"What Ross?" Laura didn't attempt to conceal the annoyance in her voice.
"Oh," Ross's heart rate increased. "I didn't know you would answer."
"Well, if i didn't, you would've kept calling."
"I wanted to say I was sorry." He paused, "For fighting over nothing."
Laura sighed, realizing that she couldn't stay mad at him. "It's okay," she said without hesitation, "I forgive you."
"Really?" A smile spread wide across his face.
"But," she added quickly, "You really hurt my feelings today. How could you ever say that I don't like you? I love you. You're my best friend."
Ross leaned back again, gazing up at the ceiling while he held the phone to his ear. "I know," he began, "It just seems like something isn't right."
"Well, we aren't who we used to be." The sentence rang in his ears. "That doesn't mean that we aren't still friends, though."
Ross sat up, once again, fidgeting. He cracked his neck and took another deep breath, her statement still echoing in his ears. "Tell me again why we aren't who we used to be?"
Laura furrowed her eyebrows and put down her pencil, focusing all of her attention on the conversation. "Well, we're older..."
"That doesn't mean that we can't be the same," he replied, bluntly.
Laura pursed her lips, "Ross, is something bothering you? You know you can talk to me about anything."
He swallowed hard, "No, forget it. I'm glad we're cool. I'll see you tomorrow, Laura. Sweet dreams." Without waiting for a reply, he hung up the phone and threw it to the side. He covered his face with his hands and grinded his palms into his eyes, his frustration taking over. When did everything become so complicated?
The next day, Riker tapped gently on Rydel's open bedroom door. "Knock knock," he caused her to look up.
Rydel smiled brightly at him, "Hey, what's up?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Ross," he said, glancing around her room before he took a seat on her bed.
She pursed her lips and avoided eye contact with him, "Yeah, sure. What about him?"
He bit his lower lip, "Do you think you could lay off the jokes about his loss of innocence?"
"They're not jokes," she replied, defensively. "I'm stating facts."
His eyes widened, "Calm down, Rydel. Facts or not, just take an easy on him."
She stood up, "Riker, you don't understand 'cause you're a boy. It's kinda tough for a sister to witness these things from her baby brother."
He inhaled deeply, holding his breath for a few moments. "It's not like you actually saw him in the middle of anything. I could understand your disgust if you did."
"He's a baby."
"He's 17."
Rydel pouted and plopped back down on her bed. "I don't know why I'm getting so crazy."
Riker exhaled, "Yeah, 'cause you didn't do this for Rocky."
"Rocky is only a year younger than me."
He couldn't help but to smile, "And Ross is only 2 years younger than you."
She looked up at her big brother, a small smile forming on her face. "I know. I'm weird."
"And I love you for it." He grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. "So let's just not talk about it anymore. If we ignore it and Ross doesn't talk about it, then it'll be like nothing has changed. Okay?"
She pulled away from him, "Okay." Standing up, she straightened her dress and walked over to her closet. Turning to Riker, she smiled, "Now, will you help me get Ellington's birthday present down the stairs?"
"So then this guys comes walking down the hallway eating corn on the cob! I'm like, 'Dude, it's 7 o'clock in the morning and you're at school. Why are you eating corn?' I was so confused..." Ryland laughed as he reached forward and took a Dorito out of the bowl in the middle of the table.
Calum laughed along with the others, "I believe it. There were some pretty strange kids at that school when I went there."
Riker chuckled and glanced around the room, "We're just waiting on Laura and Ross, right?"
Rydel put the finishing touches on Ellington's birthday card and shoved it into the envelope. "And Ratliff," she grinned.
"Well, obviously," Riker teased just as the front door swung open and Ross walked in, carrying a large birthday cake.
"I got it!" he announced as he moved slowly over to the refrigerator and shoved it inside. Exhaling deeply, he turned and looked at the group, "Everything is gonna go perfectly."
"Oh, no," Ryland smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand and shut his eyes.
"What?" Ross furrowed his eyebrows as he took a seat. "What did I do?"
Rocky sighed, "You just jinxed us. Whenever you say something is gonna go perfectly, it's a disaster." He paused, "It's a proven fact."
Rydel rolled her eyes, still standing, "Oh, c'mon. It's gonna be fine."
Just then, the front door opened again and Laura came rushing in with a gift in her arms. "Did I miss anything?" she asked urgently and out of breath. She shut the door with her leg and rushed into the kitchen, "He's not here yet, is he?"
Ross stood up, "No, you're good."
She smiled at him as she placed her present on the table and straightened her outfit. "My dad unexpectedly needed the car today, so I had to ask my friend for a ride," she explained.
"I could've picked you up," Ross stated, his voice a little edgy.
"I know," Laura continued to smile, "He lives just down the road though and he didn't mind." The group turned their heads back and forth between the two of them.
"He? Who is-" Just as Ross was about to ask, Ellington threw the back door open and beamed widely at his friends.
"I'm here!" he exclaimed.
Everybody turned their attention to the birthday boy and cheered, "Happy birthday!" The tension was forgotten and new smiles were plastered on their faces.