Okay, so first of all, I am SO sorry it took me literally almost six months to update this. I let life get in the way and I'm sorry. I turned eighteen and.. yeah, just life got in the way. Again, I'm so sorry. I can't promise I'll update again really soon, but I'm going to try my best since I started school again. But I did try to make it long for you guys. Hopefully, I succeeded in doing that.
And thank you, so, so much for your patience, you guys rock. Seriously. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. So, consider this my belated Valentine's Day gift or something, haha. I don't know, Austin suggested I say that.
A few things to read though, before reading this chapter. There's a few surprises (or maybe not, I posted a lot of spoilers on twitter, if you remember them at all), and I gave Ellington a storyline. It's kind of sad, but it's something he's going to deal with while dealing with Rydel's situation as well. It may or may not cause problems for them.. I'm not giving anymore information than that away.
As for the interview, it skips back and forth between Ross and Laura giving the interview and then everyone else watching it. Not much of Vanessa and Rocky in this one, but there should be more of them in the upcoming chapters. Ryland took the place of them in this one since he's really not in it much, I realized. It's cute though.
And yeah, cliffhanger at the end, you're all going to hate me, but that's okay.
I can't think of anything else to add and I don't own anything. Enjoy.
Laura smiled as she stared at her ring, holding it up in front of her. She was almost mesmerized by it and it made Ross laugh as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, placing his chin on her shoulder. He pulled her against him and then smiled.
"You really love that ring, don't you?" He asked her and she looked at him.
"Are you really asking me that?" She asked, faking her surprise. "It's so beautiful… and shiny…and I'm totally ADDing aren't I?"
Ross nodded, "yeah I would say so." He responded back and then moved his chin away from her, "how's Riley?"
"He's good, he's kicking again…" She trailed off as she placed his hand on her stomach. "Makes me think he'll end up playing soccer like Vanessa and I did."
Ross' eyes widened, "no, no way. I will not let him choose soccer over hockey. He's a Lynch. Lynch's play hockey… and that's it, basically."
She gave him a look and started counting off with her fingers, "you forget that Lynch's also play guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, violin, which I hear you're still in the process of learning, the ukelele and also a trumpet through another trumpet," She added teasingly and Ross playfully rolled his eyes.
"That last one I do not do, but the others weren't far off." He responded back.
"He's also a Marano," Laura reminded him. "We play soccer and piano."
Ross raised an eyebrow as he walked into the kitchen and she followed him. "Does Vanessa play an instrument or sing?"
Laura shook her head, "not really, she's more into acting than singing and instrument playing, though she did play the piano when we were kids."
Ross nodded, "I think he'll be a piano prodigy considering we all play. And by 'we' I mean, you, me, Rydel, Rocky and Riker."
She nodded, "he could be. But knowing you and your brothers, you're going to get him on the ice as soon as he learns how to walk."
"And probably dance, though that will be more on Rydel's part." He agreed, taking out a bowl and a box of cereal and he held it up in front of Laura, who just shook her head and told him that she had already eaten.
"Well, whatever he decides to do, he's going to be the most adorable kid, like ever." Laura said as she sat at the kitchen table, Ross sitting across from her. He nodded his head, agreeing.
"Hell yeah, he's going to be the most adorable kid ever." He agreed and Laura laughed.
"So, any plans for today?" Laura asked him.
He nodded, "I'm going into the studio to write some songs for the new album, though it's only going to be Rocky, Rydel, Riker and I. Ellington has some family thing he has to go to. And then I have to meet up with Maia to talk about movie promotion, and then I have a meeting with my agent."
Laura blinked, "wow, busy day."
"Nah, it should all be over with by six tonight. Dinner? You and me?"
She smiled and leaned across the table to softly kiss him, "I would love that."
He nodded, "okay, fiancé," He said as he sat back down in his seat. He blinked and smiled, "I love saying that."
She giggled, "I love saying it too."
He reached over, his hand grabbing hers, he played with the ring on her finger. "So this is it, this really means we're going to be together forever."
"Uh, yeah." Laura agreed, "I'm getting married to you, that's about the biggest commitment you could make, second to having a child."
He studied her for a few moments, "but with our amazing role models…" He trailed off. She sighed and tapped his hand, so that he would look up at her.
"We're not them, our parents." She told him, staring right at him. "We're going to beat that… statistic, whatever it is. Especially the one about getting married young and having children young. We're Ross and Laura. We're going to be together forever."
"Wait til Riley hears that," He said and then leaned over to kiss her again. She just giggled and kissed him back. "Thanks, I needed to hear that. I know you're not going anywhere, but I just like hearing it again every once in a while."
"Don't worry." She squeezed his hand, "I'll always be here to remind you." She assured him.
Rocky looked up from tying his shoes as soon as he heard a knock on the door. He sleepily rubbed his eyes and nodded, "hey, Rydel, what's up?"
"Uh, why are you so tired?" She asked him, sitting down beside him.
"I was with Vanessa until really late…" He blinked, "or early, depending on how you want to look at it, last night… or morning, also depending on how you want to look at it."
Rydel gave him a look, "I'm not going to ask what you were doing."
He shrugged, "we were just-" He cut himself off. "You know… hanging out."
"Uh, right." Rydel gave him a look, but soon blinked and her expression changed. "So um, I came in here for a reason."
