There's a bit of drama with Brooke. But don't worry about that.
Enjoy, I don't own anything because again, I'm super lame and totally not that cool.
"Okay, I know this one will work," Ross said to himself, "it has to," He added in a whisper as he held up the paper airplane. He then smiled to himself and let it fly, only for it to land a few inches away by his feet. He pouted. Flying airplanes was a lot harder than he thought. So was making them fly on their own. His eyes went to the side of his hospital bed and he just stared at all the other ones he made in different shapes and sizes. Letting out a sigh, he just fell back on his bed and tried to think of things to do to occupy his time.
After about two minutes of trying to come up with something to entertain himself until Laura got back, he heard a knock on the door and lifted his head to see his sister walk in. His eyes lit up and he smiled.
"Rydel!" She giggled and ran over to him, giving him a hug. "Thank god, you're here," He said, "I've been uh, really bored."
"Yeah, I can tell," Rydel teased as she looked at all the paper airplanes. "I think you've got a ways to go before you get your pilot's license."
"Yes, thank you for that reminder." Ross rolled his eyes, "so, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you since…"
"Yesterday morning, don't look so sad," Rydel teased him. "I'm here to talk, give you company and…" She grinned as she pulled whatever she was hiding from behind her back out into the open, "a cupcake."
"Ooh!" Ross' eyes lit up like a child's. "You got me a cupcake," He grinned, "best sister ever."
"Oh yeah," Rydel high fived him and then watched as he took one of the cupcakes and took a bite out of it. She studied him for a few moments, thinking back to when she saw him the other night, how he'd been then, how he'd been when he had his episode with her a few years back, on tour, when he was shooting the movie and how he was at that very moment. "You're a good guy, you know?" She said, and he looked up at her. "Sorry," She threw her hand up in the air and looked away a bit embarrassed for saying what she was thinking out loud. "I'm just, I just wish there were more people like you out there, with what you've been through, how well you take care of Laura and… I don't know." She gave him a thoughtful look. "I just think you're really strong and really amazing and…" She trailed off, Ross lowering his cupcake, opening his mouth to say something, but before he got the chance, she just wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "I love you, Ross." She said into his ear.
"I love you too, Rydel." He answered back, "thanks for always having my back."
She pulled away and smiled tearfully at him. "You've always had mine."
"You're my sister, of course I've got your back," He said, lifting his head up a bit and she laughed. "Just so you know though, you're pretty strong too. We both are." He held up his pinky and she took it, laughing for a few seconds, before she turned serious again. "What's on your mind?" He asked, then his eyes widened, "wait did you and Ratliff-"
"No, no, we're good, he's fine, I'm fine, our relationship is fine." She assured him and Ross just looked at her, his eyebrow raised. It was silent for a few seconds, and then Rydel spoke, breaking the silence. "I went to therapy."
"Yeah?" Rydel nodded, "that's great. That's really, really good. I'm proud of you."
"I go back again tomorrow," She said, turning her head to face Ross again. "I just figured that if you could do it, then I could too." She looked right at him. "You may not know this, Ross, but you're pretty much my… hero. My rock I guess. We both went through shitty things and on top of that, you've got a mental disorder that you're insecure about, which I totally understand by the way. You've also got a girlfriend, you live in an apartment and you're going to be a father, a father who's ten times better than our own. And I just…" Rydel looked down at their linked pinkies, she shook them lightly and then looked up at him and smiled. "I'm really proud of you."
"Talking isn't as easy as everyone thinks it is," Ross said quietly, "I know it isn't and I'm really happy that you've decided to as they say here, 'get help'." Rydel laughed, and he laughed with her. "If you ever need to talk though, about anything, you know you can come to me right?"
"Yeah," Rydel smiled, "same goes for you though, okay? If you feel like you did two weeks ago, come talk to me. We can't hide anymore, we have to just face these things or bad things will happen again."
"I know." Ross hugged her, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "I don't want to scare anybody like that again. And just so you know, Rydel, you're my hero and my rock too." She hadn't expected him to say that and instead tightened her arms around him. "You also kinda made me cry so there's that," She giggled and pulled away wiping away her tears as she saw him do the same thing.
"You're right," She said a few moments later.
"About what?"
"Talking is good, it feels good."
He shrugged, "doesn't it make you feel like you can do anything?"
"Kinda like I'm…"
"Infinite." He finished.
She smiled, "exactly."
Then she picked up the box of cupcakes she had put down beside her and took a bite out of one, laughing as Ross did the same and it got on his nose.
