Title: Like I Always Say
Pairing: Ryder/Marley
Summary: Just a cute fluffy plot that has been invading my mind for the past week. Ryder tries to impress Marley with quotes, but he never actually says it correctly. But when he invites her to Christmas vacation with him and his family, they find that this Christmas, might be the best Christmas they've had. Just like he said. Two-Shot!
Author's Note: So, I've never written a Ryley fanfic before, but I hope this won't be so bad. Anyway, this is a cute little Christmas plot that was invading my poor mind as I was watching a rerun of glee last week. Please Review and let me know if you'd like for me to write more Ryley fanfics. Requests, reviews, and criticisms are welcome.
-Sux2budude
-This is set after Marley and Jake's breakup in case you're wondering.
…
-(IN GLEE CLUB)
...
Marley smiles softly as Ryder walks over to her after singing a song of how he'd always be there for her. (I Will Be There For You by Gary Valenciano.) "I don't want to pressure you into anything you don't want, but… that was for you, Marley… and like I always say, 'The heart wants what it can't see'."
Marley suppresses a laugh, though her eyebrows furrow at him, because… when did he ever say that? And that doesn't even make sense. And what does it have to do with anything? "Don't you mean, the heart wants what it wants?" she asks with a smile.
Ryder blinks at her like he has no idea where she came up with that. With a shrug, he smiles at her, "Whatever you want."
Marley decides not to think too much of it, not wanting to offend him. She still feels bad about the way she practically blew him off after he posted that instagram picture of them on their date two weeks ago, yet he's still here, being her friend, and being there for her when she needs him.
Mr. Schue gets up, grinning at Ryder. "That was really good, Ryder; Great job." Their assignment this week was to sing whatever they want to express. And Schuester can see how much Ryder adores Marley. From the beginning, the kid has been trying to make Marley happy, even going as far as helping Jake win her affections during Valentine's Day. And even now, with Marley and Jake broken up, Ryder is still trying to make her happy. Schuester honestly has never seen anyone as sensitive and caring as Ryder… except for Finn. Schuester grins at the two, seeing a younger, less dramatic version of Finchel in them. "Alright, who wants to go next?"
...
-(IN ENGLISH CLASS)
...
"Marley!" Ryder whispers over to her from two desks over.
Marley quickly turns her attention to him, not wanting him to continue calling her name throughout class and getting the both of them in trouble. They were, after all, in the middle of a test. "What?" she whispers back to Ryder, hoping and praying that Mr. Laritate won't notice that two of his students are talking, or rather, whispering in the middle of a test.
"It's spaghetti day today."
Marley's eyebrows furrow in confusion. What in the world does that have to do with anything? And he couldn't wait until AFTER the test to tell me this? "So?" she whispers back questioningly.
He grins widely, giving her a thumbs-up. "Like I always say, 'us against the village'."
Though she's incredulous as to what that that has to do with anything, she can't help but smile at how he's saying the quote wrong. And again, when did he ever say that? "It's 'Us against the world', and what does that quote have to do with spaghetti day, or even with the test?"
He shrugs, "It can be whatever you want it to be."
Marley was sure that Ryder is hopped up on those 11 hour energy drinks that he's always on. "We have a test!" she exclaims as quietly as she can. Her eyes flicker to Mr. Laritate in fear of being heard, but thankfully, the teacher was deeply engrossed in a copy of Matched by Ally Condie. She looks back at Ryder, seeing him give her an apologetic look, mouthing a 'sorry'.
She sighs lightly, nodding to him that it's okay, and goes back to finishing her test.
She's quite thankful that she finishes her test just in time for the bell to ring, and she gladly hops out of her desk, trudging over to Mr. Laritate's desk and dropping her test in front of the teacher. "Be sure to study for your pop quiz next week." The teacher's bored tone floats through the room. "See you all on Monday."
