I know this isn't a Ross/Laura story or even an Austin/Ally story, but I wanted to write a Rydel/Ellington story because they are both so cute. So it's kinda like Timeless, a story told about the beginnings of their friendship, forward.
I hope you like it and don't think it's too cheesy. Haha.
Enjoy.
He had just walked in, early for his dance class, the class before him, just finishing, when he noticed her. She had long blonde hair, a killer body and probably the most amazing dance moves and talent he had ever seen in his life. He walked over to the side, where he saw someone was towel drying his hair and looked like he could be the her twin, or the male version of her, so that he could watch for a minute.
"Hey," The guy said.
He nodded his head in his direction, "sup?"
"You here for the next class?" He asked and he nodded.
"Yeah, it starts in a minute or so."
"This class was intense man," He stood up, slapping his hand on his chest, "good luck, bro." With that, he walked away just as the dance teacher called for the class to end. And he noticed that the girl was smiling, out of breath as she walked over to where he was standing to grab a shiny black Hello Kitty backpack and pull out a very hot pink water bottle.
"Hey," He said, gaining her attention.
She looked at him, finishing her chugging before smiling at him. "Hi."
"You're a really good dancer," He told her.
"Thanks, are you new? I've never seen you before."
He nodded, "yeah, this is my first day, or night, since it's later now." She giggled and he smiled at her.
"Well, have fun," She winked at him, as she put her water bottle down and then took her hoodie off, stuffing it in her backpack. She then put the backpack on her shoulders and looked over his shoulder to see someone was waving at her. He turned around only to see it was the guy he'd been talking to a few minutes before the class had ended. "I have to go, but um, I promise you, you'll enjoy it." She gave him another smile and then a thumbs up and was gone before he could say anything else.
Asking her what her name was probably would've been nice. He just shook his head and put his stuff down where hers had been before and then the teacher walked up to him to ask him a few questions. He realized that the class he was taking was a first for everyone, so he wasn't alone and that was a huge relief for him to know.
He started off by stretching and as he did, he thought about the girl and smiled to himself.
After class ended, he walked out, sweaty, tired and wanting nothing more than to take a shower, when he looked up, only to see the girl he had been talking to, was sitting at the front desk, her feet on the table as she chewed on what appeared to be gum, blowing a bubble and giggling at her twin and another dark haired boy. He could hear what they were talking about, since it was sort of in hushed whispers, but as he passed by her, her eyes went to him and they lit up. She waved him over and since he was nothing if not a gentleman, he walked over to her.
"Hey," He smiled at her, "you're still here."
She nodded, "yeah, my mom has a side job here, so until she's done, I have to stay." She pointed at the two boys who were with her, "and unfortunately, so do they."
"Hey, you're the dude I was talking to earlier, what's up, bro?" Her twin asked him, giving him a low high five.
"Not much, that class totally kicked my ass."
"Yeah, Blake will do that to you," The girl told him. "But was it worth it?"
He grinned, "totally."
His phone started to ring and he pulled it out of his pocket to see it was his mother calling him, probably to tell him she was outside. "I have to go, but uh, I'll see you guys around?"
The girl blew a bubble and then giggled, "definitely." She winked at him and he winked back at her.
As he waved goodbye and turned to walk outside, he heard one of the guys ask her who he was, probably the one he hadn't talked to, and she had answered back that she had no idea what his name was and then the guy had retorted back that that was probably something she should've found out first. He shook his head and laughed to himself, then got into his mother's car.
"How was it?" She asked him.
He took a moment to think, before smiling at her, "it was definitely something." He answered and then he got settled in, his mother pulling away and driving them both home.
He was early for his next class, but this time, the class had ended before he got there. It kind of disappointed him a bit as he wanted to see the girl dance, but before he could even think to really be upset about it, she walked up to him, her long blonde hair swinging behind her.
To his surprise, she hugged him. He hugged her back and then she pulled away.
"Sorry? I don't do handshakes." She explained and he smiled at her.
