Okay, I feel so much better since I uploaded chapter two of Peter Season. Anyway, this is ANOTHER Riaura one-shot. I can't help it, they're just so damn CUTE! :) Anyway, I don't own anything you recognize, and... enjoy!

"What are you doing?"

The glossy, brightly-printed magazine slipped out of her fingers as she heard his voice. She glanced up, and Riker was staring back down at her. She must've left the door unlocked to her bedroom, because she didn't hear him make a noise. She blushed, leaning down to pick up the magazine again.

"Laura? Why... are you reading... a teen magazine?" He raised his eyebrows at her in question.

"I'm just seeing what the media knows about us," Laura mumbled, feeling her face heat up. "Who knows what they come up with?"

Riker rolled his eyes. "Those things are full of trash, Laura. They're artificial pieces of wasted paper representing human culture."

"You guys are in this," Laura said casually, flipping through the thin pages, looking at the high-definition photos of One Direction, Austin Mahone, and 5SOS. She came to the page with R5's photo shoot details and turned the magazine to show him. "See? And you're calling this trash. Rydel even has her own column in this and she tells about your tour stops in like, Germany and Amsterdam."

"Do you actually find that amusing?" Riker demanded.

"No," Laura admitted. "I mean, I did a photo shoot one time with this magazine. I wonder what they put..." She flipped to the page of her photos, and immediately crinkled her nose. "Oh my God, I look horrible."

"What?" Riker asked, coming up to her and bending over the back of the couch to see. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I had fun with the photo shoot, but I mean... I look stupid. Pathetic. Artificial, like you said." He leaned closer to see the page, and Laura was aware of how close he was, his hot breath rolling across her cheek. "It's like they chose the worst photos they snapped and posted them for everybody to see. Why couldn't they do the nice ones?"

"Give me that." He snatched the magazine out of her hands, and she waited silently as studied the pictures of her in ridiculous outfits and her face full of too much make-up. Very different compared to the sweatshirt, jeans, and Converse she was wearing at the moment.

"You don't look horrible," Riker said after a moment. "I mean, maybe you're not looking your best, but you look dorky-cute."

"I look... like a doll. A Barbie doll. A fake plastic Barbie doll made for little kids to idolize."

"No. Your wardrobe designer just had a crappy sense of style," Riker said, grinning crookedly. "And so was your make-up artist. You look better now and you're not even trying." He tugged a curl of her hair that was hanging from the band that held her hair together in a ponytail and wrapped it around his long index finger.

"Still... It's ridiculous. I wish I could take it out." For extra measure and emphasis, she ripped that page of her photos out of the teen magazine, and Riker shrugged one shoulder.

"Hey, photos of me are in there too. And I look just as ridiculous, like Hollywood decided to play dress-up with me." Riker snorted, and Laura shook her head.

"Please. You look flawless in every photo, Riker." He grinned at her compliment, before walking around the couch to sit down next to her, his knee bouncing against hers.

"But really. You look fine, Laura. Not your best, but fine. Like... you're trying to match the right look or outfit, whatever? And you could go farther, you just keep settling for lower." He shrugged and Laura raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.

"Okay," Riker continued. "How about... Okay, so you have a lot of true beauty and looks and potential, but whoever is setting you up to 'show' all of that... they're doing a shitty job."

"I guess they just suck."

"Yeah. Laura, you're the most beautiful girl I know. And not just on the outside."

Laura sighed and took the magazine back. She ran her thumb over the brightly-colored text and groaned.

"I just don't like the photos. That's all."

"Why did you even buy one of those crappy magazines?" he asked. "They're just a waste of time and money, really."

"I wanted to look at stuff. I was just bored."

Riker glanced at her, before looking at the magazine again. Then he twisted his mouth into a confident smile. "Just bored?"

Laura bit her lip. "Yep. Totally just bored."

"Then why did I catch you staring at a photo of R5? Specifically me?" He smirked and Laura froze.

"How did you... How long were you standing there before you said something?" Her face flushed red.

"Maybe a few minutes..." He smiled coyly.

"Oh my god! Don't watch me like that! What if I was changing or something?" She threw the magazine at his chest, which he caught easily, and grinned. Then he laughed, his voice easy and cheerful. He leaned over and kissed her cheek sweetly, and Laura felt her body heat up in embarrassment.

"You know, those magazines aren't such trash after all if you're going to buy them to stare at photos of me."

I know that is ridiculously short and not worth anything since it has no real plot line, but I wanted to get it out. I just wanted to capture a conversation of Laura seeing her own photos and thinking they're horrible and Riker tells her she's pretty. Anyway, if you read that, I'm sorry you went through that torture. xD

If you DID read, thanks! xD

~Cynthia