If you guys guessed Rocky (which the majority of you did) than you were all right and yeah, I'm impressed. Someone even picked up on the fact that he said he was observant in the last few chapters in Don't Let Go. Nice. I also ready somewhere, I think in a magazine or something and Ross said that Rocky was very observant, so there it is.
Also, I know I said I was going to update yesterday, but I fell and hit my head and it was bleeding and my mother panicked so she sent me to the hospital. I'm okay though. So no worries :)
So anyway, Mark is back. That's all I'm going to say about it. Read and enjoy. Much love! xx
Laura opened her eyes, she was still sleepy, so she lay still for a few moments before opening them again, remembering she had somewhere she needed to be that morning. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and looked to her right to find Ross was missing. Just as she was about to wonder where he went, the door to the room opened and Ross walked in, a smile on his face.
"Hey, I woke up an hour ago. I didn't want to wake you up, but… now that you're awake, good morning." He leaned in to kiss her and she kissed him back, blinking her eyes in confusion.
"Don't you have to be at the studio?" She asked him. "I remember you telling me something about that last night as we were falling asleep."
He nodded, "yeah, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
She smiled, "I'm fine. Go." She kissed him again and then he got up. She got out of the bed, following him until they were at the front door of the apartment. He gave her another kiss as he said goodbye and just as he left, and she was about to shut the door, it was thrown open again. "Whoa!" She said as she stumbled backwards, luckily catching herself.
Rocky, to her complete surprise, opened stuck his head into the apartment. "Whoa! Shit, sorry Laura. I didn't mean to make you almost fall over and you know, crush your head."
She narrowed her eyes, "yeah, thanks." She muttered. "Not that I'm not happy you're here, but why are you here, exactly? And by that I mean, Ross just left for the studio, since you're in the band with him, don't you have to go too?"
Rocky shook his head, "we're not recording today. He said it was for Austin and Ally." Laura's brain clicked in realization. She nodded.
"Right, now I remember."
"He wanted me to stay here with you while he was gone, he said to make sure you didn't think it was babysitting, because it's totally not."
Laura nodded again, this time slowly as she just stared at him. "Right okay, well, I'm going to go shower. Think you can stay out of trouble for half an hour?"
Rocky shrugged, "I can try, but I'm not promising anything."
Laura laughed, "noted. I'll be right back. Then, you, my dear friend, Rocky, get the wonderful honor of being my date to brunch with my mother and my sister."
"Oh." Rocky's voice was unenthusiastic, "how exciting."
Laura laughed again and then left to go take a shower. After she was done, she came out of her and Ross' room, all dressed and ready to go. Rocky was on the couch in the living room, watching tv and all seemed pretty normal.
"You're still watching that nature documentary show?" She asked as she passed him to get to the kitchen to get her handbag.
Rocky nodded, "it's interesting. I've learned so much about wildlife."
"Yeah, I bet you have," Laura answered as she checked to make sure her phone was charged (she had a bad habit of not remembering these days) and put it inside her bag, before turning to Rocky. "Ready to go?"
"Wait, just one second while the lion…oh that's not pretty. Okay!" He jumped up, turning off the tv, he turned to her a big smile on his face. "Ready!"
Laura just laughed, pushing him out the door.
"I don't understand why I have to record this again, I feel like I did it, I don't know two years ago?" Ross muttered as he sat in the recording booth. He was taking a break to drink water and rest his vocal chords, Calum next to him as he read over the music in front of him. "I'm pretty sure the last time I recorded this, Laura was with me."
"Yeah, that was so long ago, young teenagers, innocent, oblivious, not fucking like horny, crazed rabbits every five seconds." Calum gave him a look and Ross burst out laughing.
"Bro, what shows have you been watching lately?" He asked him, taking a sip from his water. "you terminology is all over the place."
"I'm twenty-three years old, Ross. I've been on this planet longer than you have, I'm pretty sure I know my terminology. Anyway, that's besides the point. What's up with you and Laura these days? Anything interesting and exciting to share?"
"Uh…no?" Ross gave him a look, "it's pretty much been the same it's been for the last two months. We're happy and love life right now. Everything's… pretty much perfect." He said as he felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out. His smile dropped as he saw who had texted him. "Well, almost perfect." Calum raised an eyebrow in question and Ross turned his phone so that he could see the screen.
"Oh, look at that, it's Mark." Calum commented. Once seeing the look on Ross' face, he shook his head, looking back to the phone. "Sorry."
"I haven't spoken to him since before my birthday in New York. Wonder what he wants now." Ross said, putting the phone back into his pocket.
"I don't know, I'm gonna go crazy here and guess he wants to maybe see you?" Calum shrugged, but Ross shook his head.
"I know him, and I know he wants something." Ross answered back, as Kevin came into the booth. He looked up and just like that, the text from his father was forgotten.
"We're ready to start again in about five minutes." He told him and Ross nodded as Calum started to follow Kevin out of the recording booth.
"Just take it easy and try not to think about it," Calum advised. Ross nodded, watching as he left the booth and looked over the music sheets, letting out a sigh.
If only it was that easy, he thought.
"Laura!" Ellen hugged her daughter as soon as she walked into the restaurant. She pulled back, only to see Rocky was there. She blinked in confusion. "Where's Ross?"
"He couldn't make it, so he sent another Lynch in his replacement," Rocky smiled at her and Ellen smiled back. She gave him a hug and then it was Vanessa's turn. As Vanessa leaned in to hug Rocky, she whispered something about needing to talk to him later. He just nodded.
"Sit, sit you two! I'm so happy to see you Laura, I feel like since you moved out, we barely get the chance to anymore." Ellen smiled at her youngest daughter.
