~Nothing That I Can Do To Make You Change Your Mind~

WayneWayne frowned as he watched Rhuben pull a blanket tighter around her body, shivering and sniffing. He felt terrible about what had happened to her. He understood the stress of everything surrounding both of his friends, and had even wondered if being at a relationship at this point was a good idea of either of them, but like usual, he didn't speak up.

WayneWayne was normally seen as outgoing and fun when hanging around his friends, but he could also be shy and think about what he wanted to say carefully before deciding whether or not he actually wanted to say it. In this case, he was kicking himself, hoping he had said something a while ago. He knew that both Dak and Rhuben would eventually get together, and he thought they would make a great couple once everything worked out, but he didn't even try and tell them that he didn't think it was a good time.

With Dak's parents being, well, who they are, and with WayneWayne knowing that the Jacksons were secretly seeing Robert, and noticing how much that was changing them, he wanted to tell them that what they were doing wasn't the best time for it. But, with how he hated his sisters jumping into his love life, he always felt conflicted when it came to doing the same to his friends. He wanted to help, but he didn't want to be a hypocrite. After seeing how miserable Rhuben looked, he felt horrible about the whole thing.

"Do you want some apple cider or something?" WayneWayne asked, rubbing his hands together before jerking his thumb over his shoulder, towards the kitchen. "We have plenty. Or do you want something hot to eat?"

"I'm not hungry," Rhuben muttered, briefly closing her eyes.

"Are you sure?" WayneWayne pressed. "Do you want me to get you something? It's really ok, no one will mind."

"No, that's ok." Rhuben slowly shook her head back and forth, pulling the blanket closer around her. She pulled her knees to her chest, trying to get as much as herself under the blanket. She let out a loud sniff before rubbing at her eyes.

WayneWayne didn't know if she was upset or if she was getting sick. He was pissed at Dak for doing what he did, but his friend wouldn't answer his phone. He immediately hurried to the plaza after Rhuben had called him, and she asked him not to tell her family or to take her home until she asked, and he wasn't about to be a jerk to leave her there as he went to talk to Dak by himself.

"I'm fine."

"If you're sure," WayneWayne replied, unsure of whether or not he should actually go and get her something anyway. "Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine," Rhuben snapped, glaring at him.

He knew he was driving her crazy, but couldn't help it. He hated seeing his friend so upset. He didn't know if she was mad at Dak or if she was sad about everything. He was confused as well. He knew that she was the first one to bring up them taking some time away from each other, and then when Dak decided it was over, she was devastated. He wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure how to bring it up.

"I'm getting you something to eat," WayneWayne offered, getting tired of the silence. Rhuben opened her mouth to protest, but WayneWayne put up his hand. "I'm not leaving you alone until you eat something. He then crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't care how long it takes, either."

"I told you, I'm not hungry," Rhuben replied, tilting her head back to stare up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, yeah," WayneWayne replied, rolling his eyes. He took two steps towards the kitchen, but stopped walking. "Remember when you met me, after everything with Big Time Rush went down, and you and Riley were the first to believe me when I said I had changed?"

"Yeah, why?" Rhuben asked, a confused look on her face.

"I always told you I'd make it up to you for doing that for me," WayneWayne replied, running his fingers through his hair. "And this is how I'm going to repay you. I won't tell Ronan what happened, I won't take you home, and I won't tell Logan or any of them what happened if you don't want me to. But, at least let me get you something to eat or drink."

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Rhuben suddenly snapped, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I'm the one that wanted the break to begin with, and now that it's actually happened I'm a wreck."

"I don't…I don't think you ever really realized how much you liked Dak until now," WayneWayne said, moving to sit down on the arm of a chair, facing her. "And I know you hate being yelled at." He was silent for a moment and then he added, "From what he told me, that was a pretty one-sided argument."