"I'm okay with hugs," He assured her as he walked with her to her Hello Kitty backpack.
"Okay, so, since we met the other day, I realized something." She said and he grinned at her, stepping back as if showing off his body.
"That I'm incredibly handsome?"
She playfully pushed his shoulder, "you wish. I don't even know your name and you're already hitting on me. Not that I'd know what that is, exactly." She clarified.
He shook his head, "I wasn't hitting on you. I was just…" He trailed off, trying to think of the world. "Messing around with you."
She nodded and he noticed that look of relief and the smile on her face. "Well, I'll tell you my name," She said as she sat down and he sat down beside her. "I'm Rydel."
"Rydel? As in Grease?" He looked confused, "your named after a high school?"
She nodded, blushing a bit, "yeah, my grandmother named me. So… I didn't really choose it, but I love it."
He smiled at her, "it's different, I like it. A lot." He paused, before continuing. "My name is Ellington."
"Ellington," She repeated, "as in Duke Ellington?"
He nodded, "my parents met at one of his shows and I guess you could say the rest is history." She laughed, "but they call me Duke for short."
"It fits you and for the record, it's also very different. I like it too. A lot." She bit her bottom lip and he thought that it was one of the cutest things ever. She then stood up and he found himself feeling a bit sad about it. "Well, it was nice to talk to you, Ellington, I must go hang out in the front office and you've got a dance class to get to."
"Yeah, right." He nodded, "it was nice talking to you too, maybe I'll see you later?"
She winked, "you bet."
"Awesome." He winked back at her and with that, she left the dance studio.
Huh. Rydel. Suddenly dance class didn't seem so horrible anymore.
He was just walking out of dance class when suddenly a blonde head of hair jumped in front of him. She looked over at the four boys she had been talking to and Ellington immediately wondered who they were and why she was surrounded by guys all the time.
"Hey! I just wanted to introduce you to some guys here," She explained, grabbing his hand, he felt a warm sensation shoot through his body and wordlessly nodded, following her. She let go of his hand as soon as she reached them and he looked up, recognizing two of them. One of the other boys looked like a mini version of her twin and the other boy looked like the mini version of the other boy. "Meet my brothers," She smiled at him and he almost did a double take.
Wait.
Brothers?
All four of these guys were her brothers? That explained a lot.
He smiled and waved at them.
She pointed out her twin, "this is my older brother, Riker. And then there's Rocky, Ross and Ryland." She introduced, putting her hand on his shoulders, she smiled, "this is Ellington."
"Sup, Ellington, nice name, by the way." Rocky(?) shook his hand.
"Yeah, nice to meet you again and finally know your name," Riker(?) shook his hand as well, while the other two just waved and smiled at him.
"So uh, do you all dance?" He asked and they nodded. Wow, talk about a close-knit family.
"We've been dancing together basically our whole lives," Rydel said, "we moved here from Colorado a few months ago."
"Wow, that's cool," He said. His phone rang in his pocket and he knew that was his mother. "Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta get home. I've got school in the morning and a lot of homework to get done."
"Yeah totally." The youngest blonde guy, he couldn't remember his name, said. "We've got homework to do too, actually." He looked at his siblings and Rydel sighed, but soon her eyes lit up.
"I'll walk you out," She said and before waiting for him to answer, she just walked ahead of him. He turned to wave at her brothers and then laughed as he followed her outside.
"You know, you remind me of something," He said as soon as he reached her.
She tilted her head, "like what?"
"I don't know, but when it comes to me, I"ll be sure to let you know." He smiled at her and then he stepped forward and hugged her. "See you soon."
She nodded, "yeah, see you soon."
He was officially in love.
With his dance classes.
Not Rydel, he hardly knew her.
He actually found himself to be excited for every class he had to go to and found that the routines were actually pretty fun.
It had been a few weeks since he'd started when his dance teacher told him he wanted to put him on a competitive dance team with two other guys. He was happy to find out they were Rydel's brothers, Riker and Rocky.
