Summary: It should have been easy. All Ross and Laura had to do was prove to the directors that they were comfortable with each other, within three months. But it's Hollywood, and since when have plans made in Hollywood ever gone right?
Alternate Summary: Ross Lynch and Laura Marano have big dreams, and none of them include each other. But let's throw touchy-feely directors, crazy families and family crises, meddling best friends, and road trips into the mix, and then you might get love. Hey, nobody ever said it would be easy.
Explanation: Alright, I know the FanFiction policy. I'm not supposed to write stories like this, about the actors instead of the characters in the show. But, seriously, where am I supposed to put it, on FictionPress? It's not exactly an original work, since Ross Lynch, Laura Marano, and many other people I plan to have in this series are real. Honestly, writing stories about actors should be allowed on FanFiction. Fanfiction is simply writing fictious works about real people on/in shows/books.
A/N: So, I normally don't put Author's Notes at the beginning— although I seem to be doing a lot of that in my Austin & Ally stories... Anyways. The first four paragraphs are an explanation (still in story format) of why Ross and Laura need to spend more time with each other. You can skip it if you'd like (but you should probably read it). The author's note is really long, but if you want to understand key points of the story, it's SUPER IMPORTANT that you read it! In fact, you should read the author's note at the bottom BEFORE you read the story! That's all!
It started with their director. Eric Dean Seaton and Sally Jensen both agreed that the cast should be familiar with each other— they were supposed to think of them like family. For Raini Rodriguez, it was easy enough— she had always been a very friendly person. She made friends with everyone on set almost immediately. For Ross Lynch, the same could almost be said. He and Raini hit it off great, and he was friends with everyone— but not as comfortable around everyone like Raini. Laura Marano was friendly and helpful— everyone liked her, but she only had one best friend on set. She and Raini had known each other for four years, and had been best friends for three. Calum Worthy, on the other hand, made everyone laugh— he was just hilarious, and made friends as easily as Ross.
Calum, Raini, Ross, and Laura all got along easily as a group, but when you put them into pairs, you got something else. Calum was close friends with Raini, Ross, and Laura. Raini was on the brink of best friendship with everyone. Ross had always had an extra charm; a special charisma that drew others to him, so making friends was never a problem. Laura, although having had a shy personality in elementary school, had quickly made friends with all of them.
Ross and Laura together, though... well, it was a little awkward. Of course, the awkwardness never showed up on camera, in interviews, or pictures, but privately, they didn't know each other that well.
The directors noticed this, and told them with crisp bluntness to get to know each other better, because the awkwardness was killing them. Also, Eric and Sally wanted Ross and Laura to improve their acting, thinking that they could help each other. Ross always fidgeted when he wasn't the one acting or performing, resulting in an awkwardness that showed quite obviously. When Laura's voice was supposed to show surprise, despair, happiness, etcetera etcetera in a sudden burst of emotion, it was never very convincing. Where one of them was lacking, the other was great, so the directors thought why not? and told them to spend more time with each other. (1)
The big decision was made on September 29th, two months before Laura's sweet sixteen.
"Does anyone know what this 'Important Cast Meeting' is all about?" asked Raini, putting finger-quotes around Important Cast Meeting.
Calum shrugged. "I don't know."
Ross shrugged. "No one ever tells me anything."
Laura groaned. "It's 4:30 in the morning. Did we really have to come this early for an 'Important Staff Meeting'?"
"Y'know, Laura, I get the impression that you don't like early mornings very much," said Calum sagely.
Laura only groaned another time. "No shit, Sherlock."
"'Morning, everyone!" So Random's Audrey Whitby greeted them brightly.
Ross smiled dopily, leaning against Calum. "It's early," he noted dreamily.
Calum looked apologetic. "Overdose on cold meds," he explained.
"Must suck being his best guy friend," joked Raini.
"Raini," sighed Laura tiredly. "Do you have any Tylenol on you?"
"Yeah, hun, here you go." Raini popped open a mini bottle of Tylenol, handing Laura one.
"Thanks." She took the pill gratefully, dry-swallowing it.
"How do you do that?" asked Calum, amazed.
Laura groaned. "Well, I didn't really have a choice, Calum. Plus, I have a really bad headache."
"I don't think that's what you take for headaches," Audrey giggled lightly.
"Tylenol is my cure for everything," stated Laura simply, and that was that.