"He wouldn't give me a chance to explain," Rhuben muttered, hastily wiping at her eyes. WayneWayne was right, she did hate being yelled at. But behind the anger Dak held in his eyes, Rhuben had also saw sadness, and it suddenly hit her; he was truly giving up on her.

For the longest time, she had never seen him actually look so worried, especially about her. Even though she'd known Dak for a good time now, he was still a mystery to her. Of course she saw him a lot since he was the one that helped her and her brothers and sister make it big in America, he was also helping Big Time Rush, not to mention one of her first friends in America, and he was always around.

But she'd never been particularly close to him; or at least she never admitted to herself that he was. He'd just been…there. But, now she felt attracted to him, but he was giving up. Never, in her wildest dreams, had she imagined that Dak Zevon could be the one to make her feel better when everyone else failed. And if it was something that she hated more than being yelled at, was being given up on.

"So, is he actually going to New York?" Rhuben asked, suddenly pushing the blanket off of her. She twisted her hair in her hands, trying to get the water to drip out.

"I can only assume so," WayneWayne replied, briefly chewing on his bottom lip. "He sounded serious about it, right?" Rhuben stopped what she was doing and gave him a hard stare. He cracked. "Yes; he's actually going."

"And you would know where in New York he's staying, right?" Rhuben asked. WayneWayne had no idea where she was going with it, but silently nodded. "Well? Are you going to tell me or what?"

"Uh…why?" WayneWayne asked and Rhuben silently looked at him as if asking, "Are you stupid?" And then he suddenly got it. His eyes widened and he shook his head. "No. No way! I'm not letting you fly all the way out to New York to give Dak a piece of your mind."

"You're not 'letting' me do anything," Rhuben replied, using air quotes around the word. "I didn't ask you permission to go. I'm just going." She frowned, pulling her soaking wet clothes away from her face. "I don't care what the paparazzi say, I don't care what the gossip sites say, I don't care about MyFace posts, or what people say on Scuttlebug. All these years Dak has never stopped chasing after me. I figured at some point I'd have to chase after him, so why not start now?"

"I don't think you're going about this the right way," WayneWayne protested as Rhuben marched over t over to the front closet, grabbing his damp coat, throwing it at him. He caught it in the air, wincing when the zipper nearly hit him in the eye. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Some would argue that I didn't really have one to begin with," Rhuben pointed out, sliding on her shoes. "Not to mention I barely think before I do anything so….no."

"I really don't think this is a good idea," WayneWayne said as he shrugged into his coat. He wasn't going to let his friend walk all the way back to over to her place in the rain by herself.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion," Rhuben shot back and WayneWayne let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping.

"Alright, alright, I get it," WayneWayne replied. "So, what do you want me to? Drop you off at the airport?"

"No, I need to pack first, and find a place to stay while I'm there," Rhuben replied with a shake of her head. "And, I need to check on Lizzie to see how she's doing."

"What are you going to tell Ronan?" WayneWayne asked. "You know he's going to notice that you're not at home."

"Figure there's no point in lying about this one," Rhuben replied, pulling her hair free from the collar of her shirt. "Dad's name is linked to my bank account so he could see the instant I use any money. I'm just hoping I'm already out of the state when he flies off the handle." She then looked WayneWayne in the eye. "When Ronan gets mad, he get s mad. And he hates it when we lie to him, which is why we make it a point not to."

"I'm not entirely happy about this, but I'll keep it quiet as long as I can," WayneWayne said with a heavy sigh. "You're at least going to tell Riles and them?"

"Of course I am," Rhuben replied as she opened the front door, glancing out at the pouring rain. "You know Syd and No are worriers." She pulled her hood up over her head before turning towards WayneWayne, giving him a tight hug. "Thanks, Wally."

WayneWayne grit his teeth, instantly annoyed at being referred to by his first name, but he sighed, letting the tension go, hugging her back. "No problem." Rhuben then suddenly pulled away, turning her head to let out a loud sneeze. "Come on, there are tissues in the car."