"You're still the same Ross you were when you were a kid, that's never changed." She commented as he wiped away the frosting.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up all you want." Ross stuck his tongue out and she rolled her eyes, playfully shoving him.
She was happy she could let go and be playful with Ross again, because for years it hadn't seemed like they could ever get to where they were and now that they were, she was so happy.
"Hey, Rocky, have you seen Rydel?" Riker asked as he walked into the bathroom where Rocky was brushing his teeth. Rocky shrugged.
"Nah, I did hear something about her going to see Ross though."
Riker nodded, "oh okay, cool. I just needed her help with something." He was about to leave the room when he paused and looked at him. "You okay? I mean… with all that happened the last couple of nights, I just wanted to make sure."
Rocky smiled at him, "never better." He answered as he wiped his mouth and stepped passed him into the room they shared.
"Yeah, that's a line Ross gave to us a lot and looked how he turned out," Riker said as he followed him.
Rocky shrugged, "Well, we're two completely different people as you're well aware of."
"Yeah, I guess." Riker answered back, putting his phone on his desk, he went to go sit down on his bed. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"You're awesome for doing that, but really, I'm fine. I talked to Ross and I feel better." Rocky smiled again to reassure him. "So, what's up with you and Brooke?"
Riker shrugged, "we're just friends for now. I'm not into rushing things, but who knows, maybe it'll become more, someday."
Rocky nodded.
"What about you and Vanessa?"
"We're… we're good. We're not official yet, but we'll get there soon." Rocky responded as he sat down on his bed and put on his shoes.
"I'm really happy for you."
"Yeah?" Rocky answered, "I'm happy for you too."
Riker grinned, "so uh, mom wants to have a family dinner, with all of our significant others, don't know if you heard about that yet, but she just wants to get to know them or whatever."
"She knows Ratliff, Vanessa and Laura pretty well, I'm sure she wants to get to know Brooke better," Rocky wiggled his eyebrows and Riker blushed. "See? I told you."
"Fine, maybe I just want you guys there to be my… wing people? Is that even real?"
"It can be now," Rocky said, running his fingers through his hair. "But yeah, if we can get Ross and Laura over here, whenever Ross is freed from the hospital, then I'm totally in."
"No embarrassing me." Riker told him as he stood up to leave the room.
He turned around, "I'm not the one you have to worry about," then with a wink he left the room. Riker just sat down, thought over what Rocky said and then sighed.
"Hey," Ratliff grinned as he opened the front door and saw Rydel's smiling face in front of him. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead. "How are you?"
"Good, I went to see Ross," Rydel told him, her hands going to his waist she pulled him out the front door so she could sit and talk to him on the front stoop. "We talked, we talked about a lot of things and guess what?"
"What's that?"
She turned to him, the smile on her face big, but there were tears in her eyes, "he told me I was his hero and his rock. Just like I've been saying about him all this time."
"Wow," Ratliff smiled back at her, "that's pretty amazing." She leaned her head onto his shoulder and stared straight ahead.
"It makes me happy you know? I mean he's got a mental disorder, he went through what he went through with our father and he's…" She felt herself getting choked up and swallowed. "He's just amazing."
"So are you," Ratliff said and she lifted her head to look at him. "You don't have a mental disorder, but you still went through what you did and now you're going to get help for whatever demons you have. That's really strong and very courageous of you."
"Yeah?" She asked and he nodded.
"Very." He answered back and then she leaned in and softly kissed him. He kissed her back gently, his hand going to her hair as she pressed herself against him more and kissed him deeper. A few moments passed and she smiled up at him.
"I love you," She said, her voice raspy. "A lot."
"I love you too, Rye." He kissed her again and then broke it. She stared at him for a moment, before she grabbed his hand and pulled him up. He looked at her, curious.
"I'm ready," She said to him, "I know you've been thinking that I'm probably not, but I know I am, I know I'm ready and how I know that is I want it to be with you and nobody else." She looked at him intently and he felt his heart skip. He squeezed her hand.
"If you say you're ready, Rye, then… I can't argue with you." He whispered back and then pressed his lips against hers again.
"And I know you're going to pull a Ross," She said as they broke the kiss, "but I don't need it to be special or to be in a special spot. All I need is you and me and that's perfect enough for me." She whispered against his lips, kissing him again, this time more passionately and then she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist, she kissed him deeper.
"Okay," He finally said, "you're right." She smiled at him, "I won't plan anything, I promise."
It was silent.
"So when do you want to do it?" The look on his face was so adorable she had to laugh and kissed him again.
"Right now is good." She grinned against his lips as she felt him get excited. To make sure he knew she meant it, she kissed him again. Though it was basically short and just a peck, he seemed to get the message loud and clear.