Marley looks back, looking for Ryder to ask him what all that whispering-during-the-test thing was about, but he's nowhere in sight. Wasn't he taking the test? She thinks back, trying to remember if she even saw him taking the test, but she can't really tell. She wants to ask Mr. Laritate if Ryder took his test, but decides against it when she sees that the man won't be looking away from his book anytime soon. With that, she hurries out of the classroom, in search of Ryder.
-MR-
…
-(IN THE CAFETERIA)
…
"Do you know the muffin man- the muffin man- the muffin man- Do you know the muffin man?- he lives with Mary Jane." Ryder sings loudly.
Marley turns her head to stare at him as he plops down across from her. "Did you fall and hit your head somewhere?"
Ryder laughs, "No. why?"
"Because you've been acting really… strange, today."
"What do you mean?" Ryder asks curiously.
Marley gives him a pointed look. "Well, you keep saying 'Like I always say', and then you quote something incorrectly… and I've never recalled you ever saying any of those things before." She puts a hand to his forehead, checking if maybe Ryder was coming down with a fever. "Maybe you should wear extra padding in your football helmet. All that rough tackling is clearly damaging your brain cells."
Ryder laughs, playfully swatting her hands away. "I'm just super excited."
"About what?" Marley asks warily.
Ryder gives her a look as if to ask 'are-you-serious?'. "Marley, it's December!"
"Aaaaand?"
Ryder almost couldn't believe it. "It's just a few more days till Christmas break! It's that time of year when there's singing, and celebrating, and eating Christmas cookies, and decorating Christmas trees and watching Christmas lights twinkling in the night, and making gingerbread houses, and—and presents!"
Marley watches fondly as Ryder goes on and on about the magic of Christmas. He's almost bouncing in his seat like an excited little boy on… well, on Christmas morning.
"Marley?"
Marley snaps out of her staring, sitting up straighter. "Sorry," she laughs sheepishly.
"So what are your plans for Christmas?" Ryder asks curiously as he stuffs an entire meatball in his mouth, chewing quickly. "Your mom is awesome by the way, she—,"
"Sneaks you extra meatballs on spaghetti day." Marley finishes, laughing.
Ryder nods. "Mhmm… so, any special plans for Christmas break?"
Marley looks away. She and her mom decided that they weren't going to be doing much celebrating this year. Last year, coach Sylvester (though extremely rude in her methods of getting into their house), had been the secret Santa who made their Christmas great. But this year, Marley's Aunt Sandra is having a wedding in Texas coming up in two weeks, and invited her and her mom to visit them for Christmas break. Marley doesn't want to go, but she can't exactly stay home by herself.
Ryder notices the look on Marley's face, and his smile practically slides off his face. "Marley, what's wrong?" he asks worriedly.
Marley looks at him, offering a tiny smile and a small shake of her head. "Nothing… It's just, every year my mom and I celebrate Christmas by ourselves, and it's always special to me. But my mom's younger sister, Sandra, invited us to come down to Texas for her wedding in two weeks, and… well, I don't know if I wanna go. I have never met my cousins, and from what I've seen posted on their Facebook pages, I don't know if I even want to meet them."
Ryder sighs softly, giving her a comforting look. He knows Marley isn't the richest girl in school, but he's always looked beyond that. He doesn't care if she was a 300 pound homeless girl, living in a box. He'd still be her friend, he'd still care for her, and he'd still… love her. But she's none of those things. She's the extremely beautiful, breathtakingly gorgeous angel who stole his heart from the moment they met, and she'll always be that girl to him. He tries to think of a way to make her smile, and nothing comes to mind until it does.
Suddenly, his face lights up like a Christmas tree, and a huge smile widens on his face. "Come with me."
Marley looks confusedly at him. "I haven't even started eating my lunch yet."
Ryder shakes his head. "No… I mean, come with me for Christmas break. My family is going on a little Christmas vacation, not far from here."
Marley's eyes widen at that. "What? Are you crazy?"
"Kind of." He shrugs, making Marley giggle.