"I know, with work and school and you know, Ross, it's been a little hectic." Rocky nodded, agreeing and watched as her hand went to her stomach. She was rubbing it and he furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what that was all about.
"I bet Ross is a handful sometimes," Vanessa agreed.
"Oh he is, but I love him ahd he's amazing so I don't mind it at all." Laura grinned, she turned to her sister, "I haven't seen much of you either, Vanessa. What's been new with you?"
She shrugged, "not much, just working and I went on a trip to Paris with Meghan recently again, so that was fun."
Laura suddenly felt saddened. She wasn't sure if it was the hormones from the pregnancy or that fact that the realization she and her sister were never around each other much anymore had just hit her, but whatever it was, she was saddened by it.
Vanessa smiled at her, "What's new with you Laura? Did Ross propose yet?"
Rocky, who had been taking a sip of his water, choked in response to her question. His eyes wide as he looked at Laura.
Laura shook her head, "no, no, trust me, not even close. We're not ready for that step yet, trust me."
Vanessa nodded, "I was only kidding but seriously, anything new?"
Laura thought for a moment, but shrugged, "nothing. We're just shooting new episodes, I've been going to a lot of the band's shows recently and hanging out with Maia. I think in the next month or so, Ross and I have to do some more promotion for Austin and Ally and do some meet and greets in Tennessee, New York, and a few other states, but otherwise, nothing's changed much."Vanessa nodded and Laura turned to Ellen, "what about you mom? What's new?"
"Nothing really, sweetheart, though, I did meet someone." Her mother's eyes sparkled and Laura suddenly felt sick. But she wasn't sure if it was from her mother's revelation or the baby.
"Oh, um, you—you did?" She finally managed to say and Ellen nodded.
"I don't think I'm ready for you two to meet him yet, but he's amazing and we just started dating a month ago."
"A—a month ago?" Laura blurted, "and you kept this to yourself for this long? Why didn't you tell me anything?"
"Well, you're hard to reach these days," Ellen pointed out. Laura bit her lip, shaking her head. That only made her nausea worse though.
"The phone works both ways mom," Laura snapped at her, she stood up and Rocky watched her, concern in his eyes. "Will you excuse me? I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." Without another word, she stormed away from the table, barely hearing Rocky say the same before he followed after her. He soon reached her, his hand on her wrist as he got her to stop. She turned to face him, her breath becoming short as she realized she was about to puke all over him if he didn't let her go.
"Can we talk?"
"Hold on, I really got to go to the bathroom first," Laura answered, resting her hand on her stomach again. He realized she'd been doing that a lot lately and when she and Ross were together, so had Ross.
He wasn't one for beating around the bush, or for lack of a better word, not being blunt, so he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Laura, I need you to be honest with me," She slowly nodded her head. "Are you pregnant?"
He didn't get an immediate answer, but the fact that she had blinked her eyes, which then went wide, her hand on her stomach had stopped moving and she abruptly ran into the bathroom, only helped confirmed his suspicions.
Rydel was sitting in the living room, humming a song to herself as she flipped through a magazine, when the front door opened. It closed a second later and she looked up to see her boyfriend was walking towards her. She smiled, putting the magazine down and wrapped her arms around him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked in surprise.
Ratliff shrugged, "I don't know, I was bored, didn't have anything to do and decided to come on by."
She gave him a look and he burst out laughing.
"I'm totally joking, Rye. I wanted to come see you, so here I am." He leaned in to kiss her and she kissed him back for a few seconds, before she broke it and looked at him. "What?"
"I don't know," Rydel shrugged, "I was just thinking about something."
"Uh-oh, that's not good." Ratliff joked as she playfully smacked him and then they sat down on the couch together. She held his hand, laying her head on his shoulder. "Sorry, what were you thinking about?"
She lifted her head and looked at him seriously for a few seconds. "I think that I'm ready."
"Ready?"
She nodded.
"Ready for…oh," Ratliff nodded in realization. "I see, you're ready for um… that." He nodded again.
"You're ready too…aren't you?" She asked. He nodded.
"Yeah, I'm not sure how to say this without sounding like a totally guy but yeah. I'm very uh… ready." She giggled. "The thing is… you are the only girl in a family of five children and I just don't want one of your brothers to come and kill me if you regret it or something."
"Eli," She looked at him seriously, the nickname making his heart melt, as cheesy as that sounded. Wow, he really needed to stop hanging around Ross. "It doesn't matter, I'll be with you and I trust you." She paused, letting her words sink in. "And so do they."
"Do they? Do they really?" He asked and she nodded her head.
"We've known you for years, okay, next to Calum, you're the guy they trust most in the world. Actually, I'm positive you're first."
He smiled at her cuteness, "yeah?"
She nodded and leaned into kiss him. He kissed her back for a few moments, Rydel pressing her lips against his harder, when he suddenly broke it and looked up at her, his hand in her hair as he ran his fingers through it. She smiled and leaned into his hand as they stared at each other, Ratliff looking into her eyes so that what he said next, she would know he wasn't bluffing about.
"I love you, Rydel." He finally whispered and her heart skipped. She wasn't expecting him to say that, and it took a few moments for her to register his words, but once she did, she smiled back at him.
"I love you too, Ellington," She whispered and then kissed him. He smiled against her lips and then deepened the kiss. He pushed her onto her back, worried that it was going to scare her, when she just shook her head, pulling him closer and kissed him again. He wrapped his arms around her and broke the kiss. He then hid his face in her neck and held her, not thinking twice about letting her go.
Laura walked out of the bathroom, her eyes downcast as she wiped her mouth to make sure it was clean. She stopped suddenly when she saw Rocky's familiar shoes in front of her.
"I'm not talking about this right now," She told him walking passed him, she turned around. "Not while we're at brunch with my family." Rocky closed his mouth and nodded.