"Yeah okay, only problem, I'm not home alone." She slowly slid down his body until her feet hit the floor.
"That's okay, we can always do it later or tomorrow or…" She trailed off, "I just don't want to plan it out."
"I promise you Rye, it won't be planned." And with that he kissed her again and she giggled, giving him one last kiss before she pulled away and walked towards her car. "Hey, where are you going?" He called to her.
"I've got band practice," She answered back and he ran up to her, confused.
"Last I checked, I was in the band too," He pointed out. "Why don't I have practice?"
"It's just Rocky and I." She told him, "I'm doing some keyboard stuff and he's going to figure out how to put it in the new song." He nodded, and then suddenly pressed her against the car, pressing himself against her. She laughed and it just made him so damn happy. He leaned in and kissed her, moving onto her neck, before going back to her lips a few moments later. "I love you," She whispered and then pressed her lips against his, once more before breaking it and opening the car door, causing him to move back a few feet.
"I love ya, Rye." He leaned in through the window and smiled at her, "stay out of trouble okay?"
"I'll try. No promises, I'm going to be with Rocky for the next couple of hours." She reminded him and he laughed again, before kissing her cheek and getting out of the car window. She smiled and waved at him, driving off as he just watched her and smiled to himself.
He was one lucky guy.
"Still trying to make one of those fly?" Ross looked up from the paper airplane he had just made to see Laura was standing in the doorway. She was smiling at him amused and he just grinned at her.
"Don't judge me, it'll happen… eventually." He defended and then Laura just shook her head, walking over to him, she sat down beside him and pressed her lips against his.
"So, when are you freed from this place?" She asked.
"I'm not in jail, Laura, I'm in a mental hospital." She rolled her eyes, "I don't know, they said they still need to keep me here for further observation to make sure my medication is working, but my doctor said if I wanted to, he'd release me for a couple of hours whenever I want. I just have to come back." Ross said as he made a new paper airplane.
"I hope you get out soon, Austin misses you," She said and Ross raised an eyebrow, "okay, I miss you, but I've come to visit everyday and he hasn't, so in a way he still does."
"I know, I miss him too." Ross sighed, he looked around, "I can't wait to get the hell out of here. I hate hospitals."
"They're not that bad," Laura tried to defend, but then came decided he had a point and nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, it does suck a lot here, doesn't it?"
"Not when you're here," He answered honestly and she smiled kissing him again, this time pressing her lips against his harder and kissing him deeper. He responded back, but stopped suddenly and broke the kiss.
"What?"
"I can't believe I'm actually going to say this, but I'm really… you know, and we haven't… you know, in a while and…" He looked around the room, "it just feels wrong to… you know, in here." He made a face.
"We don't have to… you know in here, we can do other things," Laura reminded him. He looked down at her stomach pointedly and she sighed. "I read about that and turns out, we can still… you know, as you put it." He laughed, "but I have to be on top."
His eyes lit up, "really?"
She laughed, nodding her head. "Yes, really."
"Well, I guess, you know… can wait a little longer. Seriously, the nurses and doctors here can and will be worse than Rocky and Vanessa." She laughed again and kissed him.
"How about when you get your couple hours out of here, we can go home and…" She trailed off, whispering in his ear and he felt his heart skip, his stomach drop and himself react to her words.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Laura pulled away from Ross' ear to see Riker was standing in the entrance to the room.
"Oh god, not you too!" Ross threw his hand up. Riker just shook his head and looked at the ground.
"Why do you have paper airplanes everywhere?"
"I was bored and… none of them flew too well, so here we are. What brings you here?" Ross asked as Laura moved to lay down next to him so Riker could sit on the bed.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing, clearly well if you're reacting to Laura's advances as well as you are."
Ross didn't answer him. Laura just avoided eye contact with him.
"Anyway, mom is having a dinner tonight and uh, I'm inviting this girl Brooke who I met once while out drunk and I don't know if you know that story, but probably not it's a long one, and basically, Rocky is bringing Vanessa, Rydel and Ratliff are coming of course and Ryland's bringing a girl too, I think, not sure about that and all we need now is you two." Riker gave him a hopeful look.
"Wow, good thing my doctor said what said like an hour ago," Ross muttered to Laura.
"What?"
"Nothing, anyway, yeah, if I can get my free pass for tonight, I'm down to go." Ross answered. "I'm sure it's cool."
"Awesome, sweet." Riker smiled, "so really, how are you doing? Is the medication working and everything?"
