Sydney was exhausted. She'd been up for over twelve hours- given her nerves, she hadn't been able to sleep. The album had just gone up on iTunes and her fans were already trending hashtags. She'd been answering some tweets until the release party whilst trying not to freak out.

Most of the TWD cast was there to support her, and so were Jax and Thea. Poppy had been invited as well, and so some other familiar faces from Sydney's Disney days. Her management had invited a lot of other musicians, producers, some journalists, and bloggers- basically, they were trying to reinforce her brand. They'd gone over this with the blonde, but she couldn't care less. She just smiled and introduced herself to whoever they dragged her to that time, and made small talk with professional looking people until she was whisked away to somewhere else.

Then, came her performance. She got to sing a few of her songs and finally breathe for a few moments, feel the lights hitting her face. She couldn't wait until she got to sing to crowds who chanted her songs back at her. But she didn't have much time to dwell on the idea before in came the clusterfuck again.

She hadn't even had time to properly sit down and talk to her friends, really feel the emotions of everything, until her manager's hand left her arm. "Okay, honey, I think you're done." He'd muttered to her, knowing how much she'd hated the corporate part of everything. "Now, you get to have fun- Not too much fun, remember the cameras. We don't want E! News all up in your business again." Sydney rolled her eyes at the mention of the network but a smile graced her lips as she threw her arms around her manager.

"Thank you, Josh." She muttered in a singsong voice as she giggled. She felt a bit like a kid at a house party in that moment- her parents had made her introduce herself to everyone before they'd let her go back on her phone.

From then on, she was free. She still had to talk to a few unfamiliar people, but she finally found her friends. Poppy was the first person to hug her, screaming in her ear about how proud she was. She was talking to Thea and Lauren at the time, and the three became a shrieking fest. Only then did Syd really feel it.

It was out. Holy fuck, it was out. Her debut album was out in the world for people to listen to. She was feeling a mixture of pride and a slight dread, all of it clouded in haziness as she let it wash over her. The physical representation of her heart was out there in the world, and people were listening to it. People were loving it.

For the first time throughout the whole day, Sydney's eyes welled up with tears. Her day had consisted of smiling so hard it hurt and trying not to start jumping up and down as she went through her Twitter mentions. Tears had not been in the picture. But now, her vision of Thea started to blur slightly, barely smiling her best friend wrapped her arms around her once again.

Eventually, the brunette her her friend go and Jax came over. Then Katelyn, then Alanna, then Lauren. She hugged so many of her friends yet none of them really seemed to notice the way her hands shook when she held them. No one noticed the dazed look that fell over her vision.

It wasn't nerves or regret, and she didn't dare mistake it for that. She was incredibly happy and proud of her work, she had no doubt that Disconnected was as good. But it was out. She couldn't work on it anymore, she couldn't fuss over the lyrics or the chords anymore, couldn't tweet sneak peaks of it. The rush of making her own music was one of the best feelings she'd ever experienced, and she wasn't sure what to do with herself without her album to work on.

The blonde only snapped out of her self-induced trance when a warm hand fell on her waist. She felt herself lean into the familiar touch before her brain attached a name to the feeling. It didn't have to. "You okay?" Chandler questioned, the girl not hesitating to nod. She wasn't lying, she was okay.

Because part of her wanted to see this as a loss of something- she was handing her project out into the world, and she had no say as to what people would think of it. She couldn't control the people who would inevitably hate it- the ones who wouldn't get the meaning behind her lyrics, or appreciate her harmonies, or be content with her work.

But the rational side of her knew that this was an opportunity. To write, produce, and sing more- and, after all, she still had her tour. To focus on her dancing and acting careers. To evolve as a human and a performer. People's criticism didn't have to be faced as something bad- it would help her grow.

So, she nodded and let herself sigh under the gaze of the boy next to her. "Yeah, I'm just... Kind of overwhelmed." Sydney stated eventually, making the worried frown on Chandler's face relax into a small smile.

"Wanna get out of here?" He questioned. Her only response was to scoff. She expected him to laugh along, but his face stayed neutral as he looked down at the blonde. "I'm serious." His voice was lowered- though, with the music playing, he could speak as loudly as he wanted.