There was an awkward silence in the elevator as it dinged, letting in more people.
"Hey, Jake." Laura greeted the RadioDisney reporter tiredly.
"Hey, Laura," he replied, amused. "I'n guessing you're not an early bird?"
"Hi, Jake! Is that a parrot on your shirt?" Ross pointed to Jake's shirt, his finger drooping as he smiled dopily.
"Um, no." Jake carefully removed Ross's finger from his shirt, sending everyone a questioning look.
"Overdose on cold meds," they explained in unison.
"Oh, okay," he said, looking satisfied with the answer he recieved. The elevator ding-ed again, to let Jake out. "Bye, guys!"
After he left, Laura leaned against Raini's shoulder. "Ugh," she groaned, hand going to her forehead. "I got, like, two hours of sleep last night."
"Why?" asked Calum.
"Vanessa's(4)stupid computer kept me up all night long. There's a virus or something in it, because it won't stop beeping every ten minutes. She hooked it up with the BlueTooth sound system in the house, so I can't get away from it, no matter where I go." Her face scrunched up just remembering her awful night's sleep.
The elevator ding-ed again, and Audrey waved at them brightly. "Bye, guys! Hope you have a nice day!"
"You know, she's nice, but she's unrealistically chipper," mused Calum.
"Excuse me? I'm always chipper, and I don't hear you complaining about it! Audrey is a perfectly nice person! A little... overeager, but still! You guys, be nice!" chided Trish.
Laura yawned, then let out a small giggle. "You know, Ross, Audrey's definitely got a crush on you. She's completley obvious about it, though. She's just a bit overeager, like Raini said."
"Wha— me?" Ross pointed to himself, eyelids drooping. "Guys, I feel sleepy..."
"Hey!" Raini slapped him.
"Ow!" exclaimed Ross, clutching his now-red cheek.
Raini put her hands on her hips. "Calum, what did you give him an overdose of, exactly?"
"Benodryl(2)," he mumbled guiltily.
"Benodryl(2)?" cried Laura. "He's not going to make it through the rest of the morning without falling asleep! Calum, why didn't you ask one of us to help?"
Calum shrugged. "I thought I could handle it..."
Laura shook her head, closing her eyes, then opening them a moment later. "Okay. We're just going to keep slapping him awake, or something."
"Or we could send him home for the day," said Raini.
"He has to be awake for the meeting at least!" exclaimed Laura. The elevator ding-ed, and Ross jerked awake.
"It's our floor," Calum pointed out.
"Let's go," sighed Laura, exiting the elevator, along with everyone else, making sure to kick Ross awake.
"Meeting! Right..." Ross shook his head. "Ugh, Calum, what did you give me?"
"Nothing much, justsomebenodryl," replied Calum quickly.
"Some what?"
"Benodryl(2). Calum here gave you an overdose of Benodryl(2)," explained Laura.
"Benodryl(2)? C'mon, man!" complained Ross, rubbing his face. "Laura, you're going to have to keep on kicking me, or something. I gotta stay awake during that meeting!"
"Yeah, I only got two hours of sleep last night, so we'll be kicking each other," replied Laura.
"Oh, relax! I'll kick you both!" Calum grinned at them.
"Great plan; you kick them both, and I'll kick you!" Trish smiled sweetly at the ginger.
"Wait, why do you have to kick me?"
"Because you're the reason Ross is half-asleep!"
"Oh. Right."
"Oh, just hurry up, we're gonna be late!"
"Okay, okay! Raini, stop pushing me!"
"I feel sleepy... Someone slap me."
*Smack!* *Smack!* *Smack!* In rapid succession.
"When I said slap me, I didn't mean all of you!"
"Oh! Good morning, Ross. Laura. Raini. Calum." Eric bowed his head at each of them as they sat down to acknowledge that they were there. He gave them a strange look. "Um... Why are Laura and Ross looking half-asleep?" He pointed to the two actors, who were holding themselves up with their elbows.
"Uh— what?" Laura blinked, then realized where she was and sat up straight. When Ross didn't take his cue and wake up, she kicked him under the table.
"Ow! Uh, I mean, good morning!" Ross waved to everyone in the room. "Good morning to you, and you, and you! Um, yeah! That's it."
"Okaaaay." Sally shot them all a strange look.
"They're just a bit tired, that's all," explained Raini hurriedly.