"Ryder, I would love to join you for Christmas vacation, but I can't just waltz into your family vacation. First of all, it's rude. Second, I don't want to be a bother to your family, and last, my mom probably won't even agree to that."
Ryder pinches the bridge of his nose. "Okay, one; it's not rude. I'm inviting you. Two, it's impossible for you to be a bother to my family. I mean, yeah. My dad is kind of strict, and he'll probably watch me like a hawk, but my mom is really awesome, and she'll love you. And my little brothers will certainly fall in love with you. And last, I'll talk to your mom about letting you come with me, and I'll bet my favorite shirt, that she'll agree to it."
Marley lets out a small laugh. "Yeah well, your favorite shirt is going to be mine then."
Ryder smirks, raising an eyebrow at her. "Is that a challenge?"
Marley lifts her own eyebrow, thinking about it for a moment, "Yes. Yes, it is. And I'll bet you'll lose."
Ryder laughs, getting up out of his seat. "Fine."
"Fine." Marley shrugs. "I'll make you a deal. If you can't convince my mom to let me join you and your family on Christmas vacation, you get to give up your favorite shirt." She grins, taking a long sip of her bottle of water.
Ryder laughs, nodding. "Fine. But if I win, you owe me a kiss."
Marley almost chokes on her water, coughing a little as she looks up at Ryder questioningly. "What?"
He shrugs, smiling softly at her. "You know I like you, Marley… and if your mom agrees, I can promise you that this will be the best Christmas you'll ever have. Like I always say, 'you can always live once'." With that, he makes a beeline in the direction of Marley's mom.
Marley's eyebrows furrow again. "Isn't it, 'you only live once'?" she says to no one in particular. And yet again, when did he ever say that? She shrugs, smiling widely to herself at Ryder's insane ability to make her smile without even trying.
-RM-
…
"Hi, Mrs. Rose!" Ryder calls out loudly.
Millie Rose turns, a bit startled, "Oh, Ryder! Back for more meatballs?"
Ryder laughs, "No, I'm stuffed." He says patting his stomach appreciatively. "Thanks for the extra ones earlier today."
"You're always welcome, dear." Millie smiles. She had always liked Ryder. He was kind, polite, and a good boy, and she secretly wishes Marley could forget about that Jake and give Ryder a chance. She knows Jake made a mistake, but… he still hurt Marley in the worst way, even though he promised he wouldn't. But she can easily tell that Ryder wouldn't do something like that. Marley had told her about Ryder falling for someone he was dating online, and he hadn't even met that girl. Although it turned out to be a boy, Ryder had managed to fall for someone without having to be in physical contact with them. Now if you ask her, that's exactly the kind of boy, she wants for her Marley. Someone who would respect her and her decisions, loves her for who she is, and doesn't care to be in physical contact with her, as long as he can be emotionally close. Someone who isn't like Jake and his wandering eye. "So what can I do for you, Ryder?" she asks curiously. Clearly, he was there for a reason.
Ryder is silent for a long moment, not knowing exactly how to ask Millie Rose what he wanted to ask. "Uhhh—I—I uhhh—I—,"
"What is it?" Millie asks soothingly.
Ryder takes a deep breath, before finally letting out his question. "I wanted to ask you if… If Marley could join me and my family on Christmas break? And I know that you don't want Marley to go off on her own with me and a bunch of strangers you don't know, but I promise that I won't let anything bad happen to her. I'll protect her with my life, and I promise I won't do anything stupid to sabotage our friendship, because I would never hurt her or force her into doing anything she doesn't want."
Millie Rose is silent for a long moment, and Ryder shifts uncomfortably from left to right, almost sweating from the agonizing anticipation.
Millie looks at him questioningly, "Did you talk to Marley about this?"
Ryder nods quickly. "Yes. Yes, I did."
"And what did she say?"
Ryder scratches the back of his head, "She told me to ask you first."
Millie Rose watches Ryder curiously. Most boys would give up at the mention of asking a parent for the consent of such things. But she can see the eager willingness in Ryder when it comes to Marley. He definitely cares about Marley, and maybe… just maybe, he loves her.