"We're definitely talking about this afterwards. Think you can eat? I'm pretty sure you just puked."
Laura made a face, his bluntness getting to her. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm actually really hungry."
Rocky nodded, "alright, whatever you say." He held his hands up, shrugging. Laura walked ahead of him and went back to the table where she found four glasses of water and her mother and sister were waiting.
"Sorry, I just needed to freshen up a bit." Laura said as she took her seat. Rocky sat down beside her.
"What's your excuse, Rocky?"
"I uh… was stuck in line." He finally said, he leaned into whisper in Laura's ear. "Think that was believable?"
Laura gave him a look, "try making it more obvious!"
"Right, worry." Rocky cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "Anyway, let's order yeah?" He said as he picked up the menu and held it up. Laura looked at him and he gave her the thumbs up. She couldn't help herself and smiled, winking at him.
"You two are something else," Ellen shook her head. "He acts just like his brother."
"I…I wouldn't say just like his brother, because his brother is way more attractive." Laura teased.
Rocky's mouth dropped, "you did not just say that."
"Oh I did." Laura laughed. "Ross has the blonde hair and let me tell you, I love, love, love blonde hair."
"So you like Riker then too." Rocky shot back.
Laura made a face, "he's too old for me."
"Ross is younger than you." Rocky pointed out.
"By only and exactly a month!" Laura rolled her eyes, "but touche, Rocky, touché."
Rocky just smiled.
"Okay, I officially don't know what's more entertaining, Laura. You and Ross going back and forth, or you and Rocky."
Laura and Rocky looked at each other, almost horrified.
"Yeah," Vanessa leaned back in her seat. "Definitely you and Ross."
Rocky closed his eyes and fist pumped, "yes." He whispered.
Laura and Vanessa laughed.
"Well, then. Let's order? Yes." Ellen asked, gesturing to the young adults.
"Oh yes, please. Let's." Rocky grinned, adjusting himself and speaking properly.
Laura couldn't hide her laugh and burst into laughter again. Rocky was just so entertaining.
"What are you in the mood for, Laura?" Vanessa asked.
Laura thought for a moment, "waffles, or pancakes, eggs, bacon, oh my god, or both1 Or all of it!" Her eyes lit up and Rocky leaned in.
"Making it obvious," He whispered.
"Laura, you are literally the pickiest eat I've ever met in my life, how on earth are you both that hungry and willing to eat anything but go-gurt and pizza?" Vanessa asked her, narrowing her eyes.
"I'm just really hungry." Laura said, not making eye contact with her sister. Her hand went to her stomach and she just gave Vanessa an uneasy smile.
"Okay, fine." Vanessa nodded and then went back to reading over the menu.
Laura then exchanged a look with Rocky and then breathed out a big sigh of relief she hadn't known she was holding.
As everyone was leaving after the brunch was over, Vanessa pulled Rocky to the side.
"Sup?" He asked her.
"Yeah, sup." She repeated, looking distracted. She looked back at Rocky. "So um, I understand that you spend a lot of time with Laura and Ross, notice anything… different about them lately?"
He was about to out his little brother and his girlfriend so he just shook his head. "Nope, haven't noticed a thing. They're still pretty much the same. All over each other, having sex every like five seconds… ya know," He shrugged, "the ush."
"The ush?" Vanessa narrowed her eyes.
"Yes, that's what I said," Rocky confirmed, "the ush."
"Alright…" Vanessa still had her eyes narrowed but Rocky didn't react to it. He grew up with Rydel, and Rydel was nothing if not worse an interrogator than Vanessa. Though, he did have to admit that Vanessa was a bit scarier since her eyes, make up and hair were a little darker than Rydel's. She then patted his back and smiled, "we'll catch up soon, yeah? I want to know all about the life of Rocky Lynch, rockstar."
"Oh yeah, I'm down. Just let me know when." He smiled at her and she nodded.
"Okay, I will." Then she went to join her mother who was speaking to Laura about living with Ross.
"He's amazing really, mom and I'm not just saying that because his brother is right here." Laura smiled, her eyes twinkling.
Rocky laughed, "yeah, whatever you say, Laura."
Laura rolled her eyes just as her mother's car pulled up.
"Well, this is us, goodbye Laura, please, don't hesitate to call. We can meet anytime you'd like to."
Laura nodded, feeling a bit uneasy in the hug. "Yeah, uh… maybe. I don't know." She wasn't going to admit it, but that fact that her mother had a boyfriend bothered her. A lot. Even if it shouldn't as her mother hadn't been with anyone in years. "Depends on how busy I am… but…" She trailed off.
"You always make time for your mother." Ellen told her and Laura nodded, silently agreeing.
"I'll see you soon." Vanessa promised as they hugged. Laura nodded.
"Please," She whispered.
Vanessa smiled at her as she pulled away from the hug and then leaned in to hug Rocky.
"Have a good one, Vanessa. Talk to you soon." He said, "oh and Ellen! Thanks for the amazing brunch, I had a great time."
She smiled, "of course, anytime, Rocky." She hugged him and with that she and Vanessa were off.
Laura let out a deep breath and tapped her hands on her thigh as she looked around waiting for the valet to pull her car around.
"So, should we talk about—" Rocky began, but was interrupted by a loud squeal. He looked confused as Laura's head snapped to a young girl around their age, running towards her. She basically tackled Laura as they hugged, and Laura was so shocked by it, she barely reacted to it.
The girl then pulled away from the hug and Laura saw who it was, her eyes widening.
"Amber? What are you—"
"I just had brunch with my family, they're over there." She pointed behind her and Laura nodded.
"Why are you being so nice to me? Last time I checked, you hated me." She was so confused.