"Alright, then. This'll be easy, it's just you four. Actually, all we really needed was Ross and Laura, but Eric thought you could help," explained Sally.
"Help with what?" asked Calum, intrigued.
"We think that Laura and Ross are a bit awkward around each other, and their acting has some improvements that could be made by the other," explained Eric. "So, we thought that maybe they should get to know each other better. You know, hang out more, stuff like that."
"I like it!" Raini grinned.
"I'm in," said Calum.
"Laura, Ross, are you two okay with this?" Sally asked them gently.
Sleepily, they replied, "Yeah, sure," then went back to sleep.
"We should give them the day off; let them sleep," decided Eric. "They're too tired to do anything else, really."
"You're right." Sally sighed. "You four have the day off. Have fun!"
"I'm taking Laura back to my place for the night," said Raini. "I guess Ross is going home?"
"Yeah." Calum nodded. "Hey, why don't you take Laura to her house?"
"Um, sleepover! Yeah, that's it! We're having a sleepover(3)," explained Raini, smiling angelically the whole time.
"Well, I've gotta get Ross back home, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Calum!"
"Bye, Raini!"
"What time is it?" Laura yawned as she rubbed her eyes sleepily. "And where am I?"
"It's quarter past one, and you're at my house." Raini walked over and sat down. "You kind of fell asleep in the middle of the meeting, and so did Ross, so the directors decided to give us all the day off."
"Oop, sorry about that." Laura looked sheepish. "What was that meeting all about, anyway?"
"Well, you and Ross sorta agreed to spend more time with each other. For the next three months, you have to get to know each other, and by the end, you have to prove to the directors that you're comfortable around each other," explained Raini, handing Laura a manila envelope. "There's more information in there. Bottom line is, you and Ross were half-asleep when you agreed, so if you don't like it, you can always go and tell the directors 'No'."
Laura shook her head. "If Ross is willing to do it, then so am I." Her eyebrows went higher as she scanned the packet in the envelope. "And apparently we can help each other with aspects of our acting, too. Wonderful. Just wonderful. Let's go to the Lynch's and see what Ross thinks."
"RAINI! LAURA!" Rydel(4) tackled them with a squeal.
"Hey," greeted Rocky(4), looking amused at Rydel's reaction.
"Sorry about her," apologized Riker(4), pulling Rydel to her feet.
"We've tried to put her on meds," Ratliff(4) confessed, his face completely serious.
"Ratliff!" Rydel slapped his arm.
"Sorry, sorry!" Ratliff held up his hands in surrender.
"So, what are you guys here for?" asked Rocky.
Laura held up the envelope. "I have to talk to Ross."
"Ooh, this sounds serious," joked Ryland(4).
"Hi, Ryland," replied Laura, rubbing at her eyes.
"You look tired," commented Ryland.
Laura yawned. "I just had a nap. So, where's Ross?"
Riker snorted. "He's having his nap right now, actually. First room on the left!" he called over his shoulder as Laura went down the hallway.
"Ross?" She knocked on the door. "Ross? I'm coming in, okay? I hope you're dressed," she muttered. Twisting the knob, she peered in, finding the room completely dark. Annoyed, she flicked on the lights, revealing an asleep Ross— bare-chested and content. "Great," sighed Laura. "He's not dressed. Ross?" She poked his side. He grumbled and turned over. Rolling her eyes, she pinched him. "Ross!"
"Ow! Ah, what?" Ross came awake, rubbing his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. "Oh, hey, Laura!" He grinned. Noticing that he was bare-chested, he reached for a shirt, but not before pointing down to his abs and telling her, "I got buffer."
"Uh, yeah." She raised her eyebrows. "Nice to know. So, did Dez tell you about what we agreed to?"
"What we agreed to? Laura, I basically slept through the cast meeting this morning, and when Dez dropped me off, I think I might've been drooling... Anyways, bottom line is, I have no idea what you're talking about." Ross rubbed his face, looking more awake with every sentence he said.
"Here." She handed him the envelope, watching him as he flipped through the papers. "Basically, we have to prove to the directors that we're comfortable around each other, and our deadline is the end of 2011."
"Three months with Laura Marano." Ross let out a whistle. "You up for it?"
"If you are." Laura raised her eyebrows. "Are you?"