"Yeah," Ross answered, "I guess, my doctor can tell you more than I can about that."
"Alright, then awesome." Riker smiled at him, "I'm really happy to see you're okay." Ross nodded back and then Riker stood up. "Alright, I gotta get back home, but I'll hopefully be seeing you two later, right?"
"Right," Ross smiled at him, "thanks for coming by."
"No problem bro." And with that, he walked out. Ross turned to Laura, a goofy smile on his face.
"I know that look," She said and he tilted his head.
"What look?"
"That one that tells me you're about to kiss me," She answered and he rolled his eyes, pressing his lips against hers. "And look at that, I'm right." He laughed and then kissed her again.
"Damn right," He said.
Ross and I will be there tonight, his doctor cleared him for the night.
Riker read the message from Laura and grinned.
'Awesome, thanks. See you later.'
"Excited for dinner?" Rydel asked as she passed by him to sit on the couch. Rocky came in behind her, Riker nodded. "Good, because Rocky and I just finished some really badass vocals and keyboards for the new song."
"Nice," He smiled at them, "can't wait to hear it. Good news, by the way, Ross' doctor cleared him for the night, so he'll be here tonight."
Rydel's eyes lit up, "awesome! Mom will be so happy. She'll have all of her children here in the same house again."
Riker nodded, "yeah, and Brooke will get to meet all you crazy asses."
Rocky laughed, "we're not-yeah okay, you're right, we're kinda crazy."
Rydel raised an eyebrow at him, "who are you calling crazy mister? You're the one cockblocks everyone."
Rocky held his hands up in defense, "I can't help it, don't judge me."
"Oh I'm judging you, Rocky. I'm judging you so hard."
"Alright you two, calm yourselves, Rydel, when is Ratliff coming over?" Riker asked her and Rydel shrugged.
She picked up her phone, "actually, any minute now." Just as she said that, the door opened and he walked in. "And look at that, my boyfriend's punctual, you guys should learn from him."
Rocky rolled his eyes, "yeah, yeah, tell that to Vanessa, Queen of Tardiness when she gets here in twenty minutes."
"Pretty sure that's Laura, but alright." Rydel shrugged and then ran over to Ratliff, smiling as she kissed him, but she was so caught up in seeing him after a whole afternoon of being apart, that she just kept going, until both her brothers cleared their throats. She blushed, pulling away from him. "Right, sorry." She muttered and he just kissed her again. She knew he did that on purpose and giggled.
"You two are almost as worse as Ross and Laura and I mean, like you're two seconds away from being there," Rocky told her.
"Well, good, cuz they're cute and in love and so are we so," Rydel stuck her tongue out at him. Then she turned to her boyfriend, "let's go upstairs." He nodded and then she pulled him with her, smirking at her brothers as they went up the stairs.
"Remember, we already have a baby on the way!" Rocky called after them and Rydel rolled her eyes, going to her room, she closed the door and then pulled Ratliff with her until she was sitting on the bed, pulling him down towards her.
She kissed him and he put both hands on either side of her, trapping her as he kissed her back, pushing her onto her back as he stayed above her. Her hands went into his hair and she played with the strands a bit, kissing him deeper.
She took her hands out of his hair and then pushed his jacket off, he let it fall behind him, which was when she decided that he needed to take his shirt off.
He shook his head and she broke the kiss, confused. He just smirked at her and pulled her closer to him, her legs wrapping around his waist as he lifted her up and gently pushed her up against the wall, she moaned against his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him harder and biting down on his lip as she broke it for about a second, only to kiss him again.
"We're not going to do that… yet," He told her and she nodded understandingly as they didn't have much time. "But while we wait, we can always do other things." She smiled against his lips and then kissed him deeper, her hands going to his jeans, she unbuttoned them and pushed down the zipper, nothing in her way from making her boyfriend feel good.
"It's so weird to be out of the hospital, the last time I was, or really the last thing I remember was being in our apartment and talking to Calum and Raini about my disorder the day we found out about Riley." Ross said as they walked up to his mother's house for dinner. He looked down at the hospital bracelet. "It sucks that I still have to wear this damn thing though."
"Don't worry," Laura assured him, "it's just for a couple of hours, then you'll be back in that uncomfortable hospital bed, fast asleep, dreaming about… whatever it is you dream about at night."
He smiled at her and quickly kissed her, "wouldn't you like to know." He winked and she felt herself blush, before turning away. He opened the front door, his hand linked with hers as he pulled her inside. No one was in the living room, so he assumed they were all in the dining room. He walked in and everyone looked up at him, smiling and clapping as they walked in. He looked at Laura confused but she had to same stare. She wasn't sure what was going on.