"What are you talking about? I don't hate you!" Laura was a professional actress and she knew when someone was acting fake or not. But it didn't take a professional actress to pick up on it.
"Really, because on the last day of school before winter break, you tried to make my life… well, hell." Laura told her, "you were so mean to me."
"Was I?"
"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," Laura snapped at her. "Drop the act, I can tell you're faking it."
Amber's demeanor then completely changed.
Knew it, Laura thought. Thank god Rocky was just a few feet away as he'd left to give them privacy.
"Well, you did ruin Ben's life…" Amber told her.
"How did I ruin his life? He was the one who spread lies about me and my costar."
"Sure about that?" Amber asked. Laura just shook her head in disbelief.
"Why the hell would I tell anyone, let alone a complete random about my sex life?" Laura demanded.
"Because," Amber stepped closer, "you were drunk. You didn't know what you were doing."
"Screw you, Amber. I never liked you and you never liked me. Why are you so set on ruining my life?" Laura's tone was so cold and she looked a bit hurt, but quickly masked it.
"Well, we were friends at one point," Amber pointed out. "But that night you blabbed your secret to the world, was also the night you took something away from me."
"One, it wasn't a secret because it's not true. It never was, and also, what could I have possibly taken from you?"
"Just watch your back," Amber's voice was the bitchiest she'd ever heard. She smirked at her and let out a humorless giggle. She wiggled her fingers, "bye bye."
"I'm not afraid of you," Laura's tone was fierce.
"Well, you should be," And before Laura could say another word, she was gone.
Laura bit her lip and turned to face Rocky, walking over to him as he was standing beside her car.
"You okay?" He asked her, his hand on her arm. She turned to look at Amber, who just fake-sweetly waved at her and then glared at her, Laura gave her a dirty look in return and then turned back to Rocky.
"I'm perfectly fine." She answered, her tone clippy. She paid the valet and then they both got into the car.
"Can we talk?" Rocky asked and Laura nodded, knowing it was better just to get it over with. "Cool, so how long have you known? Does Ross know? You know, questions such as that."
"I've known since around Ross' birthday, he does know, yes, and to answer your next question, no one else knows but you, Ross, Maia and I."
"Maia?"
"I went to her when I was worried about it in New York, and she happened to be there, so we got tests and they came out negative. I was still feeling sick, so I went to a doctor and then at Ross' surprise party, she picked up on it and I told her. She was technically the first person to know."
"So, have you guys talked about what to do?" Rocky asked.
"Yeah, we decided we're going to keep it, but we want to tell everyone else when we're ready, so don't say a word." She looked at him as she stopped at a stoplight. Rocky held his hands up and shook his head.
"I may be a little nuts and random, but I'd never tell a secret like that."
"Thanks, I appreciate that."
Rocky reached over and patted her knee, in a comforting brotherly gesture. She smiled, but it soon faded away.
"How did you know?" She asked him quietly.
"When my mom was pregnant with Ross and Ryland, I noticed she kept putting her hand on her stomach as a way to comfort herself if she got too worked up or something. She also would rub it if she wasn't feeling well or if it was absentminded, like she didn't know she was doing it."
"How could you possibly have known that? You were like two or three."
Rocky shrugged, "guess I'm just that observant, I guess."
Ross sighed as he opened the apartment door, dropping his keys by the front door, he walked further into it, noticing the tv was on and his older brother was in front of it. He walked closer and noticed Laura was on the other end of the couch, fast asleep, while Rocky had his head against his hand, his eyes closed.
"Hey," Ross whispered, lightly shaking Rocky. Rocky opened his eyes. "I didn't mean to wake you, I'm sorry. Everything okay?"
"Yeah," Rocky nodded, "everything's fine. She fell asleep the minute we got back."
Ross looked at Laura, "I should probably get her into bed," He said and Rocky agreed. He walked over to Laura and gently put his arms underneath her. He picked her up, bridal style and then walked into the bedroom where he put Laura down, covering her with the sheets. He leaned down, softly kissing her forehead and then left the room, softly closing the door.
"Hey," Rocky got his attention, causing Ross to lift his head. "You're a really amazing guy, I have to admit." He put his hand on Ross' shoulder. "Amazing to her and amazing all around."
Ross laughed softly. "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, Rocky. Thanks for being with her all day."
"Yeah, no problem. We had a fun day, brunch with her mom and Vanessa, then we came back and just played a few rousing games of UNO, I won by the way," Ross laughed again, shaking his head, "and then watched couple movies."
"Sounds like a fun day," Ross said as he pulled out a glass, offering it to Rocky who just politely shook his head. He got himself a glass of water.
"How was the studio?"
Ross shrugged, "it was alright, I recorded a song I already recorded a while ago with Laura and then a few more songs. I believe Laura has to go in sometime this week to record as well, but in the meantime we're shooting."
Rocky nodded, "sounds… like the life of Ross Lynch."
Ross laughed, "yeah that's it, right there. Any news on band rehearsal?"
Rocky shook his head, "no, haven't heard anything yet, but I'll let you know, if not me, then Riker or Ryland will. Not too sure about Rydel and Ratliff these days. They've reached 'Raura' status," He said, using quotations with his fingers.
"'Raura' status? Is that even a thing?" Ross raised an eyebrow.
"It is now. Anyway, I got to get going, but have a good night. Take it easy, buddy."
"Yeah you too," Ross said as he walked him to the door. "And thanks again."
"Anytime." Rocky smiled at him and with that he left. Ross closed the door and suddenly, he felt exhausted. He cleaned out his water glass and then walked into the bedroom, where he found Laura was still asleep. He changed his clothes and then got into bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her against him.
That woke up Laura and she turned around to sleepily face him. "Ross?"