Ross, of course, nodded enthusiastically. "Heck yeah! Now, can we go eat? I'm starving!"
"You're always starving."
"I'm a growing boy!"
"You're fifteen. Not exactly the age of a growing boy."
"Laura... Food? Please?"
*Sigh* "Your mom probably has something for you."
"YES!"
"Hi, Mom." Ross grinned as he stole a plate of spaghetti from underneath his mother's nose.
"Ross," she scolded gently.
He kissed her cheek(5). "Love you!" He grinned, then moon-walked his way to the breakfast island/table/thingy. Right as he reached the breakfast island, he turned around and bumped into an unsuspecting Laura— spilling his food all over her white dress.
There was a stunned silence as everyone (Rocky, Ryland, Ratliff, Riker, Ross, Rydel, Mrs. Lynch, and Raini— yeah, everyone) held their breaths, waiting for Laura to explode.
"Oh, shit." The words escaped Ross's lips as he froze comically, shoulders hunched up in the middle of balancing the plate over Laura's chest. He leaped into action a second later, putting the plate down and grabbing a towel. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" he apologized.
Laura could only let out a shocked gasp. A moment later, she, too, jumped into action, scooping handfuls of spaghetti off of her dress and onto the plate. "Ross," she sighed. "Can I have that towel?"
"Wait! I have a better idea!" He grinned, while the rest of his family groaned.
"Every time you have a better idea, it ends up getting us in some sort of crazy shit," complained Rocky.
"Boys! Language!" scolded Mrs. Lynch, sticking her hand out. "That'll be a dollar, Rocky. And don't think I've forgotten about you, Ross. A dollar from you, too(6)."
Giving each other looks of long-suffering, the boys each turned over a dollar to their mother.
"Thank you." Mrs. Lynch deposited the money into a glass jar, then turned to Ross. "Now, what was your 'better idea', Ross?"
"Aw, Mom! You just had to ask him that?" groaned Riker.
"Hey! I think my ideas are pretty good!" protested Ross.
"Hi, guys. Just a FYI, I'm still here. And covered in spaghetti, Ross." Laura glared pointedly at him. No need to sugar-coat it, or anything.
"Sorry!" he apologized again. "Here, let me take you to the bathroom and get the spaghetti off your clothes." He grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the bathroom.
"Wait, Ross! Shouldn't one of us girls do that for Laura?" asked Raini, but the bathroom door was already closed.
"Mom, are you sure you should trust a guy and a girl alone in a bathroom for so long?" Rydel gave her mother a skeptical look.
Mrs. Lynch shrugged. "How long do you think it'll take?"
"Knowing Ross? A while," replied Ratliff.
"Okay then, Ratliff. That was my question to answer, and you know it!" exclaimed Rydel.
"They're gonna start arguing again," predicted Ryland.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom with Ross and Laura...
Ross was awkwardly reaching towards Laura's chest to wipe the spaghetti off her dress when she said, "Okay! Ross, stop it. It's fine; I can do it." She grabbed the wet washcloth from him and started scrubbing at her dress to get the spaghetti stains off of it.
With nothing to do, Ross leaned back against the sink and stared at the ground. Finally, he burst out, "I'm really sorry, Laura!"
She sighed, and looked up from the washcloth and her dress long enough to say, "It's fine. Really; it could have happened to anyone!"
In her earnesty, she managed to drop the washcloth, prompting Ross to go diving for it. "Here, I'll get it, it's the least I can do," he said as he reached down for it, while at the same time, Laura said,
"Nope, it's fine, I got it," and reached down for the washcloth.
The result? A loud, "Ow!" from both of them as they smacked foreheads with each other.
"Sorry!" Ross apologized again.
Laura just shook her head. "Ross," she sighed, "Can you please stop trying to help? Just for today?"
"Oh. Um, okay," he replied, looking slightly hurt.
There was an awkward silence as Laura tried and tried to scrub the spaghetti stains off her dress, while Ross stared at the ceiling. "Hey, Laura?" he started.
"What?"
"I'll make it up to you, I promise." His words were surprisingly sincere; delivered without a trace of his normal sunny-side-up nature.
"Oh. Um, thanks," replied Laura, clearly surprised.
"How 'bout this: for our second GTKEO activity, I'll take you to the bowling alley!" he exclaimed, suddenly reverting back to his normal self.