"Honey, you made it!" Stormie smiled at him and hugged him tight, before going to hug Laura. "We're happy you're here."
"Yeah, me too." Ross smiled at her and then he helped Laura sit down, before slowly sitting down himself.
"How are you feeling?" Vanessa asked him and he shrugged.
"I'm alright." He noticed an unfamiliar face sitting beside Riker. "Not to be rude, but since I've never met you, I just have one question, who are you?"
Riker smiled at him, "Ross, this is Brooke, Brooke this the fifth member of our band, also known as my brother, Ross and his girlfriend, Laura." Riker introduced them.
"No way, it's real." She said and that surprised everyone.
"Um, what?" Ross exchanged a look with Laura.
"You two are actually dating in real life, wow." She said and then leaned back, "of course, everyone knows you two are like the perfect match."
"Thanks?" Laura said as more of a question. She looked at Ross who just shrugged.
"Okay," Rocky said to kill the awkwardness, "who's ready to eat?"
"Oh, I definitely am," Laura said patting her stomach and that's when she saw Brooke's eyes go there.
"Wait, you're pregnant?" Brooke blurted in disbelief. "How can you possibly be pregnant?"
"I think you're old enough to know how that works," Vanessa said, coming to her sister's defense. "What is your problem anyway?"
"You two are so young! How old you are you, sixteen?"
"Eighteen, actually," Ross answered back.
"Right, well, far too young to be having a child that's for sure, especially if you're both children yourselves."
Ross just looked at Riker in disbelief, "care to explain why you're being so judgmental?"
"I'm not, it's just… you two are famous and with a baby, come on, let's be logical. You're not going to spend much time with it at all."
"Okay, first of all, the baby has a name and it's not 'it,'" Laura snapped at her, "his name is Riley."
"I apologize, but regardless, he's still not going to have parents. Ross, you're touring all the time and I don't know much about your life, Laura, but-"
"You don't know about both our lives at all!" Ross suddenly burst out. He looked angry and Laura put her hand on top of his.
"Okay, I think it's time we go outside for a second," Laura told him. She stood up with difficulty, but managed to do it and took his hand, pulling him up with her.
"Yeah, Ross, just take a minute to calm down okay?" Rydel said, looking at him and he just wordlessly nodded, following Laura out of the dining room, leaving behind a very tense and quiet group of people behind him.
As soon as they were outside, Laura sat him down on one the bench by the bonfire and held his hand tightly in hers. She lay her head on his shoulder and then soon, his breathing started to even out, as he just lay his head on top of hers an stared up at the sky. She rubbed his arm, comfortingly and after about five minutes, he was okay.
"You have to be careful," She told him, "your medication is still very new and you haven't tried it with the outside world yet. Anything can set you off, so just be cautious about certain things and try not to let any words get to you okay?" She looked up at him and he nodded.
"Okay," He answered back, squeezing her hand.
"We'll go back in there whenever you're ready to," She said and he just nodded in response.
Another three minutes passed, before the back door opened and Rocky came out.
"You okay?" He asked Ross and Ross slowly nodded his head. "If you need to, you can leave, we all understand."
Ross shook his head, "nah, we're not going anywhere." He told him and Rocky gave him a proud smile. He smiled back and then looked at Laura, "ready to go back inside?"
"If you are," She said and he stood up, helping her up, the three of them walked back inside and took their seats again. Ross and Laura didn't make any eye contact with Brooke, so since there was food on their plates, they picked up their forks and silently ate.
"Are you okay?" Brooke finally asked and Ross lifted his head to acknowledge her. She looked at his wrist, "you have a hospital bracelet on."
"I'm great," He answered back, his tone polite.
"So, Laura, Ross, have you decided on what you're going to paint Riley's room?" Stormie asked, trying to break the intensity of the room.
Ross smiled, "yeah, we're gonna paint it green."
"Green?" Vanessa nodded, "I like it, why that color though?"
Ross and Laura exchanged a look, "you know, for two people who really helped me out," Ross answered back and then gave both Ratliff and Rocky, who were sitting beside each other smiles. They smiled back at him.
"He's gonna be an awesome kid," Rocky shook his head, "we're gonna teach him everything, man. How to play the guitar, how to play the drums, make music, play hockey, get girls…"
"The baby isn't even born yet and you're already planning out his life, you are a strange one," Vanessa commented, leaning in she nuzzled her nose against Rocky's and laughed.
"So, you two are sisters right?" Brooke asked, her finger going in between Laura and Vanessa who were both sitting across from her.
