Hum... I think I got this idea from somewhere. Don't remember exactly. If ya check out the Runther stories in the Shake It Up! category you'll probably find it, by GlitterGirl13 or something or other. I don't know. But just letting you know I thank that author for giving me the idea, I just transferred it to it's Riaura. Still take credit for some bits, but just got to include her cuz hey they seemed like a cool writer plus they shipped Runther too so yolo.

Alright, I'm really tired, but here ya guys go. You might be ticked at me for not updating my other stories, and I do sincerely apologize for that, but it's just a hard struggle. I can promise you though while I write this, I'm also working on Hold Me Down Before I Fly Away too, so just a heads up. c:

Okay. I don't anything ya recognize, mates. Blah blah blah. If I did own something, I'd own Riker and Laura and BAM Riaura dream come true. Sorry you Raura shippers. Just gotta make room for others.

Okay, stop rambling, me.

"He's a jerk, you hear me? A jerk!" I yelled as I stormed into the Austin and Ally set. All working around me froze as they stared at me. I felt ridiculous, standing there in my heels, rain water dripping from my hair, and I snapped. "What?"

Everybody quickly went back to their work, and I smirked, but I didn't feel happy about bossing these people around. I walked, no, stomped down the way to my dressing room, and Ross noticed and tagged along.

"Hey, Laura!" Ross called after me. I ignored him and kept going. "Laura, wait! What's the matter?"

"Why does it matter?" I mumbled.

"Uh, because you just yelled at the stage crew," Ross said. "And you aren't acting so nice to me. Usually you bitch at others, but you're okay with me. But not today. Did something with Riker happen?"

And the Captain Obvious award goes to...

"My God, Ross. I don't want to talk about Riker right now. Of all things, not Riker," I said, stomping ahead. Ross still walked along beside me, able to keep up with his long strides.

"So, something did happen with Riker."

"No fucking shit, Ross!" I yelled, whirling around to glare at him. He backed up in surprise, raising his hands in front of him. "Of course something happened with Riker! Figure that by yourself, did you?"

"No," Ross replied dumbly. "Riker told me to give you this note." He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

I almost strangled Ross for his point-blank dumbness before I heard his second sentence. I snatched the paper out of his hand, running into my dressing room to fold it out against my vanity. My eyes dove towards Riker's scrawled handwriting, reading it as fast as I could

Laura, I'm sorry. I take back every word I said. I love you too much. Please listen.

I paused. These weren't the words I necessarily wanted to hear from him. I sighed, flattening the paper again, and looked around. I grabbed a pen off of the tiny table nearby, clicking it out and scribbling circles in the corner to get the ink going before I wrote a response back.

I can't believe you would actually think I would cheat on you.

"Give this back to Riker, will you?" I said, refolding it four times like Riker had it and handing it back to Ross. He was standing in the doorway of my dressing room, watching me like I was some sort of silent movie. I gave him a look and he snapped back to reality, taking my note and running off.

I sighed, sitting down on the chair that rested before my vanity, propping myself up with my elbows and covering my face. I replayed the fight Riker and I had just had in less than ten minutes ago. Our relationship was going strong for sixteen months, and suddenly it collapsed over one tiny doubt that led to an argument.

My thoughts of misery were interrupted as Ross suddenly jogged back into my dressing room, the note in his hand. He handed it back to me silently, and I unfolded it to see Riker had jotted down another thing.

I never thought you would cheat on me, Laura. I was driven by jealousy and anger and it was conveyed as if I thought you cheated on me. I have enough faith in you not to do that. I just was jealous that you absorbed all your time with this guy.

I sighed, still frustrated by his response, and scribbled a note back.

Can you blame me? He's been my friend forever, you can't expect me to drop everything for you.

The note was passed to Ross, and he took off. I groaned, covering my face.

What had happened was, I had a very close friend named Trevor. He's known me for almost forever and knew me like nobody else did. I felt really close with him, and I could go to him for anything. We were tight. I did not have feeling for him like that, not romantic, but he was like my best friend and I couldn't go anywhere without him. We would spend lots of time together, and he was just a part of me.

Trevor got a girlfriend. Her name was Kaylee. And I'm telling you, they were adorable. Always sharing glances at each other, and when they finally started dating, they held hands all the time and he would do cute things like kiss her on the forehead and stuff. They said "I love you" to each other, and Kaylee would always be so... happy with him. They were so happy together.

Then, out of the blue, she text-dumped him. It was bad enough, her ending it with him, but to text him just saying we're over? Did she not have the decency to even tell him to his face?

I've heard our other friends talking about it, and I first heard it secondhand. When I went to Trevor for confirmation, though, he nodded numbly and I even saw a few tears in his eyes. And Trevor never cries. I knew this had hit him hard. He said he didn't know why Kaylee ended it, so I went and asked her myself.

I asked her why she broke up with Trevor, and she just batted her (fake) eyelashes and said he was a disgusting person and not her type. Like, seriously? Why get together with someone in the first place if they weren't your type? And Trevor is an amazing person. Not disgusting at all. Sure, he's a guy, but what can you do? He's actually pretty good. Then she asked what Trevor had told me, and asked if he was okay. I said he was crying over it, and guess what?

That bitch smiled, like that was what her goal was. To break Trevor's heart. She wanted to do that.

Ever since, I hated Kaylee for breaking Trevor's heart so coldly, especially since they were going so good. Meanwhile, while Kaylee just went out and flirted with new guys, Trevor sunk into a turtle shell of his bedroom, refusing to come out and eat, barely talking. I went through a lot of trouble, many, many attempts to get him to come out. Yelling, joking threats, promises of treats. Most of the time I would give up, just sitting against the door and played music, loud enough that he could hopefully hear.