"Yeah?" He kissed her forehead softly. "What are you doing awake? Go back to sleep."
She shook her head, "no… I'm awake now, sort of. I haven't seen you all day, I want to talk about it." She yawned, laying her head on Ross' chest as he lay flat on his back. He rubbed her back.
"I heard you had a pretty eventful day." Ross said, "with Rocky, I mean."
Laura nodded, "yeah, but it was fun." She looked like something was bothering her, and Ross picked up on it quickly.
"What's wrong?"
Laura looked up at him, "my mother has a boyfriend."
"Why aren't you happy about that?"
Laura shrugged, "I don't know. I really don't. She wasn't with my father ever growing up and he passed away, so there's no chance of that happening, but… I don't know. I've always just known her to be by herself, with Vanessa and I."
"You don't like change, do you?" Ross asked her and Laura shook her head.
"Well, certain things, no. I hate it."
Ross nodded.
"And also, Amber, the bitch who helped Ben tell our secret about what happened between us to the media, threatened me, though I have no idea what she's talking about and I'm not really scared of her. And also, Rocky knows about the baby." Laura told him, fearing he'd freak out.
"He's way too observant sometimes," Ross sighed. "But I know he wont say anything."
"You sure about that?"
"He's Rocky. If he wanted to say something he would have by now, to the world. Trust me, he's good, as for Amber. She's a bitch, ignore her. She'll basically do anything to get money and if you want me to be honest, I think she's jealous of you." Ross paused and Laura nodded, agreeing. "As for your mother, I don't really know what to say. I mean, I'd be pissed off too, if my mother was dating again, but we had two completely different situations."
"I know, I just… I don't know. I'll probably get over the shock and come around to it, eventually, but for now, I think I'll just stay in denial," She looked up at him and Ross looked down at her, amused. She reached up and softly kissed him. "By the way," She said as she pulled away, a small smile on her face. "Rocky says Rydel and Ratliff have reached 'Raura' status."
"'Raura' status? Really Rocky?" Ross made a face and Laura laughed. "But anyway, what does he mean by that?"
Laura shrugged, "I don't know, but I think that means they're officially as cheesy as we are."
Ross laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Rydel gives him a lot of shit for hanging around me a lot."
"Yeah you romantic you," Laura teased. "I love it though, so keep it up."
"It's not going anywhere," Ross assured her as he leaned in to kiss her. "Let's get some sleep okay? Tomorrow, we're going to go visit my mamma."
Laura grinned, "sounds good to me." And with one last kiss, they both fell into a peaceful sleep.
The next morning, Ross stopped the car in front of his mother's house. He helped Laura out and then together, they walked up the pathway to the front door. He opened it, sticking his head inside.
"Riker?" He asked, walking into the foyer as Riker lifted his head up from his phone.
"Hey! How's it going? Sup Laura?" He asked, giving them both hugs.
"Great, yeah, where's mom?"
"Oh she's—right there." Riker pointed behind him and Ross turned to see his mother walk into the room, her arms went around Ross and Laura's shoulders.
"I'm so happy to see you two!" She smiled at them and both Ross and Laura shared a smile in between them before smiling back at her. "I feel like it's been ages!"
"Mom, we saw you like two days ago at the concert," Ross reminded her.
"Right, good point." Stormie smiled. "Well, come in, we have the kitchen and the dining room all set up for breakfast." They nodded and followed her into the other room. She handed the pitcher of orange juice to Laura who took it, but she felt a wave of nausea and it promptly caused her to lose her grip and for the orange juice to fall to the ground, the glass shattering and the orange juice going all over the floor. She looked down at her feet horrified and then back up at Ross, tears in her eyes.
Ross rushed over to her immediately. "Oh god, Laura, are you okay? Step away from the broken glass." He gently pulled her to the side as Stormie got a rag and started to clean the mess.
"I'm so sorry, oh my god. Stormie, I apologize. Like… shit, I mean, crap, I mean… I'm really sorry." Laura kept apologizing but Ross just shook his head, pulling her to him, he held her.
"Don't worry about it, okay? It's fine. It's just juice." He pulled away and cupped her face in his hands, "are you okay?"
"I felt nauseous," She whispered to him, "I didn't expect it to come at that moment." Her eyes filled with tears again and he kissed her forehead softly.
"It's okay, how do you feel right now?"
"It came and went, but I think it's going to come back again." Laura told him and sure enough, she felt it. Ross nodded and took her hand in his, he looked up and noticed Riker was walking into the kitchen at that moment, "Hey, Riker, can you help mom? Laura needs to use the bathroom."
"She can't go herself?" Riker asked him, Ross and Laura both taken aback by his sudden attitude. "She knows where it is."
"Dude, just please… take care of it, we'll be right back." Ross passed by him just as Rocky walked into the kitchen.
"I just don't understand why she can't go to the bathroom herself." Riker was saying, "not that I'm pissed off about it or anything, more like, curious."
"Dude, just let them go," Rocky thankfully came to the rescue. "Ross, take her to the bathroom, Riker, help me and mom with this mess."
Laura knew that if she and Ross didn't get to a bathroom and fast, there would be a second mess to clean up and she was positive no one was going to want to eat after that, so she tugged and Ross' hand and together, they walked to the bathroom. He opened the door, finding it empty and locked it. He turned on the sink water to block out the noise and got a towel as Laura closed her eyes, hoping the morning sickness would just pass.
"Take your time," Ross told her. "Don't worry about… them. Rocky will keep them distracted. I hope." She giggled softly at that, but it didn't help her situation.
Ross held her hand, rubbing it softly as she breathed in and out slowly. She closed her eyes, leaned against the wall and slowly slid down it, Ross following her. He still held her hand and Laura just concentrating on breathing for a few more seconds.
