I really should find a new OTP to write about but that just doesn't seem to work for me. Hope you enjoy more Rydellington :)
P.S. - I got a new penname, Writer-Sage3
AN: I don't own any of the characters mentioned below.
"When faced with 2 choices, simply toss a coin. It works not only because it settles the question for you, but because in that brief moment when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know what you are hoping for."
A brunette guy and a blonde girl are entangled within one another atop what looks to be a girls pink and green covered bed. They aren't doing anything suggestive or provocative, just lying with one another, looking into the others eyes as they play with each other's hands and hair. The space is small, a bunk of sorts, but filled with photos of the duo along with four other boys that look about their age, as well as an older couple. The simple hum of a motor is the only sound in their bunk, no music or words, just the humming of the bus as it takes them to their next destination. The minimal silence is broken when the blonde lets out a frustrated sigh. There were so many thoughts that she conveyed with that sigh.
"Don't think of anything outside this bunk Rydel. Just enjoy the time we have together in this space, just us, together." He whispered into her ear before placing a soft kiss to her forehead.
She cuddled more into the boy, her head fitting perfectly into the space between his head and shoulder. He wrapped his arms around the blonde beauty, hoping to bring her closer to him. He rubbed circles on her back as he realized she was softly crying into his shirt, he felt helpless, he didn't know what to do to help her to stop crying. The situation they were in was hopeless, they didn't really have an option on what to do, they had to do what they were told, and it struck both of them in the heart.
"Ell, why were they so mad? It is really that bad that I'm happy with you?" Rydel asked quietly from her safe space in his arms.
"They are just looking out for the band, and they are looking out for you Delly. They know how long you've been waiting for a relationship and they want to make sure that you only have the best." He told her, still rubbing circles on her back, but trying to keep his tears at bay.
She moves away from him a little in order to look into his eyes, "But you are the best thing for me" she tells him. "You are the person I have been waiting most of my life for and they know that. They know I've liked you for a while, so why are they so against us being together, being happy?" Her tears slowly started to roll down her cheeks once more as she chocked out her last two words.
He was heartbroken not only for himself, but more for her. He promised himself that he would do everything he could to keep her from crying when he was around, but he was in a position that he couldn't keep that promise. He couldn't keep that promise because he was in tears as well. His best friends told him that he couldn't be with the one person who made him happy. He understood why they wouldn't want them together, but the ultimatum given was something he couldn't fathom.
Break-up and Ratliff gets to stay in the band.
Stay together and they find a new drummer.
The ultimatum didn't make sense to either of them. Her brothers and dad had said they couldn't be together because it would tear the band apart, but both options given would tear them apart regardless.
There was no way he could sit there and perform next to her every night and not be able to kiss her congratulations after a job well done. He knew they needed to stay together they needed each other.
There was no way she could sit there and let him throw his dream of being a performer away just so he can be with her. She knew they needed to break up because they worked too hard as a group to get to where they are now.
The couple was at an impasse, so they stayed there together attempting to get the other to side with them while still trying to comprehend why the band had given them the ultimatum.
"You can't throw your dream away, our dream away, just for me. We may not be together, but we will still have each other to lean on during performances and tours" Rydel pleaded with Ellington to side with her.
"I can't not be with you Rydel, sure we worked hard to get to where we are, but I would much rather be there to celebrate with you and love you from the sidelines. I can still go to shows with you, I can still be there for you; I just won't be on stage. I don't want to lose what we have, it means too much to us" he replied to her plead with his own.
"I love you Ell, we won't lose what we have if we just take a break until the band stuff dies down. I will always love you," she whispered as she kissed him softly trying to get him to understand her, but he couldn't, or rather he wouldn't.
"How about we flip a coin to decide since we can't agree?" Ratliff suggested, "Heads, we do what you want. Tails, we do what I want?"
"Okay" she replied as the two sat up in the bunk and pulled out a quarter.
Before they could flip the coin Ellington cupped her face, pulling her closer to him as their lips touched. The couple put as much love into that kiss as possible knowing there as a chance they weren't going to be able to do it for much longer.
"I love you Rydel, and I'll love you regardless of what happens" Ell said before he flipped the coin.
There were a few seconds where it floated in the air, almost taunting the couple with the potential outcome. One outcome could see them together, the other apart, not just as a couple, but as band mates as well. It flipped a few more times before it landed on the floor.
Heads.
The couple was going to break up for the sake of the band.
Ellington couldn't look Rydel in the eyes; instead he kissed her forehead, interlaced their hands and pulled her towards the back of the bus to tell her family their decision.
The five Lynch guys and Stormie all looked up as the door to the back room opened. The family could see the distress in the young couple's eyes, their faces were blotched red, and tearstains were tracked down the faces.
Ratliff looked at his second family before giving them their decision. He knew they had thought they had their best interest at heart, but Ratliff couldn't help but still be upset with them. That didn't stop him from speaking the couple's decision though,
"Umm…we uh…we took into consider your offers about what to do about our relationship and we decided that we are both going to leave the band" Ratliff started, but he was not the one to finish the decision.
"Wait, what?" Ratliff asked on behalf of himself and everyone else in the room.
Rydel stepped closer to Ellington, embracing him in a side hug before looking up at him and telling him her logic.
"You said, heads we do what I want, and I realized as the coin was flipping in the air that I want you. I don't need anything else besides you in my life, I just need us together, supporting one another and doing what we care about together" she said as she looked up at him. She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before looking at her family with the rest of her answer, "Yes we care about this band, and family, and music, but I care more about the two of us being happy and being surrounded by people who make us happy and support us. I love you all dearly, but if you can't be happy and supportive of us then we don't need to be around you. We can help you find a new drummer and keyboardist if you'd like" she offered her family.
"That won't be necessary Delly" Riker said from his seat, the first to recover from the news given to them by his younger and only sister. "We didn't give you the ultimatums for the reason you think little sis. We wanted to see what the two of you would do when something hard came up, we wanted to make sure you two were in it for the right reasons, and clearly you are" Riker told his sister.
"We won't let the two of you leave R5 or this family that easily. We love and support you both we just wanted to make sure you both knew how much you love and support each other" Ross said after his eldest brother spoke.
"Did you really think I had anything to do with this?" Rocky asked laughing, "I am the Captain of the Rydellington ship! I will do anything to get and keep you two together because you are Per-Fect!" He enunciated the ending like the character from a tween movie.
Everyone busted out laughing at the middle Lynch for his very odd, yet loving behavior towards the couple.
The tension was broken with that simple laugh, as well as the slap to the back of the head Rydel gave to each and everyone of her brothers. As she walked back to her boyfriend who was still a little shell shocked, and standing in the doorway her father spoke,
"I am so proud of you Rydel for standing up for what you believe in. Ellington I am so proud of you for learning the lesson of the woman is always right in the relationship" the end was put with a small laugh.
"Why don't we all go get changed for bed, then come back and watch the movie together as a family?" Stormie suggested to the group. Agreeing with Mama Lynch everyone filed out of the backroom except Ratliff who pulled his girlfriend back into the room with him.
"I love you so much Delly, but don't you ever put me before your family and your career again." He whispered as he pulled her into his arms.
"You are my family Ell, and when we have a family together one day I will always put them before any career I could have. I love you so much Ellington Lee Ratliff, you will always be my number one priority" She told him before placing a soft, but passionate kiss on his lips.