"Yeah, she's my sister," Vanessa answered. "Don't we look alike?"
"Yeah, of course," Brooke studied Rocky and Ross, "but why are you both dating brothers?"
"Is there something against that?" Laura asked.
"No, I'm just curious."
"It's simple," Rydel spoke, "Ross and Laura fell for each other and because they were always hanging out, we made friends with Vanessa and I guess, Rocky and Vanessa developed feelings for each other too."
"But won't that be awkward if you two were to break up? Like… you two," Brooke turned her attention to Rydel and Ratliff, "you're both in a band, what happens if you break up, does the band suffer?"
"No," Rydel glared at her, "why is this any of your business our personal lives?"
"Rydel calm down, she's just curious, it's her first time meeting most of you, so give her a break," Riker stepped in.
"Yeah, but you're going to let her judge all of us, right?" Ross asked and Riker's head snapped towards him.
"Ross, that wasn't necessary," Stormie scolded him, but he shook his head.
"I didn't come here tonight so that Laura and I are judged because we're eighteen and about to be parents or that because Rocky and I are brothers and Vanessa and Laura are sisters and were dating who were dating that it's wrong or whatever, or that because Ratliff and Rydel are in a band and dating each other that it's a damn risk for us." Ross argued back.
Brooke looked at him, hurt, when she noticed Laura's cheek, "oh my god, what happened?"
Ross, by that point had basically had enough, "you're going to probably judge me for that, so why don't I just go ahead and tell you? I hit her. Okay? I did that."
Brooke's eyes widened, "and you're still with him?"
"He didn't mean it." Laura defended him, opening her mouth to say more, but Brooke beat her to it.
"That's what all women in an abusive relationship say-"
"I'm not abusive! I'm bipolar!" Ross yelled at her, "I had a fucking episode and during that hallucinated that my father was there instead of her and I slapped her. I feel really shitty for it, so anything you say will probably just make it worse."
"Okay, Ross, I think you should step away," Laura stood up again, "come on, we'll go outside again."
Ross shook his head as he stood up, "no, no, I'm done here. I think we should just leave." Ross answered back and Laura nodded.
"Okay," She said, "um, thanks, I guess, see you guys… later." She just followed Ross out of the dining room and together they walked out of the house. Just as they were about to reach Laura's car, Ross heard their names being called and saw Riker run out towards them.
"If you're going to yell at me, I'd really rather not hear it." Ross told him.
"I actually wasn't going to do that," Riker sighed, "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
That was a first, Ross thought.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but Brooke, she, she can't say those things and think they're okay," Ross looked at him. "I wanted to be okay with you dating her, but right now I'm not so sure I can."
"No yeah, I get it." Riker agreed, "but just keep in mind, it was her first time meeting you two and she was most likely very uncomfortable. It might have not been the best first impression, but really, she doesn't know you guys at all. Give her a chance, I promise you, she won't be like that forever."
Ross shrugged, "I don't think I can do that."
"Why not?" Riker demanded, "why do I need your approval on who I can or can not date or like? Why can't you be okay with me dating her? Why do I have to be the only one who likes any girl you date? Then again, you've only ever really dated Laura, so I really hope you see my point."
Ross shook his head, "did you not hear those things she said? About Laura, about Rocky and Vanessa, about Rydel and Ratliff, about me? I want to like her bro, I really do, but she's judgmental and the last thing I need is some one in my life who judges me, my girlfriend, my sister, my brother and my friends!"
"Okay, I admit what she said was wrong, but-"
Ross held his hand up, "but nothing, Riker. I'm your brother, she's just some girl you have feelings for who may or may not stick around. If she does, great. But she has to learn to respect us, or you're going to alienate a lot of people."
Riker didn't say anything and they just stared each other down for a few moments.
"I think I'm done here," Ross said and with that, got in the car. Laura turned to Riker, opening her mouth to say something, but realized she couldn't and just gave him a look, before shaking her head and throwing her hands in the air.
"Yeah," Riker nodded, "Don't worry, I got it." With that he just turned and walked back up the driveway to the front door, while Laura got in the car. She put the key in the ignition and stared down at her hands for a few moments.
She felt Ross put his head on her shoulder and then take her hand in his. He kissed her cheek and she turned so that she could give him a deep and meaningful kiss, before breaking away and starting the car and backing out of the driveway and going on to the road.
"How uh, cliche is it that we are literally driving into the sunset?" Ross said a few moments later and she looked at him for a brief moment before bursting into laughter. He laughed with her and with that, the tension was immediately cut.