He'd gotten to know them a bit better over the last few weeks since they were always there when he finished his class, waiting to go home.
After being told about this dance team, his teacher told him to stay a bit later after the next class and he did so, only to find out that he had to schedule a time with Riker and Rocky to rehearse the routine that would be given to them in the next week or so.
Riker was the one who suggested he just come over to their house so that they could get to know each other a little better and he nodded. If they were going to be on a team, they had to know each other or else it would just turn to shit basically.
He had gotten Riker's number that same night and the next day, he found himself standing in front of his house. He took a deep breath and then walked up to the front door, ringing the doorbell, Ross answered the door and then gave him a nod.
"Sup?"
"Uh, I'm here to see Riker and Rocky." He told him and Ross nodded, opening the door wider so that he could walk through it. Ross then shouted for Riker and Rocky's names and that's when Ellington realized they were jamming somewhere. They soon showed up and Riker smiled at him.
"Hey, dude." Riker said, "come on in, we're just jamming out in the living room.
"You jam out in your living room?" Ellington asked and Riker nodded.
"We've got basically every instrument you can think of in there," Rocky said, "well except for a few. Or a lot." He shrugged and then jumped down a step as Ellington followed them, realizing they were now in the living room. He saw a few guitars, a bass, a beautiful grand piano and… a drum set. His eyes lit up and he immediately walked over to it.
"No way, you guys play the drums?" He asked.
"Ross does a bit." Riker answered, "he's learning."
"Would be okay if I-" He began and Riker just nodded at him, waving for him to go ahead.
He got behind the drum set and then grabbed the sticks. He then started to jam out, getting really into it, his head, his neck and his body making crazy motions as he banged on the drum set hard. After he was done he looked up to see that Riker and Rocky had their mouths dropped open and were looking at him in awe.
"Dude that was amazing!" Riker said, going over to him he gave him a high five. "How long have you been playing for?"
"Since I was two or three, something like that." He answered back.
"Dude, wait," Rocky said, his hand on Riker's chest. "We gotta try something." Riker nodded.
"Okay, do you happen to know how to play Pour Some Sugar On Me?" Rocky asked him and Ellington nodded, shrugging.
"Yeah, it was one of the first songs I learned how to play."
"Awesome." Rocky smiled at him and Riker nodded. Ellington just raised an eyebrow, confused.
"Can we just try it?" Riker asked and then Ellington understood.
"Yeah, sure." He answered back, getting himself ready as Riker nodded him for him to go ahead. He started the drum beat and soon, Riker and Rocky joined him. After a few moments, they stopped, Ellington out of breath, Riker with a big smile on his face and Rocky looking at Riker with a big smile on his face.
They heard the sound of clapping and Ellington looked up to see a woman and a man clapping their hands.
"Amazing." The woman said.
"I agree. That was incredible." The man agreed.
"Ellington, meet our parents, Stormie and Mark Lynch."
Oh, so their last names were Lynch. He hadn't know that, nor had he met their parents, even though their mother worked at the dance complex.
"It's nice to meet you." He gave them a wave and a smile.
"Riker," Rocky said and all he had to give him was a look. Riker immediately got it.
"We should totally start a band." Riker said and Ellington just looked at him.
"What? Really?" He asked.
"Yeah, you're amazing at the drums, I could play the bass, Rocky can play the guitar and he's teaching Ross guitar and he's already into it, because we're actually trying to start a band, but needed a drummer. Ryland wasn't into it." Riker explained and then Ellington nodded.
"So, you needed a drummer." He said and Rocky nodded. "But wait, I thought Ross was the one who played the drums."
"He does, but he's more into the guitar then the drums," Rocky explained.
"Well, then… I'm in." Ellington grinned and Riker and Rocky high fived. His eyes then went over to the piano. "I know not all bands have a pianist, but wouldn't we need one?"
"Yeah, who do we know that can play the keyboard or piano, whatever?" Rocky asked RIker, who just looked back at him, shrugging his shoulders.