"GTKEO activity?" Laura furrowed her brow, bemused.
"Getting To Know Each Other activity," he explained.
"Wait, if it's our second GTKEO activity, then what's our first?" Laura set the washcloth down, finally starting to get into the idea of GTKEO.
"We're gonna go make food with R5(4) and Raini. Actually, I'm gonna get Calum to come over, too, and we can all make food!" He pulled his iPhone out from his pocket and tapped something on the screen. "Hey, Calum? Yeah, it's Ross. Duh; don't you have caller ID? Anyways, you should come over; we're making food. Yep, all of R5, Raini, and Laura, too! 'Kay, see you in ten." Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he turned to Laura. "Calum says he'll be here in ten. By the way, we should get you something else to wear. C'mon, let's go to my room." He reached for her hand.
She eyed his hand carefully. "You sure you're not going to spill something else on me?"
He groaned. "No. I promise."
"Okay..." Hesitantly, she took his hand, letting him pull her into his room.
"Here, try these on." Once they were in his room, he threw her a pair of gray sweatpants and a yellow hoodie.
She caught them, then stared at him pointedly.
"What?" He looked confused for a second, then realization dawned on him. "Oh! Um, I'll just leave so you can change." Hastily, he left the room.
After he was gone, Laura started to change out of her dress and into Ross's clothes. Briefly, she wondered why he didn't just let her borrow Rydel's clothes, but she figured the happy-go-lucky blonde wanted to help her by himself. He was really one-of-a-kind, she mused. That much, at least, she could say for sure, after knowing Ross for six months(7).
"Lauuuuuura! Are you done yet?" asked Ross impatiently, tapping his fingers on the door from the other side.
"Relax, I'm ready." She stepped out of his room, coming disconcertingly close to his face.
"Sorry." He stepped back from her, then grabbed her arm. "C'mon, Calum's already here!" He pulled her down the hallway and to the living room, where the rest of R5, Raini, and Calum sat, waiting for them.
"Hey, Laura— whoa." Rocky stopped short. "Are you wearing Ross's clothes?"
"Yeah. He let me borrow them after he spilled spaghetti on me," explained Laura. She stopped as everyone in Ross's family (plus Ratliff) stared at her. "What?"
Riker was the first to break the silence. "Nothing, nothing." (8)
"Okaaaay, then." Laura gave them all weirded-out looks.
"You know what?" Ryland held up a finger thoughtfully. "We should do a re-make of Too Much Food(9) for the next R5 TV(4) episode! And this time, it'll include the main cast of Austin & Ally!"
Immediately, Rydel and Ratliff called out, "Appetizers!"
Simalarily, Raini and Calum claimed Soups & Salads, while Riker, Rocky, and Ryland took Entreés, which left Ross and Laura with Desserts.
"To the supermarket!" declared Ratliff, striking a superhero pose and galloping— literally— out the door, a laughing Rydel on his heels.
"I can take five or six people in the van," announced Riker.
"We'll go!" chorused Ross, Laura, Rocky, and Ryland.
"Calum'll drive me, right?" Raini gave the ginger in question a pointed look.
Upon receiving Raini's look, Calum quickly agreed. "Well, yeah, of course!"
"Alright, let's do this!" declared Riker. "Hey, Ryland?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't forget the camera."
"'Course not, bro. C'mon, gimme some credit. I manage everything around here."
"That's what we let you think, RyRy."
"Don't. Call me. That."
"Food, food, food. Let's see what we'll get for food, shall we?" Rocky rubbed his hands together and spoke in the tone of an evil scientist, smiling creepily at the camera. A second later, both he and Ryland cracked up, guarenteeing that later, when they edited the video, they would find that the camera shook during this particular crack-up.
"Guys, look! Trololololol Yogurt!" Riker gestured to the yogurt cup in his hand.
"We've gotta get some of that for Ratliff— oh, god." Rocky was choking on his own laughter.
Ryland panned the camera to show Riker doubled up in laughter. Twisting the camera so that it showed him, Ryland said, "So, we're at the grocery store now, and we found Trololololol Yogurt for Ratliff..." He pointed to the yogurt, then assured, "Ratliff's gonna love this. Really. Let's go spy on Raini and Calum, who are, by the way, Ross's co-stars on Austin & Ally."
"We're making potato and macaroni salad, with pick-your-own-dressing," confided Raini.