Rocky heard the front door slam and watched as Riker walked back into the dining room. He was running his hand over his face and then looked up to see his family staring back at him.
"Forget about Ross," He finally said, going to sit back down, "I should have known he wouldn't be supportive."
"Really? That's what you think this is about?" Rydel demanded, standing up and ignoring Ratliff trying to get her attention. She pointed at Brooke, "she just called your own brother abusive, when in reality he's just got a mental disorder."
"Isn't it some form of abuse what he did?" Riker asked and Rydel clenched her jaw so tight, her face turned red.
"I'm out," She said a few moments later, "I'm done, just… bye." With that, she turned around and stormed out of the room.
"Not cool, Riker." Ratliff said, "not cool at all," and with that, he too left, following after his girlfriend.
"You know how Ross is," Rocky spoke a few moments later, his tone quiet. "You know that the last thing he wants is to be like dad and yet you're acting like it's the way he's going all because of some girl who said what she said."
"Rocky-"
"She's not going to last very long if she keeps up with her judgments," Rocky said, repeating what Ross told Riker earlier. "And if you decide to keep her around, you're not going to have anybody left." With that, he got up and left the table, going into the kitchen. Vanessa didn't really know what to say, so she just excused herself and went after him. By then, Riker had had enough, and before Ryland or Stormie could say a word he just angrily stood up.
"So what am I not allowed to be happy either?" He yelled going into the kitchen where he found Rydel, Ratliff, Rocky and Vanessa were all sitting around the island, they looked up at him. "Rydel can be happy with Ratliff, who by the way, you met because I was the one who asked him to be in our fucking band, if you remember that at all, and Rocky you get to happy with Vanessa, who's sister is coincidently dating and having a baby with your own brother, oh and let's not forget the happy couple, they're perfectly fine because they're going to be parents and shit, but are we forgetting that Ross forgets to take his damn medication from time to time and ends up in a fucking hospital every time he does and hurting someone, if not himself?"
"Okay, Riker, I think you need to leave," Stormie said coming up behind him.
Riker just turned around, "no! It's not fair! They're treating Brooke like shit for what voicing her own opinion on things?"
"They're right to be upset," Stormie answered, "those things she said were not okay. Regardless if they're her opinion or not. She should have kept them to herself until she was with you or alone with whomever she wants to say them to."
"Riker, she's going to screw you over," Rocky said, but Riker just ignored him, despite hearing the words and the words registering in his mind.
"Sorry to interrupt, but um, I think I should just leave," Brooke said, coming into the kitchen.
"Yeah," Rydel agreed, "you probably should."
Brooke just looked at her and then nodded, waving goodbye as she just walked out of the kitchen. Riker just stared at everyone in disbelief and then soon followed after her.
Rydel felt her hand being tugged and looked up to see Ratliff was trying to get her to go with him. She nodded and silently they both left the kitchen.
They walked silently down the street, hands swinging between them as they kept going. Rydel's eyes looked around the area, before she smiled at her boyfriend. He looked at her curiously and then she nodded her head in the direction of his house.
"How did we end up here?" He wondered.
She shrugged, "guess we were just so deep in thought, we didn't realize how far we were walking."
He nodded agreeing, before he turned to face her completely. She just looked at him, giving him a questionable look. He leaned in closer to her and then kissed her. She smiled, kissing him back before breaking it and leaning against him.
"I'm home alone," He told her, "my parents are in Wisconsin for a few days."
She lifted her head up from his chest, her heart beating fast, "really?" She asked and he nodded.
"Really." She kissed him before he could say anything more, giggling against his lips when he ran his fingers up her sides and pulled her closer. He just smiled and kissed her deeper, before she broke the kiss and pulled him with her to the front door of his house. He raised an eyebrow.
"What are we waiting for?" She asked, giving him an innocent look.
"You're really not as innocent as you look, you know."
Rydel rolled her eyes and then she pulled him close, kissing him again. He was trying to unlock the front door, but her kissing him was so distracting, he kept missing and was just about to give up trying to open the door and just take her against it, but he was way more respectful of her than that and he knew taking her virginity on his front door in front of the entire neighborhood was probably not the way to go.
"If you keep doing that, I will never open this door," He muttered against her lips. Rydel sighed and kissed him one last time before releasing him so he could properly open the door. Once it was opened, he picked her up and then kicked it closed, resuming kissing her as she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled his face closer to her so that she could kiss him deeper. They soon made it up the stairs and into his room where he gently let her fall. She still kept her legs around his waist, so she pulled him towards her, her hands going in his hair as she pressed herself against him, moaning when she felt his "excitement" against her.