"While we figure that out, let's get Ross in here," Riker suggested and Rocky nodded, yelling out his brother's name.
"What?" Ross asked, stepping into the room.
"We found our drummer," Riker smiled at him and Ross looked over to see Ellington was sitting behind the drums.
"No way, that was you?" He asked and Ellington nodded.
"Yeah, that was me."
"You're amazing dude!" Ross high fived him, his eyes widened in awe.
"What's all this cheering and music and amazingness all about?" Ryland asked as he walked into the room, sitting down beside Rocky.
"We've got a drummer, but he suggested that we include a keyboardist or pianist, whatever." Rocky excitedly told him.
"We can't figure out if we know anyone who can play." Riker said.
As the brothers all pondered on a name, their father stood up from his seat by the bar. "Um, guys?"
Stormie shook her head, she smiled, "let's let them figure it out for themselves."
He nodded and sat back down again, just as the front door opened and Rydel walked in, waving at whomever had beeped their horn, closing the door behind her. She walked into the living room a smile on her face. "Hey guys what's-Ellington?" She smiled at him and then ran over to him giving him a big hug, which he happily returned. "What are you doing here?"
"I came by so that we could get to know each other better since I'm going to be on a dance team with Riker and Rocky and then just ended up jamming out with them instead." He let out a laugh and then shrugged, "And I just joined a band, so uh, where have you been?"
She smiled, "dance class. My teacher gave me a ride home."
"That was nice of them." He said and she nodded and walked in the direction of the kitchen, ruffling Ross' hair as she passed by him, saying hello to them and her parents.
"Wait for it," Stormie whispered to Mark and he nodded.
"Wait a second-" Riker was the first to realize it. "Dude!" He shoved Rocky's shoulder.
"What?" Rocky asked him, "and ow." He added.
"Rydel!" Riker said to him.
"What about Rydel?" He asked.
Ross realized it next and then face-palmed, "I can't believe I didn't even think of that."
"I'm lost," Ellington tried to follow along, but found it was difficult.
"Oh wow, I'm an idiot." Ryland shook his head.
"Okay, what is everyone getting that I'm not?" Rocky asked as Riker's eyes went to the piano and then to him. He realized it at the point too and then immediately jumped up, running into the kitchen.
"And there it is," Stormie smiled at her husband while Ellington just sat at the drums set, completely confused.
"Rydel!" Rocky shouted as Riker, Ross and Ryland followed him.
"Did I miss something?" Ellington asked no one in particular and then got up, following after the brothers, the drumsticks still in his hands.
He figured he'd get his answer soon anyways.
"Rydel," Rocky tapped her shoulder and she turned around to face him as her brothers all sat down with her at the table.
"What has gotten into you guys?" She asked.
"Do you remember anything about playing the piano?" Riker asked her and then it hit Ellington. She could be the pianist in the band. It made sense.
"Yeah, I do, not a lot, but it's not that difficult if I were to play again, why?" She asked.
"We want you to join our band." Ross told her. "You could play the keyboard."
She looked thoughtful for a moment, like she was considering saying yes, when she just shook her head and stood up, walking passed them. "No, I'm good."
"Why not?" Riker asked her.
"I'm not interested." She responded, opening her water bottle and drinking from it.
"Why not? We could get a record deal someday, if we keep being serious about it." Riker told her, "isn't that why we moved out here? To make something of ourselves?"
"We moved out here so that you could be an actor," She reminded him, "and second, it's like a one in a million shot, let's be realistic here. I don't think it's going to work out and anyway, I don't want to be in a band, I just want to be a dancer, I always have." She began to back out of the kitchen, her hands up, "sorry guys." With that, she walked out and as Ellington saw the disappointed looks on her brothers' faces, he decided to try and give it a shot. He reached her just as her foot had touched the bottom step.
"Rydel," He said and she turned around a smile on her face. He took a deep breath, "why don't you want to be in this band? Like realistically?"
"You just joined it twenty minutes ago, I'm assuming and you're asking me that?" Her smile disappeared and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm just curious."