"Actually, she's making the salad. I'm making chilled fruit soup. She thinks hers is gonna be better." Calum rolled her eyes, then whispered conspiratorially to the camera, "It won't be. Mine will be way better."
"Calum! I can't reach that box! Come help me!" called Raini.
Calum snorted at the camera. "She's so short," he teased, then called back, "Coming!"
"Let's go see what Ratliff and Rydel are up to..." Ryland made his way to the doubled-up-in-laughter pair. "Hey, what's so funny, guys?"
In between laughs, Rydel managed to get out, "He— oh my god, he— I showed him the Trololololol Yogurt— and he goes, 'What flavors do they have it in?'"
Ratliff smirked at the camera, lifting his eyebrows in a mock attempt at sexy. "They actually have it in chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and Original Trololololol," he informed them faux-seriously.
"Moving on..." Ryland raised his eyebrows at the camera. "Strange creatures, that's what they are."
"Go loiter near Ross and Laura," urged Ratliff.
Rydel laughed. "You want him to loiter? Ryland, don't listen to Ratliff; he's a bad example."
"Imma go loiter near Ross and Laura," decided Ryland.
"Where are they, anyways?" asked Ratliff.
"Probably in the Baking Needs aisle," replied Rydel. "Ryland, go spy on them."
"What, so now spying's better than loitering? Come on, Rydel!" complained Ratliff.
"Don't come on Rydel me," returned a miffed Rydel.
"Making my discreet exit," whispered Ryland to the camera.
He found Laura and Ross in the Baking Needs in the aisle, throwing popcorn at each other.
"Ack, Ross!" shrieked Laura, laughing all the same as she dodged a piece of popcorn.
"Where'd you get popcorn?" asked Ryland.
"Free samples," explained Ross. Barely a second later, he let out a surprised, "Hey!" as Laura dumped her cupful of popcorn on his head.
Dusting off her hands, Laura smiled satisfactorily and informed him, "That's for spilling spaghetti all over my dress."
Smirking, Ross dived for her, sending them both tumbling to the floor as he dumped the remains of his popcorn into her hair. "That was just for fun," he informed her as he picked a piece of popcorn out of her hair and popped it into his mouth.
"Ew," giggled Laura, beaming at the blonde. "This is fun," she declared.
"Yeah. I know." Ross grinned down at her.
"Please flirt somewhere else," groaned Ryland.
The pair on the floor pushed themselves up and said, "We're not flirting," while throwing popcorn from some hidden place at Ryland.
Ryland ducked as he protested. "Hey! I'm filming!"
"Clean up in Aisle 10, Baking Needs." The speakers mounted on the walls of the supermarket crackled to life.
"Oh, crap. That's our aisle! Go go go!" urged Ross, placing his hands around Laura's body (her feet held her precariously on the bottom level of the cart) on the cart and pushing it as fast as he could out of the aisle.
Ryland laughed as he ran after them, setting the camera shaking. "I don't think we'll be allowed back at this store for a while," he confided to the camera.
"Alright, so we got everything we need, right? 'Cause we probably won't be allowed to go back to that store for a while.." Riker was trying to keep back a grin.
"Yup, we even got Trololololol Yogurt," confirmed Ratliff, completely straight-faced.
There was a silence as everyone— having returned back to the Lynch's place— tried to hold back their grins. A second later, they all cracked up.
"Y'know, Mom might get a little mad that we're not allowed back at the store," realized Rocky.
"Actually, I bought extra groceries, just in case. Calum!" Raini snapped her fingers to signal the ginger to bring in the bags of groceries— there were so many that they towered over his head.
"Slave driver," accused Calum as he handed the groceries off to Ross at the door.
Raini shrugged. "You gotta do what you gotta do."
"Nice; planning ahead!" crowed Rydel as she slapped high-fives with Raini. "Now Mom'll be less annoyed."
"Rydel, where does the Perrier(10) go?" Ross called from behind a cabinet door.
Laura rolled her eyes. "Not in the cabinets, that's for sure. I'm guessing downstairs, in the basement?" She turned to Rydel for confirmation, nodding satisfactorily as Rydel nodded.
They spent a few minutes organizing the groceries, and then they met in the kitchen.
"Ready," said Riker.
"Set," continued Ratliff.