"I think—I think I'm okay." Laura told him standing up. He just stared at her for a few seconds and then gave her the wet towel to clean off her shoes. She bent down to clean it and as she did, the nausea came back, but this time, showed no signs of going away. She barely made it the two feet to the toilet, before she threw up whatever she had in her stomach into it. Ross rubbed her back and held her hair back as she continued for about thirty more seconds. After she was done, she flushed the toilet and shakily stood up.
Luckily, they both still had their toothbrushes there from when Ross was still living at his mother's house, so she quickly brushed her teeth and then used the mouthwash. After that was done, Ross helped her clean her shoes and anything else.
"I'm sorry, you know." Ross said as she sat on the toilet and he lifted her foot up.
"For what?" She asked.
"For getting you pregnant," He answered, looking up at her. "You have to feel like shit all the time because of something I did."
She smiled at him, "Ross, it was something we both did and it's not your fault. Well, not all your fault."
"If you're trying to make me feel better, you failed." He muttered and she laughed, shaking her head.
"Look, if it was really that much of an issue, I probably would've not told you and done something completely different." Ross' eyes widened slightly, "but I'm not that kind of girl."
"Thank god for that."
"I love you and I love this child. Nothing's going to change that, no matter how sick I get." Laura assured him.
"Okay, but again, I'm sorry. I just feel bad you know, because I cant stop it."
"I know, and that's enough for me," She leaned in and softly kissed him. He kissed her gently and then they broke apart.
"You're all cleaned up," He said, getting up, he held his hand out for her to take. "Don't sorry about the orange juice pitcher, it's not like a family heirloom or anything, my mom got it for ten bucks at Target. It's replacable, just like the orange juice is."
Laura nodded, "I know, I just felt bad because it was a mess I made and I couldn't even clean it."
Ross waved off her concern, "if it was that much of an issue, my mom would have said something, but she had five kids. She knows what to expect."
Laura giggled and fell against him as he opened the bathroom door and they slowly stepped out of it. He wrapped his arm around her, smiling down at her as they walked back into the dining room.
"Ross?"
Ross lifted his head and his and Laura's cute moment was abruptly ended. Because standing in front of him, for the first time in weeks, was his father.
"Hi, um… Mark." Laura waved at him awkwardly. "Nice to see you."
"Yeah, it's nice to see you too," Mark gave her a smile and she just nodded, straightening her body as Ross just stood still.
"Why are you always here at the most unexpected, random times?" He asked, not meaning to sound rude, but more curious. "It's like you plan these things."
Mark shrugged, "it's not intentional."
"Right." Ross nodded and then moved passed him, "if you'll excuse us, we have to go see if mom needs any help."
"Did you get my text?" Mark called after him and he slowly turned around.
"I got it, but I couldn't read it because I was working and it sort of slipped my mind. Sorry about that."
Mark waved off his apology.
With that, both Ross and Laura walked back into the kitchen.
"Mom?"
Stormie lifted her head.
"Why is dad here?" Ross asked her. "You know, random and unexpectedly."
Riker and Rocky looked up from the floor where they were still wiping up the mess. Laura tried to help them, but Ross gently pulled her back up, with a discreet shake of his head. She sighed, knowing that he was mostly concerned that if she fell and slipped, hurting herself, then it would probably harm the baby.
"Dad's here?" Rocky asked.
Ross nodded, "you didn't know?"
Rocky shook his head and Riker did the same, though he seemed more excited then anything and threw his rag down, getting up, he stepped over what was left of the mess and greeted Mark with a hug.
Rocky just shrugged and continued to clean.
"What was that?" Laura whispered to Ross, who only shook his head in response. He bent down to help Rocky out, while Laura went to Stormie to ask if she needed help with anything.
"Ryland! How are you?" They heard Mark ask happily, Ross lifted his head and noticed that Ryland didn't look as happy to see him.
"Yeah, hey." He answered back, almost as if he didn't care one way or the other that he was there. Though, his eyes lit up when he saw Ross and Laura and immediately he smiled, hugging Laura. Ross stood up and gave him a hug before going back to cleaning up the orange juice. "Guys what's up? What happened here?"
"I accidently dropped the pitcher of orange juice," Laura explained. "I'm sorry about that, truly sorry."
Stormie smiled, "think nothing of it. When Ross was maybe five or six, maybe younger, he had a pitcher of milk in his hands, tripped over what I assume was something invisible and spilled it all over the place."
"You know what that means, right?" Rocky asked Ross, who just shrugged in response. "You and Laura are so meant for each other," He cracked.
"Hah hah, you're so funny, you too, mom, hilarious," Ross rolled his eyes as Laura put her hand over her face to hid her giggling.
Stormie put a hand on Laura's shoulder, "See? It happens."
Laura nodded just as Rydel and Ratliff came into the kitchen. Mark walked in at that moment and greeted her, but she ignored him.
"When's dinner mom? We're hungry."
"Ready in about five minutes, why don't you guys all take a seat in the dining room? Uh, Mark? You go in there as well."
Rydel glared at her father for a moment, "why is he here?"
"He has news and would like to share it with everyone," Ross could tell by the look on her face that the news wasn't good at all. "So, go on, I'll finish cleaning." Everyone did as she said and went into the dining room, where they all took their usual seats.
"What's this exciting news?" Ryland sarcastically asked.
"Well, first I'd just like to say that I'm very happy to see each and everyone one of you, as it's been a while—" Mark began.
"Stop the bullshit and get to the point," Rydel snapped at him. Ross gave her a look, but she just shook her head, biting her lip. Ross could forgive him and give him another chance if he wanted to (not that she knew for a fact that he did) but Rydel wasn't sure going to. And she had her own good reasons for that.
