..."

They laughed before he clarified his reasoning, telling Milo all about the misunderstanding and the incident at the Los Angeles premiere - both things Milo already knew about but the opportunity to smack himself about everything was too good to pass up. "In short, I've just been an asshole."

"I really wanted her to feed your ass to the sharks when we got to Cape Town. I really, really wanted to see that," Milo said, switching from his liquor drink to a straight beer. "I also really wanted to smack you in the head like Mark Harmon does on NCIS. In fact..." a swift smack came to the back of Ross' head, making him bob it forward like Michael Weatherly did all those years.

"Uh, thanks?"

"You know how lucky you are right? You're with a Marano girl, which basically means you've played the lottery a million times and won a million times. It means you struck gold and have the right to actually shove it in everyone's faces," Milo paused, twirling the bottle in his hand. "I've had a lot of relationships and if I had been lucky enough to be with a women like Laura or Vanessa, I still wouldn't be looking for one."

"You ever been put in a relationship for the sake of selling something?"

Milo scoffed. "Yep. It's a been there, done that type of sitch."

"And you were okay with it?"

"We're actors. We're salespeople, essentially. The project in question needed something more than just our names to the project. It wasn't bad, if that's what you want to know."

"Did you think it was a good move?"

"Yea, I did. The project was a little indie movie and we were put together to give it a little oomph around award season. It wasn't bad. She was a great actress. Still a good friend. Are you still thinking about you and Laura and this movie?"

Ross shrugged. "A little. I keep replaying the alternate version where we were asked to fake a relationship."

"Stop doing that. Seriously, stop it."

Ross smirked, pulling up his bottle of beer to his mouth, "I'm working on it."

It wasn't long before the conversation ventured over to the sports game that was blasting over the speakers and being shown on every television screen in the bar. He was a fan of all types of sports, but soccer was just one that he was not all enthusiastic about...until now. He played it all the time on Xbox with Ryland, but he never got into all the competitive games around the globe. The teams that were battling it out at the game weren't Australian, but rather a team from England and Spain and it was seriously hard to root for the Spanish team when the majority of people in the bar were cheering on the English one...and the Spanish team was just so much better. He was hearing a ton of new terms and getting a crash course in the sport along with Milo who was on his fourth drink of the afternoon. While he was getting excited by the game, he was still sticking with football and hockey; the latter being the end all and be all sport for him.

Paying for his drinks, he and Milo left the bar behind to get ready for the cast dinner. The four of them, plus Stevenson, the producers Patricia, one of the writers and the publicists for the movie were headed out to dinner before they were sucked in by media to promote the film for the two days following. Ross couldn't even remember all the media outlets that were on his list and while he was good to talk about the film more, he wasn't sure what new things he could say about it...other than he was happy it was finally out and he could sneak into the theaters to go and see it. After the interviews, came the photo call and premiere and after that, they were headed to Cape Town, where the movie was born and where they would meet up with the entire cast for the penultimate premiere in Mexico. Meeting back up with Milo downstairs after changing his shirt for a nicer one and actually combing through his hair, he was led to a car that was waiting on them for the ride to the restaurant.

Checking in with Laura earlier, she told him that they, meaning her and Summer, were going to meet them at the restaurant. They had spent the entire day together, actually. An early morning photo shoot started their day before they were let go and had the whole day to do girl stuff...after she jumped off a bridge, of course. He was about to start calling her a daredevil instead of his usual babe. It suited her better. He was hoping that they'd have a little time together just for them before they left the area. Sydney was one of his favorite cities and he remembered coming here with her for Austin & Ally promo years ago. It'd been fun then, but this time it would be more even more special because they weren't just friends now. They were more. And not that he was Austin Moon anymore at all, but he was dying to go to Pancakes On The Rocks. They just had to do that before they got on the plane.

"Oh, sick view," Milo said, Ross's attention now switched from staring blankly out the window to actually seeing the view of the marina in front of the restaurant. It wasn't wide open at all at the moment, but it was pretty...but even more spectacular? His girlfriend looking like a million bucks in a simple, but still stunning white dress that made him want to rip it off of her. Simple straps on her shoulders and tempting him to touch them all night long...and then there was the problem of her legs. Those damn legs that he definitely would be touching all night long.

"Hi," she smiled up at him before snuggling into him for a much needed hug. Not only had Laura went bridge jumping today, but it looked like she and Summer both had used up their "girl's day" to get total makeovers (not that they needed them). She smelled like lavender, and his fingers slipped through her straightened hair with ease when he went to bring her ruby red lips up to his.

He smiled right back at her. "You look wonderful." A blush creeped on her cheeks as he slipped his hand over hers.

"We're this way," she nodded her head, and lead the two over onto the deck which was lit up with candles across a long table and overlooking the tiny bay waters. He and Milo greeted the rest of the group before Stevenson joined them, taking the head seat and burying his phone into his sock so he wouldn't be distracted by text messages and emails.

Conversation took up the entire night. Milo drilled the writer about a sequel, Summer talked with Patricia about her new Star Wars role - a role that she couldn't give anything away about; Laura was struck up in debate with Stevenson about something and he, well, he was enjoying every minute of it. There were only so many nights left before they'd say goodbye to each other for now and he wasn't actually ready. Back when they wrapped the movie, he wasn't as worrisome, because he knew this part would coming, but now because that part was here, he was feeling a little sad that he wouldn't see these people anymore...at least until another project all brought them together. He'd have Laura, and that was one of the best things, but not going to see Summer and her beautiful smile soon or even see Milo and listen to his deep thoughts was going to be tough. Then again, he did have all their numbers and would definitely bug Milo as much as he could.

"Okay," Stevenson announced, picking up his glass and raising it into the air, "whoever picked this place deserves a million thanks because I never want to leave." The tiny group laughed at him as Ross pulled his arm from around the back of Laura's chair to her knee and they listened to Stevenson's toast ahead of their dinner arriving. "Can't believe we're almost at our end of the tour and that being said, thank you all for coming along for this crazy ride and answering the same questions over and over again and dodging stupid questions that shouldn't be asked and I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but when we come calling for the sequel, you better all be available...because this was one of the best experiences for me and I can't wait to work with you all again."