"Rock!" exclaimed Rydel, tapping the Play button on her iPhone, the song beginning to play all throughout the house through the speakers on the ceilings. And with that, the nine of them— Riker, Rocky, Ross, Ratliff, Rydel, Ryland, Laura, Calum, and Raini— started cooking and baking.
"We're gonna make chicken pie," confided Riker to the camera.
"And alfredo pasta," added Rocky.
"We're gonna have a feast," promised Ryland.
"We're making my amazing bacon-wrapped shrimp, but shhh! It's a secret," Ratliff whispered to the camera. "See, you gotta wrap the bacon around the shrimp first, then put it into this mini-grill thing(11) for fifteen minutes." Ratliff demonstrated as Rydel threw back her head and laughed.
"What are we making? Well, it's a secret," Ross told the camera seriously. "I have some mad skills in catching food in my mouth, so I'm gonna go do that while Laura does her thing in the kitchen."
"Oh, nuh-uh; I don't think so, blonde boy." Laura caught him by the back of his collar. "You are going to help me," she said in a no-nonsense tone of voice.
"Blonde boy? Really. Is that the best you can come up with?" taunted Ross. "I've got so many better ones for you!"
Laura rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you do, but right now, you're going to help me."
Ross shrugged, like what can you do? "Slave driver," he mouthed to the camera, pointing none-too-discreetly at Laura.
"Nope, sorry, I already used that one," Calum informed him.
"What is that heavenly smell?" asked Mrs. Lynch, sniffing her way to the kitchen.
"We'r doing a re-make of Too Much Food(9)," explained Ryland.
"Ah," Mrs. Lynch raised her eyebrows, "So we'll be eating dinner made by R5 and Austin & Ally?"
"You know it!" cheered Ross.
"Okay, then. I'll leave you kids here to make your food. Be ready by 6:30," reminded Mrs. Lynch, then left.
"Cool. Think you can make whatever you're making in one hour?" asked Ross.
Laura raised her eyebrows. "Do you think we can make whatever we're making in one hour?"
Ross shrugged, perfectly affable. "Depends on what we're making."
"Brownie cookies," decided Laura.
"Brownie cookies?" The question was echoed by everyone in the kitchen— all nine of them.
"Mmhm." Laura started pouring flour and sugar into a bowl, rummaging around in a grocery store bag as she explained. "You make regular brownies, then when you take them out of the oven, you cut them into shapes using cookie cutters. Plus, I have my own special recipe for brownies."
"Sound delicious," decided Rydel, turning back to the mini-grill(11) in front of her.
"Hey, Laura, catch!" Rocky threw a marshmallow at her, which she caught neatly in her mouth.
"Now that is skill!" exclaimed Riker, fist-bumping Laura. "Hey, Ross, think you can beat that?"
"Oh, I know I can!" Ross threw a Skittle into the air, and nimbly caught it in his mouth.
Laura raised her eyebrows, lips twitching as she tried to suppress a smile. "Good job, Ross. You get a gold star!"
"Seriously?" The expression on Ross's face was comically hopeful.
"No, but you can lick the spoon if you want," offered Laura.
"Sound good to me!" He hopped onto the counter and took the spoon from Laura. "Vif if really good," he said around the spoon.
"Thanks. Now, come help me!"
"Slave driver."
"We just went over this. You can't use that one, I already used it a while ago!"
"This stuff is amazing," complimented Rydel, leaning over to whisper conspiratorially to Laura, "If I let my baby brother take you out on a date, would you give me the recipe to the brownies?" They were eating the R5-and-Austin-&-Ally-cooked dinner & dessert, and while Mr. and Mrs. Lynch had to leave (something about a complaint from the grocery store? Not that they would know anything about it...), the group still enjoyed their meal.
Laura jerked away from Rydel, looking shocked. "Ross? Me? On a date? Um, no. We're just GTKEO."
"Is that some sort of code?" asked Ryland, a spoonful of Raini's salad halfway to his mouth.
"Yes, Ryland. It's a code," answered Laura dryly.
"Oh, okay," said Ryland, shoving the salad into his mouth, appeased. He didn't seem to notice the obvious sarcasm behind her words.
"Anyways," Rydel turned to Laura pointedly, "you and my lil' bro are perfect for each other! He never cooks, not even when he was supposed to be helping me cook in Too Much Food(9). But today, he helped you cook! Can I plan the wedding? Ooh, can I be a bridesmaid?"