"As you know, I've been seeing Serena—"
"Behind everyone's back, yeah we're aware," Ryland cut him off.
"Well, I've asked her to marry me."
"What?" Everyone said at once.
"Why the fuck would you do that?" Ross demanded, "it hasn't even been four months since everyone found out, and who knows if you've signed the divorce papers or not, but seriously, what the fuck?"
"Ross," Laura nudged him softly with her elbow.
"Sorry, but that's just…inexcusable." Ross answered back and Rocky nodded in agreement.
"Especially since you were cheating on mom with her for two damn years," Rocky couldn't believe it.
"Look, I know it's not something you guys are particularly happy about—"
"No shit." Rydel gave him a look, "why on earth would we be happy about that? You and mom made it seem like you had this epic fairytale romance and you kept it up for the majority of our lives. But it was a lie, and so is this marriage you're going to have again. God only knows once you see another hot woman like Serena after you get married, if you'll cheat on her or not."
"Look, I'm sorry things didn't work out between your mother and I and that things ended between us the way they did but you have no right to—"
"Be disrespectful?" Ross cut him off. "You lost all our respect the moment you first touched Serena, whenever the hell that was."
"Ross, maybe we should go outside for a minute," Laura softly suggested. Ratliff agreed, turning to Rydel.
"Yeah, as far away as I can get from him, the better. Tell mom I'm not hungry anymore," Rydel got up and turned, storming out of the dining room, she held Ratliff's hand and then went upstairs to her room.
"Unless you have a good reason for this, I don't really care. Actually, I don't care either way." Rocky said, standing up, he too left the room, Ryland following after him since he didn't want to stick around and had nothing to say to Mark.
Mark looked at Ross. "I do have a good reason."
"Yeah, great. If you haven't noticed, nobody gives a shit." Ross snapped at him. He didn't make any eye contact or a move to leave the room. He looked over at Laura who held his hand in hers.
"Riker?" Mark turned to his oldest son. Ross lifted his head, interested in what Riker had to say.
"Yeah?"
"You're not… mad are you?"
"Not really." Riker admitted. "I mean, yeah I'm pissed that you cheated on mom and all, but I'm happy for you."
Ross couldn't believe it. "What the hell?" He shouted at him. "How can you be happy for someone who cheated on mom for two fucking years, kept it a secret and then you know to get out his anger or whatever, abused not only me, but Rydel. Your fucking sister."
"There's not point in holding things against someone that happened in the past." Riker said.
"Get your head out of your ass and listen to what you're saying! If you hadn't noticed, Rocky, Rydel and Ryland all left because they couldn't stand to be around him anymore. I can't even stand to be around him."
"Well, maybe he has a legit reason." Riker argued, "stop being such a hardass and grow up."
"Ross, come outside," Laura stood up, gently tugging his wrist. "We need to go outside for a minute." Ross silently nodded and allowed her to lead him out of the door.
Just as he left the room though, Stormie came in, Ryland, Rydel, Rocky and Ratliff behind her.
"Serena is pregnant," Mark called after him and he stopped short, Laura did the same and they both slowly turned around. "That is why I'm marrying her."
"She's pregnant." Rydel repeated, "oh my god, wow. You really want us to hate you, don't you?"
Laura looked at Ross, who looked like he was going to say something else, but he bit down on his lip and kept quiet. Instead, he followed Laura outside as Rydel left again and her brothers stayed in the room with their father.
"We should go home," Ross said as soon as they got outside. "I don't want to be around him right now."
Laura nodded, "alright, we can leave." She said, "but before we go…" She hugged him, her arms going around his neck, she pulled him closer and just held him as he slowly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back.
"Thanks," He whispered, "I needed that." She nodded and then without a word, took his hand and they both went back inside.
"We have to go home," Laura looked around at everyone. "I have to be in the studio to record songs for Austin & Ally in an hour."
Ross was positive that want true, but he wasn't going to say anything to correct her.
Laura awkwardly smiled, "thanks for a lovely time…" She hugged Stormie and then Ross' brothers. She didn't bother to go anywhere near Mark, not that anyone blamed her, and with that, she took Ross' hand and they left the house. Silently, they got into the car and Ross drove off. His finger was tapping the wheel, and after a few moments, Laura reached over and took his hand in hers, holding it tight. "I'm proud of you, you know."
"Of me? Why?"
"Because, you and I both know you have a really bad habit of blurting things out and I was almost positive you were going to say something about my pregnancy, but you didn't." Ross slowed the car down to a stop and turned to look at her. She had a smile on her face.
He smiled back at her, he just couldn't help it. "Yeah, well, I wasn't about to share news he didn't really deserve to know, so I fought to keep my mouth shut." His face grew serious, "it was so hard."
Laura laughed, "I bet it was, but…" She trailed off for a few moments, "how do you honestly feel about the pregnancy and everything? And I'm not talking about mine."
Ross shrugged indifferently, "if he wants us to hate him more, than that's his problem, not mine. But I'll tell you one thing, I'm sure as hell not going to his wedding."
Laura nodded, knowing better than to argue with him. "Okay, that's up to you." She said quietly.
After a few more minutes, they pulled into the parking lot of their apartment and Ross went to the other side, he opened the door for her and then together, they took the elevator to their floor. Ross yawned as soon as he opened the door.
"Are you hungry? We didn't eat anything, so I'm assuming you are."
Laura nodded.
"Want anything in particular? Besides, go-gurt?"
Laura giggled, "I want pancakes."
Ross pretended to breathe out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god you said that, because I wanted pancakes too."
Laura smiled, "then go ahead and make them. I'll be here, unless you need my help."
Ross thought for a moment, "cut the strawberries?"