"All I want to do is dance," She said, "that's all I've wanted my whole life."
"I get it." He said and she smiled at him. "I was just wondering." He backed away from her, "but if you change your mind, just know that we're going to rock our asses off and it'd totally be worth all the hard work if it were to pay off in the end."
"You think so?" She asked him.
He nodded, "you're an amazing dancer, Rydel and if you wanted to keep at it and do what you love, then that's understandable."
"I did love playing the piano when I was younger," She told him.
"Keep at it, Rydel." He winked at her, "whatever you decide to do, just follow your heart."
"Okay, thanks." Rydel smiled at him and he smiled back at her, before turning around to go back into the kitchen. "Ellington?" She softly called.
He turned around, "yeah?"
"You definitely gave me something to think about."
"Cool." He gave her another smile.
"And I'd love to hear you play someday." She told him.
"That can be arranged," He winked at her and she giggled, before going up the stairs and to her room.
He then went into the kitchen where he saw Riker, Rocky, Ross and Ryland were all sitting at the kitchen table with their parents.
"It's her decision," Mark told them, "if she doesn't want to be a part of it, then you can't make her."
"You came here to follow your dreams, Riker, let her follow hers." Stormie added and Riker nodded, letting out a sigh as Ellington stepped closer.
"So," He said, "are we going to think of band names?"
It had been a week since he agreed to join the band. He had also been practicing like crazy at home to the point where he would annoy his parents, but they thought that him joining the band was a great decision.
They still hadn't come up with a band name since the one Riker, Rocky and Ross had originally decided on, didn't work out since Rydel kept refusing to join the band and Ellington's name started with an E.
After his dance class, he found that Rydel was alone in the front desk, eating a salad and flipping through a magazine when he decided that he was just going to talk to her. So he grabbed a chair and sat down across from her. She looked up and smiled at him.
"Hey you," She said.
He couldn't help himself and smiled back at her, "hey." He looked at her salad, "you're a healthy eater."
She nodded, "I'm trying to stay healthy. Fast food only twice a week and that's only In-N-out. Not a fan of those other places." She made a face and shook her head.
"What about Subway?"
She shrugged, "yeah, I guess that's okay." She leaned in closer, "but if you give me ice cream after, I'm your best friend for live."
He laughed, "I'll keep that in mind then." He looked at the time. "Hey, are you busy right now?" He asked her.
She looked at him, confused. "I'm sitting here."
"Waiting for your mother, I remember you saying that a few times." He pointed out and she nodded, "but I mean that I want to hang out, get some ice cream maybe?" He looked at her hopefully and she smiled, nodding her head.
"That'd be great. Maybe not the best after a dance class, but whatever, I can break the rules just this once. Let me just go tell my mom." He nodded and then sent a text to his mother, letting her know he'd get a ride from Rydel's mother or father later on. She came back a moment later, her Hello Kitty backpack slung over her shoulder. "Ready."
They walked side by side, their hands swinging and almost touching as they walked and talked.
"Okay, so tell me something about yourself," Rydel told him.
"I'm a boy," He said it as though he was obvious and Rydel rolled her eyes. "I go to a private school, I'm in grade nine and I'm fifteen years old. Your turn."
"Okay." She took a deep breath, "I'm a girl," He laughed, "I'm home-schooled, I'm also in grade nine and I'm fifteen too."
"No way, when's your birthday?"
"August ninth, yours?"
"April fourteenth."
"You're like four months older than me, you old fart." She stuck her tongue out and he shook his head.
"How long have you been dancing?" He asked her.
"My whole entire life, it's everything to me." She smiled, "I want to choreograph someday, I just have to get good at it."
"Oh trust me, Rydel, you're amazing. I'm sure you could choreograph now and it would rock." He assured her as they reached the ice cream parlor. She smiled to herself and then walked in after him. After they had ordered, they found a seat by the window and sat down.
"You think I'm good enough? To choreograph, I mean."
"Totally." He assured her, "I can tell how much you love it."