-MR-
…
(IN THE CAFETERIA)- AGAIN (same day).
…
Marley watches as Ryder starts making his way back to her, just as she was finished eating her lunch. She was waaay over the eating disorder.
She notices how Ryder's shoulders are slumped down as he plops down in front of her, and she doesn't think her mom gave Ryder the answer he was looking for… And oddly enough, a part of her actually felt disappointed that she wasn't going to be spending Christmas vacation with Ryder. She was actually getting excited about the prospect of spending Christmas with him. She is, after all, attracted to him, and added to the fact that he's always kind, polite, respectful, and caring, it's just another major addition to the list of things that she can't deny loving about him.
"What did she say?" Marley asks, though she thinks she knows what Ryder's answer is going to be. A sad, disappointed 'no'. She tries to cheer him up a bit, "So are you getting a kiss, or am I getting a new shirt?"
Ryder looks at her, letting a small chuckle out. "She said…" he trails off, sighing heavily. "She said yes!"
Marley jumps a little in shock. "Wait, what?!"
Ryder laughs heartily, "Got you, didn't I?"
She laughs too, not able to get mad at him for subtly tricking her into thinking her mom said no. "She said yes?"
Ryder nods excitedly, "Yup."
Marley actually thought it makes more sense for her mom to say no because she's usually overprotective about Marley being with a bunch of people she barely knows… But then again, her mom trusts Ryder. "Really?"
"Yes. So, pack your bags, Marley Rose. You're coming with me on Christmas vacation."
Marley laughs loudly. She's excited to see what Christmas is like with the Lynn family. "So this means no shirt for me." Marley pouts playfully, making Ryder laugh too.
He quirks an eyebrow at her, "That means you owe me a kiss." he pauses, looking at her as her laugh dies down a bit. "But no pressure." He adds quickly. You can bestow thine kiss upon this lowly servant, when thou art ready."
Marley grins at him, loving the fact that he's still trying to not make her feel uncomfortable, even though she's not the least bit uncomfortable anymore. She'd gladly kiss him right now, but… she can wait. After all, they have a whole Christmas break ahead of them. There's plenty of time to give him that kiss. "So where are we going for Christmas vacation?" she asks curiously.
Ryder grins excitedly as he leans forward on his elbows and smiles that goofy smile that makes her laugh. "Ever heard of The McDonald Farm?"
Marley's eyebrows pull together as she shakes her head. Ryder nods, "Yeah, me too. We're not going there."
Marley laughs hysterically as she playfully smacks his shoulder. "You are such a tease."
"Tease? Marley, I think we can both agree, that out of the two of us, you are the tease." This makes Marley laugh even harder, because she has no idea what he's even talking about.
"Seriously. Where are we going?"
"That," Ryder says getting up as the bell for the next class rings. "Is a surprise, Miss Rose. You'll just have to wait and see."
Marley playfully pouts, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes.
Ryder shakes his head, laughing. "Do not give me that look." He says with slight hint of panic in his voice as he averts his gaze and stares at the wall instead, not wanting to cave already and spoil the surprise. "Like I always say, 'You attract like bees to flowers'." He grins at her and practically sprints away before he can crack under pressure from her puppy-dog eyes.
Marley huffs, but she can't help but smile. "It's 'bee's to pollen', and when did he ever say that?" she wonders to herself. She decides that it's no use trying to figure out Ryder. He's like a puzzle that both entertains and intrigues her… Kind of like bees to flowers! She groans loudly, great. Now I'm starting to think like him. Still, she can't help but be okay with that.
-MR-
…
Author's Note: Okay, that was pretty darn long. The next chapter will be cute and fluffy and will have all that romantic stuff that we all want to read about the Ryley pairing. Anyways, REVIEW and let me know if you'd like for me to write more Ryley fanfics. I particularly like this pairing. They're so cute.
-Sux2budude