Haley's POV:

"YEEHAW! I MEAN FINALLY!" Lindsey yelled out loud, throwing her bag and jacket onto the sofa before running to her bed and diving into it, letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief. I let out a laugh, shaking my head at Lindsey's dramatic performance and collected her things from the sofa, putting them on the chair.

"And don't you shake your head at me, woman! You don't know how hectic fashion design is and how much I have been yearning for a break!" she cried from under the sheets, her voice muffled.

"How can you even tell that I was shaking my head at your shenanigans?" I laughed. Lindsey poked her head out from the sheets.

"My dear, I KNOW you. That's how," she replied.

"Well, you do have a point there," I shrugged. Lindsey grinned before disappearing under the sheets again.

"So, are you planning on taking refuge under the sheets throughout this 3-day break or what?" I asked, grinning at my best friend. After hearing a muffled 'yes' as a reply, I laughed, heading to the door.

"Well, I was planning on heading to the guys' room..." I started and before I could finish my sentence, I felt something rush past me and I bent over laughing at the sight of Lindsey standing at the door before me with her clothes all crumpled and hair sticking out from every direction.

"Hey Cruella, you sure you don't wanna change first? I value the boys' lives and don't want them to be shocked to death," I said in between laughs.

"Yeah yeah whatever, smarty pants. You better not leave without me, alright?" she said, rolling her eyes and heading back into the bedroom to look a bit more... Presentable. I was laughing so hard that I could only nod and crouched down to catch my breath.

But I wish the mood was as positive in the boys' suite as it was in ours. For the moment we knocked on their door, we knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Connor's POV:

I sighed and clenching my jaw for what seemed like the umptieth time. I didn't know what to do. Ever since the girls' conference three days ago, Riley had suddenly gone quiet and was avoiding me. Not just me, but everyone. We would all gather together to do something and he'd make an excuse to go out. We'd plan an outing together and he'd suddenly call in sick. What had caused this 360 degree shift in his mood?

The girls finally had some free time but we couldn't enjoy it properly, and I had had it with Riley. It was around 8pm and we brothers were lounging in our suite when I decided to confront Riley once and for all. Riley was alone in the bedroom while Toby and I were in the lounge area.

"Hey Tobes, come here for a sec, will ya," I called out my little brother from the side table, where I was editing some music on my laptop. Toby looked up from the sofa and whined.

"I'm not getting you a glass of water. Go get that yourself!" he replied, crossing his arms and snuggling further into the squishy sofa. I chuckled, shaking my head.

"No, that's not why I'm--" I started but didn't continue, closing my laptop and getting up. Looking around for a certain someone whose named started with Ri and ended with ley, I sat next to Toby, making him turn towards me.

"What I'm saying is, I need you to go out of them room for a little while so I can talk to Riley. This is the first time that he's been in the same room with us, and I don't want this opportunity to go to waste," I whispered to him, making his eyes go wide in recognition.

"Ooooohhh... I get it. Heading out right away," he whispered back, saluting me and closing the TV. He quickly got up, grabbed his phone and put on his shoes. I smiled at him gratefully. Even though he was four years younger than me, there were times when he acted so mature that I felt proud of how well he's growing up.

"Connor?" I looked up at Toby.

"Please fix Riley," I closed my eyes, letting out a chuckle.

"I will, Toby. Or at least... I'll try my best."

Toby's POV:

I had no idea what went wrong between Riley and Connor but it was really getting on my nerves. And I could tell that the girls were concerned about them, too, especially Haley. She kept trying to talk to Riley but he wouldn't even let her near him! As if there was an invisible wall between them. What had happened to Riley?

The ding of the elevator brought me back to reality. I sighed, heading in and pressing the ground floor button. I think it was about time I had a moment alone by the pool.

Connor's POV:

I felt more nervous than all the times we had to perform in front of millions of people. But why was I nervous in the first place? This was Riley I was talking about. But then again, it was Riley I was talking about. I really didn't know what to expect! Walking up to the bedroom, I slowly opened the door. Well, here goes nothing...

Riley was lying on the bed, scrolling through his phone and had his earphone plugged in. I walked up to his bed and sat on the corner, looking at my brother. I felt a sudden pang of sadness at this current state. He looked weak and tired, even though we were on a break. I sighed.

"Riley," I said, patting my brother on the leg. He glanced my way briefly before turning back to his phone.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows briefly. Well, at least there's some progress.

"What's up, man?" I asked, climbing onto the bed and crossing my legs. Riley sighed and clenched his jaw. He sat up and pulled out his earphones, putting his phone on the side table.

"What's up with what?" he asked me with a bored tone. He gave him a look and he sighed again.

"Nothing's up. I'm fine," he said, swinging his legs over the bed to get up. I caught his arm before he could.

"Is this your definition of 'fine', Riley? How is this fine, huh? Everyone's concerned about you! What's gone wrong? Tell me and I'll help you--" I began, my voice rising with every word. I didn't want to get angry at my brother but I had been controlling myself for a while and I had had it. Especially when the girls and Toby were involved. I couldn't bare to see them hurt. Especially not Haley.