She nodded and together, they started to work on making their breakfast. Though, Ross got an idea in the middle of it, and picked up the flour, flicking it in her direction. It landed on her face and on her shirt.
"Ross!" She squealed and turned around, only to get flicked in the face again. He burst out laughing and she playfully glared at him.
"Can't get me now, can you?" He asked as he ran around the island.
"I'm still faster than you," Laura reminded him and caught up to him easily, a hand full of flour thrown in his face. He spit it out and she smiled innocently.
"Okay, you won that one, I'll admit it." He began, "but this is your reward." He reached over and then started to tickle her, she laughed and tried to get out of his hold, but it was too strong for her. After a few minutes, he rested his hands on her stomach and softly rubbed it. She looked up at him and then leaned in to kiss him, her hands going into his flour dusted hair. He kissed her back, pressing her against the counter, but realizing that that probably hurt her, lifted her up on top of the counter and then he kissed her deeper.
"Probably not the right time to say this," Laura panted as he broke the heated kiss and kissed her neck, "but…" She lifted his head so that he was looking right at her, "I want you." She kissed him hard and deep to further emphasize her point.
He nodded and then picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist, he just held her against him as he shut off the stove, ignoring the fact that she was kissing his neck, and carried her to their room where he gently laid her on the bed. She quickly took off his shirt and he took off hers, not wasting another moment and leaned into fiercely kiss her.
"Breakfast can wait," He growled against her mouth and her response was to let out a moan and pull him closer.
"We probably should really eat something," Laura told Ross as she traced circles and other random shapes on Ross' chest. "I'm starving."
"Yeah, me too. The food's probably cold now."
"That's why god invented a microwave."
"Smartass," Ross muttered and Laura giggled, kissing him she got out of the bed and redressed in a t-shirt of his and her boy shorts. She pulled him up.
"Calm on lazybutt, let's get to eating, I'm so hungry I could eat… a lot." She blinked in confusion for a few moments.
"You're so hungry, you couldn't even make the sentence make sense." Ross said as he put on his boxers. He wrapped an arm around her, "calm on, let's get you some food before you do something crazy like eat my hair or some shit."
Laura laughed as they walked out into the living room. "What makes you think I'd do that?"
"I don't know, you're Laura, and you're pregnant. Pregnancies can make you crave such random things, like pretty soon, you're probably going to want pickles and peanut butter or ice cream and chilli."
Laura smiled at him, "I see you've been reading those books I got you."
"Yeah, well, don't get too excited. Most of it scarred me for life."
She laughed as he put the pancakes he'd made into the microwave. "I bet it did."
"They even had diagrams. I mean, I took the class in high school, that was enough emotional scarring to last me for the rest of my life."
"Just wait until I give birth," Laura told him, "you'd probably pass out."
"Yeah, most likely." Ross agreed, the microwave beeped to let them both know the food was ready and he brought it to her, bringing the strawberries Laura had cut with him. He put the plate in front of her and then got up to grab two more, a fork and a knife.
"I think," Laura thought outloud as she took the fork and grabbed a strawberry. "I think the baby will be a boy."
"You do? Why?"
"I don't know, it's something I feel, if that makes any sense. But we wont know anyway for a couple of months."
"So if it's a boy, what do you want to name him?"
"Well, you said you'd name a boy, Austin or Riley, because you have a thing with R's in your family I swear, so I was thinking, Riley Austin or Austin Riley."
Ross smiled, "I love that, combining my two favorite names."
Laura giggled.
It was silent for a few seconds.
Then, "what if it's a girl?"
"Well, like you said again, you wanted to name it Ally and I was thinking of Chloe or Ariana. So, maybe something like Allyson Chloe or Ariana Allyson and she could go by her middle name."
"Wow, you've really thought this out," Ross smiled at her and then reached over to take her hand in his. "Well, whatever we name the baby, it'll be perfect."
All Laura could do, was smile back and eat her food.
"Love you, Lorax," He said and her smile grew bigger.
"Love you too, Rozy."
Rydel didnt know how to feel. she was so mentally messed up, all she wanted to do was spend time with Ratliff. So, after Ross and Laura left, she went back downstairs to get him and pulled him with her to her room. Locking the door, she turned to him and he just raised an eyebrow.
"Did you just lock the door?"
She nodded, going closer to him, she put one hand on the back of his neck and pulled him closer, softly kissing him, before breaking it for a moment and then pressing her lips against his harder.
"I'm ready." She told him.
"Ready? Right now? With your entire family downstairs?"
She nodded, "I want you... right here, right now."
"Rye, you're... not thinking right." Ratliff pulled himself away from her, reluctantly. "You're upset about your father and you're using me to get some kind of emotional release from it or whatever it is."
Rydel shook her head, "no, no. I'm not. I'm serious, I'm ready to take the next step with you."
"You might be saying you are, but right now isn't the right time. I'm sorry, but I can't do it." He gave her a sad look, before unlocking the door and leaving the room. Rydel just stared at herself in the mirror behind the door and once she saw tears in her eyes, became angry. She picked up the closest thing she could find and threw it at the door, barely missing the mirror and finally she broke down, her hands in her hair, she just rocked back and forth for a few moments, until she finally calmed down. Staring at herself in the mirror again, she made the decision that right then and there, she was going to be someone different.
She only hoped her family understood, because she wasn't going to make them understand. They didnt have a choice anymore.
Dun, dun, dunn...! What do you think is going on with Rydel? Hmm... well anyway. She's out of character, I decided to give her, her own subplot so... yeah. Can't wait to see where it goes with her.
And again, I'm so sorry, I didnt update yesterday. I feel terribly about that. But to make for it, I made this really long. Heh, see you next time or if you have a twitter, on twitter! xx