"I get to be the maid of honor," declared Raini.
Laura stared at the two, amused. "You're going to choose my future husband based on the fact that I'm the only person he's ever cooked for?" At their affirming nod, Laura mock-glared at them. "What kind of best friends are you? I have standards, you know."
"Ooh, ouch," Riker winced for his brother, had he actually been there.
"Speaking of, where is Ross?" asked Ratliff, letting out a burp as he did so.
"Ew," Rydel wrinkled her nose.
"He's looking for a gift bag for Laura," explained Calum.
Laura raised her eyebrows. "And why would he be doing that?"
Riker grinned. "He likes to give whoever comes over a gift bag."
"He's weird that way," offered Rocky, as way of explanation.
"Oooookay," Laura surveyed them all strangely. "Anyways, I guess I'd better go; it's getting late." She stood up to hug Rydel and Raini and Ryland and Rocky and Riker and Ratliff and Calum(12).
Once she got to the door, she was greeted by the sight of Ross holding up a red goodie bag. "Here," he said, handin it to her. Inside was her dress (cleaned and dried), a stick of gum, five R5 guitar picks (all in different colors), five R5 wristbands (all in different colors), and a sheet of stickers.
"Thanks," said Laura, accepting the bag. "Here." She carefully peeled off a gold star from the sticker sheet and stuck it to Ross's cheek. "That's for the marshmallow catching," she informed him.
Grinning, Ross touched the sticker on his cheek. "Thanks."
"Today was fun," decided Laura.
"The next GTKEO activity's gonna be funner," promised Ross.
"More fun. Funner is not a word."
"Goodbye, Laura."
"It's still not a word!"
A/N: (1) These are just little acting blips I picked up myself from watching the show. (2) I don't own Benodryl. No copyright infringement intended. (3) So... what's the secret that Raini's keeping? Find out soon; stay tuned. (4) Alright, this is going to be the longest annotation ever, but it's THE MOST IMPORTANT one. Ross Lynch plays Austin Moon, Laura Marano plays Ally Dawson, Calum Worthy plays Dez, and Raini Rodiguez plays Trish. Before Ross's role on Austin & Ally, he was in his family band, R5. He's still in this band. The band consists of his brothers and sisters, Rocky (age 17, I think), Riker (age 20), Rydel (age 18), and best-friend Ellington Ratliff (age 19, I think). Ryland (age 14) is also a member of the Lynch family, but he's R5's manager. They have a channel on YouTube, and they put up videos of their life, which they call R5 TV. To find out more about their life, and to check out their music, their links to YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, etc., go to R5rocks dot c o m. Since FanFiction's really obnoxious about links, you just have to type in R5rocks and then .c o m. Without the spaces. Oh, and Laura Marano's sister is Vanessa Marano, who plays one of the leads on the ABC Family TV show Switched At Birth. (5) Nope, not a romantic kiss. If you couldn't tell that, you don't even deserve to read this story. Kidding. Probably... (6) At the Lynch house, you're not allowed to swear. Every time you do, you have to pay one dollar to the spare change jar. I made this up, although MANY of the things I will mention in this story are actually true. Believe me. I'VE DONE MY RESEARH. (7) If it's September in the story, and they started filming Austin & Ally in March, it indeed has been six months. For those of you who don't know, TV shows usually shoot episodes nine months before they actually come out. For example, Austin & Ally just finished shooting their last live audience Friday episode for Season 1. Meaning that they're almost finished shooting Seaosn 1, yet only six episodes have been released so far, and the show is supposed to have a 21-episode count. Sadly, no talk of Austin & Ally being picked up for a second season has been hear of. (8) So, why was everyone so surprised to see Laura in Ross's clothes? Find out soon; stay tuned. (9) Too much Food is Episode 4 of R5 TV, which you can find on YouTube— it'd really be easier to just go to their website. In Too Much Food, the Lynch's cook dinner. (10) Perrier does not belong to me. No copyright infringment intended. (11) It's hard to explain what this mini-grill thing is. We have one at our house, and my dad makes bacon-wrapped shrimp using it. (12) Run-on sentence, much?
Alright. So, that's pretty much it. I already have twelve chapters planned out; there's probably going to be some twenty-plus chapters. I'm really excited for this. Hope you decide to join me on the ride!
~ Sabrina