WayneWayne muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead as he walked in the rain to his car. He knew that there'd be no way he could talk her out of the plan, and only hoped that things went smoothly and she came home more put together then how she planned on leaving.

The drive to Rhuben's place was silent except for the sound of the windshield wipers sliding back and forth across the wfront window, and the turn signal whenever it was needed. As he dropped her off at her house, WayneWayne felt his stomach twist in knots. He just knew something was going to go wrong, but, as usual, he kept quiet.

When Rhuben told her siblings about her plan to go to New York to talk to Dak, the response ranged from complete shock (Riley), to being on the fence about the idea (Patrick), to being realistic about the whole thing (of course, Sydney), to just staying silent (Noah). They all felt bad about what had happened between Rhuben and Dak, and was currently avoiding any emails, phone calls, and anything on the internet.

They had to go as far as turning off their home phone to stop it from ringing ("Why did we say we didn't want a publicist again?" Patrick asked, practically ripping the chord out of the wall. "Because we said we'd handle whatever problem we get into," Riley replied deadpan.).

"Ronan will find out because, like you said, his name is attached to your bank account," Riley said, rubbing her chin as she pushed herself back and forth in the swivel chair she sat in, "but, I think you should—" she suddenly stopped, looking around. "Where is Ronan."

Sydney shrugged. "He wasn't here when I got up this morning."

"He wasn't here when I got up this morning," Patrick added. He was always the last one up, sleeping in as long as he possibly could; which was mainly until Ronan went in to wake him up.

"I don't think he was home last night," Noah suddenly spoke up. He was leaning back in his seat on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. He was using one hand to twist the gold stud in his ear. He brushed his hair out of his face as he leaned forward. "I mean, he wasn't here when we went to sleep. I don't remember him coming in."

"Me neither," Rhuben slowly replied before she let out a loud sneeze. She wiped at her nose with her arm, making a face when she saw the shiny streak left behind. "Maybe he's just out with Mama Knight or with Gustavo and Kelly."

"Let's call her," Riley offered, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She jabbed her thumb into the face of her phone, speed dialing Mrs. Knight. As it rang, she swiped her thumb across the face of her phone, setting it to speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mama Knight, it's us," Riley said, holding her phone flat in her hand, using her free hand to twist the loose strands of her pigtail around her finger. "We haven't seen or heard from Ronan for a while. We were just wondering if he was with you or Gustavo and Kelly?"

"Uh, no sorry. He's not here. I haven't seen him since earlier at the coffee shop."

"We don't think he came home last night," Patrick explained, snatching the phone out of Riley's hand, despite her screech of protest. "We haven't seen him this morning either. When did you get coffee?"

"Earlier this afternoon. About three hours or so ago." They could hear the worry in her voice. "I didn't realize you didn't know where he was. Is everything ok?"

"We don't know," Sydney said, grabbing the phone next. "He won't answer his phone. Did you guys get in an argument or something?"

"When does Ronan and Gustavo not get into an argument?" They could tell she was rolling her eyes. "But, once he gets home, and I'm sure he'll be home soon, you really need to talk to him. He's worried about you guys and he really cares for you."

"We know that Mama, it's just—"

"No, I mean, he really cares for you. You should've seen him. Like just about everything lately, we got into a conversation about Robert and he practically flew off the handle. I've never seen him so upset before. He—oh god, he better not have."

"What?" Riley asked, grabbing the phone back. "What happened, Mama Knight?"

"I don't really know what Ronan planned to do, but I think he's gone to see Robert. I think he might've gotten himself in trouble; especially if he's not back yet."

"What do you mean, he's gone to see Robert?" Riley asked, looking up at her siblings, seeing a look of shock fear etched on their faces. She was sure she had the same look on her face as well. She barely paid attention to what Mrs. Knight had said as Ronan unlocked the front door and stumbled into the house, leaning heavily on the door. Riley's jaw dropped at the same time she dropped her phone to the ground.