This went on for weeks. It wasn't until I pick-locked his bedroom and stormed in, causing a mass chaos between us that he finally got moving. This is just a light way of putting it. It was like hell on earth, to be honest. Trevor had turned into a total recluse due to their break-up.

The problem was, when Trevor and Kaylee first started dating, he pushed himself away from everybody else. Me, his friends, his family. It especially hurt me, considering we were such close friends. I never lost faith, but by the time Trevor actually needed friends, he only had me left. The rest of his friends had taken the hint that Trevor didn't want them around, and left. I was the only one who even attempted reaching out for him.

It took forever, but slowly Trevor started working again, with a little help from my friend. Riker had gotten on my case because lately, I've been spending lots of time with Trevor. It's just because I need to have things for him to do to keep him moving, and I guess I can see Riker's point. It's cut into our relationship time. But Trevor was slowly making his way to normal, and after that, I had all the time in the world for both Trevor and Riker.

I just couldn't believe Riker thought I was cheating on him behind my back during my time with Trevor. He called me a cheater, accusing me of lying, that I slept around. That hurt like a knife wound in the chest.

Ross suddenly reappeared, dropping a new note in front of me.

I know. Expecting you to have all your attention on me is selfish. Trevor has been with you longer. I'm sorry, Laura. Please, forgive me. I was wrong, yes, and I regret everything I said to you earlier.

I sighed and picked up the pen again.

Riker, I can't believe you would call me a slut for that though.

Soon, Ross was delivering our notes between us like we were in elementary school. I didn't have the stomach to walk down to Ross's dressing room and face Riker there, and neither did he, it seemed.

I can't believe it either. Laura, you are not a slut. You are something I cannot describe, something so beautiful. I'm sorry I called you such a name.

Why do I find this apology hard to accept?

Because you're stubborn? You're always stubborn about these things, Laura. But I'll come clean first. I was oblivious and selfish, only thinking about myself and not you and Trevor's friendship. I'm sorry.

You said I was lying. You must not trust me.

I'm just afraid of losing you.

Prove it. You seemed perfectly fine of yelling at me before leaving me in the rain!

That was a stupid decision, and you deserve better than me, but I at least have to try to get you back. You can be mad at me all you want, Laura, I deserve that much, but hear me out. I mean it when I say I'm sorry.

But you just dumped me so easily before, in a matter of seconds!

But now I know I CAN'T lose you. I just can't afford to lose you.

I don't know.

What does it take? I admitted I was wrong, I explained why. I'm begging you, Laura. What will it take? Anything. I'll do anything.

But I heard you. While you were leaving. You said we should have never gotten together in the first place.

It took Ross a long time to return the next note. I wondered what Riker's defense for that was.

I completely take that back, Laura. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. The best damn thing. If we weren't meant to be, we wouldn't have met. But we did meet. We did become a couple. Getting together with you was my best (and smartest) decision I ever made in my whole life. I only said it because I was confused, jealous, and angry.

Are you sure you weren't speaking the truth? People tend to say honest things when they're mad.

Laura, I can't afford to lose you. I should have never said we should've never gotten together, because that would be un-doing my best choice ever. Now that I've been with you, I can't let you go. I love you. I'm sorry. I take everything back. I imagined so many things for us, Laura. Getting married. A family. I can't imagine anybody else replacing those fantasies. All I want is you.

I just can't believe you went all off on me for being with a friend. Trevor is my best friend, you can't get in between our friendship, Riker.

I know, and it was totally moronic for me to think you were cheating on me while you were with him. You aren't that type of girl.

What type of girl am I, then?

The type of girl that deserves a better boyfriend than me. But you choose me anyway.

What do you want, Riker? Do you want to leave me? Because you seemed pretty okay with that idea earlier.

I want you. To turn around.

Confused, I did as the note said and turned in my chair, only to jump in surprise when I saw Riker standing there. He looked like he'd been crying, like I had, and his clothes were damp from rain. He stared at me, for a long moment, and I slowly stood up so I wasn't incredibly short to him.

He gazed at me, his eyes bright and burning. I opened my mouth, but I didn't know what to do next. Yell at him? Accept his apology? Hug him? All seemed inviting options.

"Laura," he murmured. "I'm in love with you. And I plan on loving you for a long time. If you think I want to leave you, when I still have the chance of keep you as my girlfriend, well, it isn't me who's the stupid one between us."

"You were pretty stupid when you thought I slept with Trevor."

"I know. Give me a chance to redeem myself?" Riker asked me softly. He held out his arms, and after one moment of a pause, I collapsed against him.

All I could feel were the warm kisses he peppered in my hair and his strong arms folding around me, cool and damp from rain. I let out a strangled sob, and Riker held me close.

"It's just," I sobbed, "he's my friend. I've known him forever. I can't afford to lose him, like you can't afford to lose me. It's just, we have all the time in the world. With Trevor, he could just disappear..."

"I know," Riker said in a quiet voice. I could feel the thrum of his voice vibrating in his throat. "I'm so sorry. I need you, Laura. Way more than you need me."

"I know," I echoed after him. "But you have to understand I'll be there for Trevor too."

"I know," he repeated.

I peered over his shoulder, where I saw our notes scattered across my vanity. His sloppy handwriting and my heavy writing. I inhaled his scent, and let out a long, deep breath. I had work to do, but being in Riker's arms was a much better option. He nuzzled his nose into my hair, and I buried my face into his shoulder.

And in all honesty, whether he called me a slut or not and accused me of lying and cheating, I would always love him too.

Well the ending was a little too sappy for my taste and a bit random but I'm trying to get my juices flowing. Because in all honesty, I'm dying here. But well, there's some cute Riaura fluffiness, and review what you think!

~Cynthia