Now, now she understood what Laura was talking about. Even though she had been talking about her own brother and it made her want to vomit everywhere as she really didn't want to think about her brother like that, she understood why Laura said sex was amazing.
Ratliff pulled away and started kissing her on her neck as she just stared up at the ceiling and held him in place while his hands traveled up her sides again and she felt him pull her dress up higher. She sat up a bit and then he took it the rest of the way off, leaving her in just her bra, underwear and boots. She wasn't too nervous about that, seeing as he'd seen her before when they did those other things they were doing… she was still new to the whole sex thing so she wasn't really sure what to call it.
"Beautiful," Ratliff murmured against her lips, before kissing her again. She smiled and the gently pushed him away.
She held up her finger and grabbed her phone, she shut it off and put it back down on the nightstand by his bed. Ratliff smiled at her and did the same thing with his phone, handing it to her. She took it and then smiled up at him, "goodbye world."
"Yeah, goodbye world." He repeated, staring at her in a way that just made her heart melt. She pulled him closer.
"You're a little overdressed, aren't you?" She asked him, her fingers touching the hem of his shirt. He put his hands on top of hers and then lift the shirt over his head and threw it onto the ground, where it joined her dress. While he was turned, she put her hands on the waistband of his skinny jeans, her cold skin hitting his and he turned to look at her. She unbuttoned his pants and then unzipped them, her eyes going to his, she didn't break eye contact.
He gently pulled her hands off of his pants and then slowly lowered her back onto the bed. He hovered above her, "you're okay?"
She smiled and nodded her head, "I'm fine."
"You're sure?" She pulled him closer and kissed him, meaningfully.
"I want this, I want this with you, right here, right now." She ran her fingers through his hair, "I love you, Ellington."
Hearing her say his name, his actual name, not the name he went by for fans and when they were performing or doing interviews, made his heart skip and his stomach drop in the best way possible.
So he kissed her, deeply, meaningfully and passionately. "I love you, Rydel." And then he broke it, smiling at her. "But first, I want to make you feel good, okay?"
She nodded, her eyes watching him as he moved lower and pulled her to the edge of the bed. She lay her head back and then took a deep breath, closing her eyes, she just smiled and then just let it happen. Everything from that point on was what she wanted and there was no way she was going to mess it up. She was happy and she couldn't be more grateful for her amazing boyfriend who she was experiencing this with. It really was the best feeling ever.
"How much longer do I have with you before I have to go back to the hospital?" Ross asked.
Laura checked the time on his phone that he had right next to them. "About two hours."
He ran his fingers through his hair, as he sat with Laura beside him, her head on his shoulder as they just stared out at the city below them, in their special spot. The spot they hadn't visited in forever, because of all the things that were going on in their lives.
Her hand was in his and she was just enjoying the moment, happy and carefree.
"We gotta take Riley here when he's old enough," Ross said, breaking through her thoughts. "It's our place, you know? So much has happened here."
"Yeah, like me sort of forgiving you, you know the day after we came back to film again and you took me here to just scream out my frustrations."
"Or when we both got drunk for the first time," Ross laughed and Laura laughed with him. "We fell asleep here and woke up worried we had pissed off our parents."
"Which we ended up doing because we had gotten drunk," She pointed out.
"So, next time we come, let's not get drunk." Ross suggested and they both laughed as Laura leaned in and kissed his cheek. She paused, pulling away from him and sat in front of him on top of his legs. He held her in place so that she wouldn't fall and she just looked right at him.
"You know what Brooke said isn't true right?"
"You're going to have to be a bit more specific," He said. "She said a lot of things."
"About you being abusive, because you aren't, not even close," Her tone was quiet, "I'm just afraid that because she said that, you'll think you are and that you'll end up like your father or something but you're not like him. You won't ever be like him. Ever."
Ross smiled at her, "that's sweet of you to say, but I learned something being in that hospital,"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, I started going to group and I just started talking you know? They didn't judge me. And the counselor who runs the group therapy sessions said to me, 'you are never alone, there is always somebody out there who will sit with you. If you want to talk, they'll listen, don't be afraid to speak.' It just resonated with me and now I don't think I'll ever be scared or feel like I'm sick all the time anymore."
Laura smiled and leaned her forehead against his, "You're never alone," She whispered and then she gave him a quick kiss.
"I know," He whispered back and then pressed his lips against hers, she lay her head on his chest and then he looked up at the stars. "I'm never alone," He whispered, more to himself than to Laura.
And for the first time in his life, he really and truly felt like he wasn't.
Reviews and all you readers out there, rule.