She scrambled to pick it up and said in to the phone, "He's home, gotta go" before hanging up ad hurrying into the kitchen to get the first a kit. Patrick and Noah got up and grabbed his arms, helping him over to the couch as Sydney went to get ice to put into a plastic bag as Rhuben hurried to get a clean towel.

"What happened, Ronan?" Riley asked, hurrying into the living room, sitting down on the coffee table, opening the white box, the contents practically spilling out by how cramped it was in there. "Where've you been?"

"Same place you've been," Ronan replied, taking the ice pack from Sydney, pressing it to his lip. He winced and set the bag down. "I went to see Robert. I know you guys have been seeing him behind my back."

He looked at his kids and saw them try hard not to look at each other and he knew he had his answer. He lifted his hand and brushed it across his cheek, looking over at Rhuben. Her hand immediately flew to her cheek and her shoulders slumped when she felt the cut on her cheek. "I'm so disappointed in all of you."

"Look, Ronan-"

"I'm not done," Ronan said, briefly closing his eyes, pressing his lips together, wincing as he did so. "I can't believe you'd keep something like that from me. You know I care about you guys, but this really hurt my heart to find out from that son of a bitch that he was putting his hands on you again." Noah bowed his head, clasping his hands together in his lap.

"I've asked you over and over again what was going on and you continued to lie to me. Happy fucking birthday to me. I know you went to see Robert that night you said you were 'getting me a birthday gift.' But, I didn't press any further about it; I thought you'd come to me about it." He looked at Rhuben again. "Especially with you; I had to find out the hard way what had happened with Dak and his parents on your date. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm fine, and I'm gonna be fine, so quit worrying," Rhuben replied in an even tone.

"You don't look great," Ronan commented. "You look sick; and why are you all wet? Are you sure you're ok?"

"If I hear that question one more time," Rhuben whispered, shaking her head, setting her jaw. She gave Ronan a hard stare "What part of 'I'm fine' don't you get?"

"The 'I'm fine' part," Ronan replied, his eyes narrowing slightly, wincing as he leaned forward in his seat. He leaned out of the way of Riley who tried to press a rubbing alcohol soaked wad of tissue to his cheek. "You're lying through your teeth. You're not fine. What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Rhuben snapped. She crossed her arms over "Just leave me alone, ok?"

"Of all the stupid things you could say to me right now," Ronan snapped, quickly recovering from a look of disbelief. Rhuben got to her feet, starting to walk off. "Sit down, Rhubella."

"I don't have to listen to—"

"I said sit down," Ronan said, getting to his feet, pointing sternly at the spot she had just left. Sydney flinched at the sudden scream. Rhuben stood where she was for a moment before turning around, sitting back down in her seat. "Sorry. You know I hate doing anything even remotely close to how Robert did."

"We're sorry for not telling you," Sydney spoke up, his bottom lip quivering, "But, we couldn't. We knew you'd be upset but—"

"That's not even close to how I'm feeling right now," Ronan commented, leaning back into the couch, wincing as he did so. "You have no idea what I've been through today."

Ronan made his way into the lobby, marching up to the receptionist, waiting to get a visitor's pass to the building. He barely heard whatever it was that the lady behind the desk was saying to him. His eyes scanned the lobby, looking at each person as they passed him.

"Sir? Excuse me, sir."

"I'm sorry, what'd you say?" Ronan asked, blinking, running a hand over his face to look at the receptionist.

"I said, Robert is looking forward to seeing you again," the lady replied with a smile. "We've seen his kids come through here a lot lately, but we've always wondered where you were. I know it's not any of my business, but he's been pretty down in the dumps lately and they've been cheering him up."

"Look, lady," Ronan said in a low voice, tightly gripping the counter in front of him. "They're not his kids; they're mine."