"I don't want to give it up. Not ever."
He understood then why she refused to join the band. Dance was everything to her, just like playing the drums was everything to him. But then again, the band was everything to not only her brothers, but himself as well. It had become something important and huge and he never wanted to give that up either.
"I've been thinking about what you said a few weeks ago." She told him and he raised an eyebrow in question. "About the piano." He nodded, remembering. "I did love it and I still do. I just quit it for a bit because I was more into dance, but I don't know, something about being in the band is kind of exciting and at the same time I feel like it could be disappointing."
"I know what you mean, but that's the business." He shrugged, "I've been to auditions that I didn't book, but rejection is a part of really anything." He said, taking a bite of his ice cream.
"Auditions?"
"Yeah, I'm a part time actor, I have been since I was about two. Which was when I went to my first one. My parents and older brothers are in the business, so it's kind of in my blood."
"Dancing's in my blood too," Rydel said, "my cousins are Derek and Julianne Hough."
"No way, that's badass," He smiled at her.
"And they're successful, on tv and everything so if they can do it then why can't we?" She asked him. "With the band, I mean."
"What are you saying?"
She smiled at him, "that I'm willing to try it. I can't let my brothers down. I can't let you down."
He smiled, "then let's do it."
Before Ellington went home, Rydel asked her father if it was okay that he take them to their house first. He didn't question why, but nodded his head, smiling to himself, since Rydel seemed so excited about something.
As soon as they went inside, she yelled out her brothers names and they came into the living room. Her eyes shining happily she looked at Ellington who just smiled at her and gave her a nod.
"I'll do it." She told them.
"Do what?" Ross asked her.
"I'll join the band and play the keyboard." She smiled at them and then immediately she was bullrushed with hugs, cheers and high fives. After it had calmed down, Riker asked the question that was on all their minds.
"What made you change your mind?"
She looked at Ellington, who winked at her and she winked back.
"A friend gave me a little insight to it and I don't know, it sounded exciting and awesome. I wasn't sure about it before because I wasn't sure I was ready for another change, but your my brothers, I can't let you down when you need me."
Riker hugged her tight and she laughed.
"So, band names?" Ellington asked.
They all sat down, Stormie having joined in when the boys did, and tried to think of a name.
"We sure we still can't do R5?" Rocky asked.
"Yeah, Ellington's name starts with an E, remember?" Ross pointed out.
"We could give him an R name, like a stage name or something." Rocky said.
"What like, Ryan?" Riker said.
"Or what about Romeo?" Stormie suggested.
"Or Riley," Ryland added.
"Guys, I know something that can solve all of this," Ellington said, but they just kept going, giving out R names. Rydel turned to him, she leaned in close.
"Got any ideas?"
"Yeah, my last name." He told her. "It starts with an R."
Her eyes lit up and she waved at her brothers and parents, a signal she used to shut them all up. Ellington was surprised to find that it had worked.
"Ellington's last name starts with an R." She said.
He had told them his last name a while ago, so being that they had probably forgotten it, wasn't too much of a surprise to him.
"Ratliff." She continued. She looked at him, "you could go by Ratliff."
"Oh my god, that's perfect!" Riker exclaimed. "I totally forgot dude, sorry."
"It's cool."
"So, yay, you guys have a band name. I'm totally down to be your co-manager, if dad does it with me." Ryland said and Mark nodded, smiling at him.
"And of course, I'll be your stylist." Stormie added.
"This is it then," Riker looked at everyone in the room. "We're really doing this."
"Now all we have to do is come up with a song," Rocky joked and everyone laughed.
"R5. Sounds like it's going to be legendary." Rydel said and then Ellington smiled at her. And she smiled back.
Some facts arent right, I know, but I'll put them in the next chapter. Is it wierd that I'm posting this in Austin & Ally section? I dont know where else to post it and it's going to have lots of Ross and Laura in it once I get to their first meeting.
So reviews would be awesome. Tell me your thoughts on this.
Much love. xx