"Do you like her?" Riley suddenly cut me off, his voice dangerously calm. I paused.

"Huh?"

"Do you like Haley?" I furrowed my eyebrows at Riley. What was he talking about?

"Riley, come on. What kind of a question is that?"

"Don't answer my question with a question. Do you like her or not?" Riley asked, his voice rising a bit as well. He roughly pulled his arm out of my grip and stood up.

"As a sister, yeah," I replied, utterly confused at where this conversation was heading. Riley huffed, shaking his head.

"Are you answering me or trying to convince yourself?" he asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes at me. I raised my eyebrows.

"What? Riles I--" I stuttered, not believing this new side of Riley I was seeing.

"You what? Don't think I haven't been noticing how you've been around Haley lately. Hugging her, caressing her face, letting her lean into you!" Riley exclaimed, his voice getting high with every word. Mouth agape, I sprung up from the bed as well.

"Dude, I've always been like this with her! What have I done now that's different from how I treated her before?" I yelled, not bothering to control myself anymore. What had gotten into Riley?

"Kissing her on the forehead at breakfast? I mean, come on man!" he yelled back, fisting his hands tightly in anger. Is this what all this was about? Come on, Riley...

"She kissed me on the cheek first! And she even kissed YOU on the cheek before that! And that was 3 days ago! Why are you getting so winded up about this stuff?" I yelled, clenching my jaw tightly as my anger reached sky high.

"BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH HER!" Riley screamed at the top of his lungs. I gasped slightly at his sudden confession, blinking in confusion. My anger suddenly vanished as all I could see was a broken boy in front of me who was trying to figure out how to handle all the emotions building up inside of him.

Riley stormed around the room, repeatedly running his hands through his hair and sighing loudly. He was shaking from head to toe and I wanted to walk up to him and hug him but I was frozen in my spot.

I heard Riley let out a shaken breath. He stopped in the middle of the room, his head hung low. He stayed there for a while before turning around to look at me. I furrowed my brows at his broken state, his eyes filled with pain and heartache.

"I'm in love with her, Con," Riley said again, his voice almost as low as a whisper, "I've been in love with her since our tour but I thought I could handle it. I thought I could keep it inside me until it naturally faded away but... Every single day, I saw her and I just... And when she gifted me that rose and told me she won't ever stop caring for me no matter what happens... Con, that did it for me..." he said, running a hand through his hair again and continuing to pace the room. He then stopped in front of me.

"But you know what? It hurts so bad because every time we're in the room with her, she pays more attention to you. Whenever we're together, she chooses you over me... Every... Single... Time... And I... I honestly don't know what to do..." he trailed off, looking at me with envy before letting his head hang low again. My mouth had suddenly gone dry and I was trying to find the right words to say. But I just couldn't... 

"Riley..." I started but trailed off. I couldn't look at him. Suddenly, I wanted to run away and hide somewhere no one could find me. I felt angry at myself. What kind of a brother was I? 

Taking in a deep breath, I shook my head. I need to get out for a bit. I had to sort my thought before I something else went wrong. 

"I'm sorry for everything, Riley," I finally murmured, looking down and starting to head towards the door. As I passed Riley, he weakly grasped onto my arm. I halted in my steps but didn't look at him. Instead, I turned and roughly pulled him into a hug. Wrapping my arms around him, I hugged with all my might, not caring if he could breathe or not. After a second's hesitation, I felt him return the bone crushing hug with the same force. I felt Riley begin to shake and drop his head on my shoulder. I shut my eyes. This was not something words could heal. 

Riley and I stood there for a long while, with him crying on my shoulder. I didn't dare to open my eyes either, for I couldn't bare to look at my brother like that. Hearing his sobs was worse enough. 

I felt Riley's grip around me loosen. I opened my eyes to see that Riley had stopped sobbing but his body was still shaking. He moved his head from my shoulder and leaned against my chest, trying to catch his breath. I loosened my grip as well but still held onto him. 

"She doesn't even meet my eye as much anymore," he murmured between a hiccup. I furrowed my brows and sighed, leaning my head against my brother's. I still couldn't speak. 

"I was alone with her for a while... T-that day when we played hide and seek... A-and she still didn't look at me," he continued. I wrapped one hand around Riley's head, while the other stayed on his back. 

After a few minutes, Riley finally straightened up. He didn't look at me but I could see his miserable state... And I wish I didn't, for my heart broke a little with every passing second. His face was red and tear stained, eyes swollen from the sobbing. He messily wiped his face with his shirt's sleeves and backed up from me. Hesitantly, I let him go.  

"I want her to look at me, Connor," Riley sighed.

"I want... I wish... Even once... That she would look at me... The way she looks at you."

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Ow, this was a painful chapter to write! Sorry it took a little longer. But it's definitely earlier than Chapter 10! :P Hope you guys like it! :D