"Sir, I'm completely aware of the reasons why the residents are put into this facility and Robert is not any different than other patients in wanting people to come visit them. I think it'll be ok to not argue over logistics for an hour visit. If it helps him in his recovery, I don't see why we can't—"

"Because that bastard has scarred my kids for life," Ronan interrupted her. "I don't think you understand—"

"I understand that if you don't calm down, I'll call security and have you escorted from the premesis," the receptionist replied, folding her arms on the table, raising her eyebrows. Ronan was silent for a moment before muttering an apology, moving to find Robert's room. He raised a fist and pounded on the door. Seconds later Robert opened the door, merely peering at him.

"Hey."

"Hey?" Ronan repeated, making his way past the older man, stepping into his room. "I find out you're beating my kids, again, and all you say when you see me is 'Hey'?"

"Took you long enough to figure that one out," Robert said with a snort, turning to lie down on his bed."So which one of them squealed on me?" He cupped his hands behind his head, letting out a sigh. "I need to get out of here, man. Good behavior ain't cutting it for me in here; I need someone to vouch for me."

"And you thought threatening them would work?" Ronan asked in disbelief. Robert slowly smiled and Ronan felt his anger quickly rise.

"Worked all those years, didn't it?" he asked in a quiet voice before he sat up. "Figured I'd be out of here before you found out. I bet you're running all over the place, trying to make sure things don't get leaked into the news such as your daughter and her little boyfriend."

"What do you mean?" Ronan asked in a low voice, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

Robert chuckled, arching an eyebrow. "You really don't know," he said, looking at Ronan, wondering he actually wanted to tell him what he knew or not. "They've been all over the news sites and gossip blogs lately. There's a pretty decent Blind Gossip post on there that hints towards them that everyone's talking about. When did you teach 'your kids' to start using other people for their fame?"

"I never did, that was all you," Ronan replied, crossing his arms over his chest, stuffing his hands into his armpits. He started shifting his weight from foot to foot. He couldn't stand still. He wanted to hurt the man so badly; take out his years of frustration, anger, and sadness into the man that hurt his kids for years.

"Right," Robert replied, the grin back on his face. "It's amazing how much of an impression you can put on people. So, when d'you think you can get me out of here, huh?"

Ronan slowly shook his head. "I thought you said you had changed, Rob," he said in a low voice. "But you haven't; you keep putting up a front, and I'm tired of you baiting my kids into it. They've made all this progress and now they're heading back to the way they were before."

"I have changed," Robert replied holding out his hands, looking at them as if he'd never seen 'em before. "There've been urges…I couldn't help myself." He spread out his arms, motioning to all the pictures in the room. "I've punched dozens of holes in the walls when I've gotten so mad at myself for getting the urge to hit someone. I've talked to my therapist about this the whole time. This place breaks you down. You don't know what it's like to be here."

"And you don't know what it's like to be on the other end of your fist," Ronan replied, setting his jaw. He uncrossed his arms. "Allow me to show you." Before he could stop himself, he punched Robert across the face just as a crack of thunder hit.

"You hit him?" Noah gasped, widening his eyes slightly.

"But…he clobbered you," Patrick pointed out and Ronan gave him an annoyed look.

"If Gustavo was there with me, believe me it would've been much worse," Ronan muttered, flexing his fingers, his lips twitching. "That son of a bitch deserved it."

"Ronan," Riley spoke up, giving him an intense stare, "You're acting just like him; acting on your anger."

"If it's one thing I don't want to be known for, it's being considered I'm like that bastard," Ronan muttered, motioning for Riley to start cleaning him up. "I'm going to take a shower; and then we're all going to sit down and talk about this." He sucked in a sharp breath of air as Riley started to bandage his cheek. Tears started to slide down his face, but Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney didn't know if it was because of the medicine or not. "I didn't want to believe it, but it looks like Robert got to me, too."

Rhuben reached out her hand and placed it on top of Ronan's, giving it a gentle squeeze before she patted his hand a few times. He gave a soft smile as he returned the squeeze before simply holding her hand. She returned with a fleeting smile, knowing that she was just going to make him worry even more.