"I can't sneak out of my own party." Sydney's voice was a mixture of dumbfoundedness and humor as Chandler chuckled back at her.

"Of course you can. You've been dragged around the whole place, you sang your songs. You can do whatever now, right?" It's a question, but the tone of his voice indicated that he knew he was correct. Sydney found herself nodding. "Well, then..." He trailed off, voice fading as his hand slipped into hers before they rushed out of the venue.

Somehow, they managed to slip away unseen, giggling like children as they dodged managers and friends alike, eventually finding a backdoor. The night air was cold, and Chandler had left his jacket inside, so even if he wanted to be gentlemanly and lend it to the girl- given that her attire consisted of a bralette, a lace top, and shorts- he wasn't able to. She took the flannel around her waist and slipped it on. It didn't do much, but she didn't really care. Because, even if it was a bit chilly, her mind wasn't exactly on the weather.

Her heart was beating, swollen with self-confidence and pride and love, and her hands were on someone she loved, and she was happy.

Only a couple moments later, after having taken the time to kiss the boy by her side before speaking, did she realize she had no idea where they were off to. She pointed this out to Chandler, but his only response was to laugh. He giggled until his stomach hurt and his girl was laughing with him- maybe at him, but he couldn't find it in him to care about or even notice the difference.

Eventually, the two settled on checking out Sydney's tour bus. She wouldn't be leaving for tour until after they were done filming- so, late November- but they had everything prepped already. She'd mostly be doing small gigs and promotion for the album between filming, but she knew she couldn't actually leave before season 6 was wrapped up.

The bus was spacious, and Sydney suspected it would be a cozy home when the time came, but for now it was cold, dark, and empty in the night- even if it was July. The two mostly cuddled on one of the couches, and talked or showed each other dumb memes they got off of social media for a while, as they awaited someone to notice their absence. Eventually, Sydney found herself underneath Chandler, trying not to laugh too hard when jokes when murmured in between kisses.

It was dark, but he was so close that she could still see most of him. Where the street lamps and light from the venue had shown his whole self, the secluded bus had brought her only his silhouette, and her eyes hadn't completely adjusted to the night. Yet somehow, she was certain she could count all the freckles on his face. Notice the blue of his eyes and the pink of his lips, when her own gaze barely allowed her to see two feet ahead of her. She thought it was just her memory. By this point, she was certain she had his face memorized, and her mind was probably just filling in the blanks.

She didn't care. She just didn't want to ruin it. It was her, Chandler, and the moon. No one else, nothing else. Disconnected. We really are disconnected, she found herself thinking; she nearly chuckled. Instead, she tilted her head upward, slightly parted lips meeting equally warm ones for the dozenth time since they'd snuck out.

When they pulled away, their noses were bumping, and they could feel each other's breaths and heartbeats, but neither really cared. Sydney spoke, her voice more hushed than needed. "Hey," she called out softly, Chandler humming as a response, making her smile stretch. "I love you,"

He didn't hesitate. "I love you too." He muttered before leaning down for another kiss.

But, he ruined the moment before he could stop himself, deciding to laugh as he buried his face in the blonde's neck, instead of kissing her. He managed to catch himself and not crush her under his weight, but the girl still kept her hands on his chest just to be safe. Sydney chose not to acknowledge the way his lips tickled her skin as he giggled, chuckling instead with confusion as the boy on top of her shook with laughter. "I just remembered I still haven't asked you to be my girlfriend."

Sydney only grinned, emitting no other sounds besides a small sigh, though amusement was clear on her expression as Chandler's smile widened. "Well, why don't you go ahead and fix that?" Her voice was teasing, but there was no real malice it. Obviously, the chances of her saying no were close to zero, but the boy still felt his stomach flutter as he spoke.

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend?" He questioned, voice as nonchalant as hers as he raised an eyebrow. Chandler could see the outline of her smirk.

"Can I think about it?" Sydney almost couldn't keep a straight face as he chuckled once again.

"Sure, I'll give you a moment." He managed to let out, the girl underneath him trying not to laugh back, instead attempting to look deep in thought. It only took a couple seconds for the blonde to reattach her lips to his.

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THE END.

(jk there's still another chapter left)