Run from your problems, but you cannot run from yourself.

Okay, today was the day. It was March 8th, a Sunday. Sunday was a great day to ask for something, wasn't it? I started walking downstairs I was letting LP Skype with Alan. She was laughing the entire time with him. Even down at the bottom of the stairs, her giggles were getting louder and louder. Something must've really tickled her funny bone, but with Alan, it was always inevitable.

"Okay, okay, I can do this." I chanted over and over to no one in particular. I was the only one listening to my own advice.

"Hey Rae, what's up?" My mom asked as I entered the kitchen. She was chopping boiling pasta for tonight. My stomached tightened as I prepared to start what would end in fantastic chorus, or my death for asking.

"Well, Austin and Alan have come out here plenty of times..." I started off. She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, are they coming out here again?" She questioned. I shook my head.

"Well, Austin asked me last time if I could come out to California sometime...." I gave a big grin to hide my fear. If all worked out, it would mean that I could go out of state over Spring Break and stay with them. I talked to Austin about his plans and he said that he was free most of that week but would be recording on one day, maybe two.

On our side, the problem always came down to money.

"R, you know we don't have the money to send you out for a week!" She sighed. Man, she could read minds. I guess it was just some mom super power.

"I know. It was just a thought." I smiled, trying to hide my disappointment. She saw through it and softened a little.

"Look, we can try to find something for over the summer. If you get a job, you can help pay and we can all go and visit them." She smiled, trying to ease the pain of the dreaded NO.

"Rae, Austin want's to talk to you!" LP shouted from the second floor. I ran to go grab my laptop and brought it downstairs. My mom watched as I set it on the table and turned the camera back on.

"Hey, Rae!" He smiled as the camera came back on. I turned to volume up to be heard over the boiling pasta. Austin Carlile lounged back on the couch. Behind him was a nice, open aired kitchen. Alan was fooling around in the background with a banana telephone.

"Austin! It's good to see you again." I smiled back. He grinned, turned around, and told Alan to be quiet on the phone because he's talking to me. Alan made a side comment and walked off with the banana phone.

"So how are things around the house?" He asked me. I shrugged. Good enough.

"Pretty much the same. Nothing to new." I sighed. My mom looked over from her bread slicing to watch me talk to Austin. She turned down the heat on the pasta so it bubbled quietly. I was sure she was listening into our conversation. On the screen Alan came back into the shot, peeking up from behind the couch. I grinned and Austin turned around. Alan disappeared.

"Alan?" He asked. I nodded. The screen went blurry for a moment and then returned to normal. A banana hovered over Austin's head.

"So do you have any plans for the week of Spring Break?" He asked me. I kept a straight face while answering.

"I don't know, just hanging out maybe. It's nothing to exciting." I responded while trying to keep the disappointment of the previous conversation out of my head.

"Have you talked to your mom?" Austin hinted. My mother laughed and glanced up. Austin's eyes went wide. Suddenly, the laptop was turned around before I could stop it.

"Hello, Austin." My mom smiled. I tiled the screen back so he could see her a little better. Blushing, I ran around to watch their conversation. Alan saw my mom and popped back up, trying to be serious.

"Alan, put the banana down." My mom laughed. The ginger blushed, set down the banana and walked back to the kitchen.

"Sorry, mom." He apologized to her. Austin and Alan both knew her as Mom now. Austin rolled his but smiled as well. The back door opened as Tino, Aaron, and Phil all walked in. They saw that Austin was Skyping.

"Hello, Mrs. Croft!" They all called and waved. My mom waved back.

"Hello, boys." She lifted her hand to the screen before going back to cutting bread and listening to Austin speak.

"Has Rae spoke to you about Spring Break?" Alan asked. In the background, everyone had picked up a banana, and were playing with their 'phones'. I suppressed a smirk.

"Oh, no she hasn't." My mom covered up.

Mom power #2: moms can lie and nobody would ever know. Eyes in the back of their heads, ability to read a child's mind, and lying flat out. Moms were the ultimate superheros.

"Well, the guys and I were hoping to have Raelyn out to California to spend a week with us. You've been kind enough to host us, and now I'd like to return the favor." He added his Austin-Carlile-can-charm-the-pants-off-of-anyone smile for her. The guys in the background managed to have an actual conversation using fruits. I was entertained from this end.

"Well, that's a very sweet offer. She would certainly board a plane right now..." She trailed off. I was nodding until my neck hurt in the background.

"We would take care of her, so don't worry about that! She wouldn't wander off on her own, and we'll make sure she doesn't do drugs or alcohol, and we're very mature and responsible!" He added in.

The four boys were playing with their banana phones in the background, saying, "Telephone for you!" Tino and Phil were currently having a rousing conversation with elaborate hand motions

"We're responsible." Austin amended. I laughed a little for it. It was true. They could be mature if they wished to be.

"I trust you guys with Rae, but we just don't have the money to send her out there." My mother stated sadly. Austin's face fell a little bit. The boys had disappeared from the background.

"Telephone for you. It's our manager." A banana appeared from behind the couch. Austin looked at them incredulously. Tino peeked up from behind the leather seat.

"He says we can road trip if we want." He spoke before sliding down. Some boys don't mature, they just get bigger.

"It's a nineteen hour drive." My mom stated. The guys whooped and hollered.

"Road trip!" they cried out, high fiving each other.

"Please mom!" I begged her. All of Austin's house, and all of my house was silent in my mother's decision. I crossed my fingers in hope. She hummed a little bit, thinking for a long sixty seconds.

"You know I'll be good mom. You can trust me." I encouraged her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I know you would, I'm just trying to figure our how many suitcases you'll need. It'll be a long drive and a long week." She smiled. My jaw dropped.

"That means yes?!" I cried out. She barely gave me a nod before I threw my arms around her in a hug. The room in California exploded with joy.

"ROAD TRIP!" Tino and Phil hollered. I gave my mom another squeeze as she went back to cutting the bread. This was wonderful.

Notes

So Rae leaves for California soon! So we've kinda gotten through what life has been like at the Croft household, now for a few plot twists in the way :O

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