"I would assume so," Rocky told her, "what's up?"
"Well, I kind of have to skip out on the songwriting session today," She began, "I know Ellington is, and he actually needs me with him… um, I just think I should be with him, you know? With everything that's going on with his grandmother and dad and-"
Rocky shook his head, holding his hand up, "you don't need to explain it to me, I get it. No worries, Riker, Ross and I got it today. Okay?"
Rydel smiled and hugged him, "thanks so much, Rocky."
Rocky nodded as she stood up and walked out of the room, passing by Riker who was just walking in.
"What was that about?"
"She just wanted to tell me she's taking a sick day with the songwriting session today," Rocky responded.
Riker nodded, "alright, well, then it's you, me and Ross I guess."
Rocky agreed as Riker sat down on his bed and began to pull on his shoes. "So, how's it going with the ladies and you?"
Riker shrugged, "it's going. I haven't found the right person… you know, yet."
"You will soon, bro. Don't worry. Not everyone is as lucky as Rydel and Ross are."
"Well, you've got a girlfriend too." Riker reminded him, "Ryland and I are the only single ones."
"Like I said, you'll find the right person and soon. Don't stress on it, okay? The universe works in weird ways." Rocky told him as he stood up, patting Riker's back as he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. "Anyway, we're leaving in like ten minutes right?"
Riker nodded, "so be ready, we're going to Ross' apartment and meeting him there."
"Cool." Rocky gave him the thumbs up and walked away.
Yo, buzz us in, we're here bozo.
Ross looked up from Rocky's text and got up to go press the button that allowed guests to come in. He joined Laura back on the couch and then soon heard a knock. He shouted that it was open and soon enough, his brothers all entered the apartment.
"Hey, look at that, it's the newly engaged couple." Rocky greeted them as he hugged Laura, Riker and Ryland doing the same.
Laura smiled, "how are you, Rocky?"
"Great." He smiled back at her.
"Hey, where's Rydel?" Ross asked.
"She's taking a sick day," Rocky explained as Ryland went to sit down beside Laura. He nodded his head over at their youngest brother, "he wanted to join us for the ride, I think."
Ryland rolled his eyes, "yes because it's totally a crime to want to hang out with your brothers."
"Well, if you don't want to continue hanging out with them," Laura said, pointing at his brothers, "want to hang out with me?"
"Yeah, sure," Ryland said as Ross left and then came back again, walking towards the door with Rocky and Riker.
"Have fun," Laura smiled at them and Ross smiled back.
"Love you," Ross told her.
"Love you more!" Laura smiled.
Ross shook his head, "no way, I-" He began, but Rocky shook his head, interrupting them.
"-am gonna puke, let's go, we have band practice," He said, pushing him out of the door, and with that, they left, leaving Ryland and Laura alone together.
"Awesome," She said, "let's go get some ice cream."
Ryland laughed, "it's like you know me or something."
"Well, you are Ross' brother," Laura pointed out.
"True, that dude loves his ice cream, though Rydel, she's like obsessed. If she could marry it, I think she would." He nodded his head for emphasis and Laura laughed again.
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting across from each other, Laura with a big bowl of ice cream in front of her and Ryland with one as well. She put her spoon in and ate it, looking at him thoughtfully.
"What?" He asked her. "I was just wondering…" She trailed off, "and I know this might be personal and you might not want to answer this, which is okay, but do you ever feel left out, when they do their band thing?"
Ryland looked deep in thought for a moment, but soon shook his head, "nah, not really. I mean, there are times when I do, but they're not often." He ate a bite of his ice cream and shrugged, "I'm kinda used to it to be honest."
"You really never wanted to be a part of it?" She asked him.
He shook his head, "Nah, drums wasn't really my thing… I've always been more into the business side of it, that's more fun for me, believe it or not."
Laura smiled, "I believe it."
"You know that Rydel wasn't into it at first, right?" Ryland asked her.
She nodded, "I know that she was more into dance at the time and didn't take the band seriously at all."
Ryland nodded, "as shitty as it was, she was actually the more realistic one. She was the one who said if the band didn't work out, then what was their Plan B? No one had one then and they still don't. She was always looking at the negative side to the band, instead of the positive side.. until Ross and Ellington got her to finally see the positive side of it after they played a few shows and they heard the crowd cheering for them and calling out their names. That," He said as he thought of the memory and smiled, "that was such a great moment… for all of us. Not just the band."
Laura smiled, "yeah?"
He nodded, "all of their hard work had paid off. I think that was what they were going for at first, recognition. They didn't give a shit about record labels or anything. They were just having fun doing something they love and… I don't know. Seeing the smile on their faces, on mom's, on dad's…" He trailed off, "on Ellington's parents and mine, it was just… I can't describe it."
Laura nodded, "wow, I wish I could have been there."
Ryland smiled at her, "we've got video of it, don't you worry. Mom recorded every moment of our lives."
Laura laughed and looked down at her ice cream a moment, before looking back up at him. "I'm so sorry about your father." She said, not sure if she should have said it or not. She realized that she hadn't talked to Ryland about how he felt about the whole situation. She wondered if he resented everyone for that or not.
He shrugged, "it is what it is. I'm so pissed at him for what he did to us… especially for what he did to Ross, mom and Rydel. I just… I really hope he stays there, in jail. I never want to see him again, like ever."
Laura gave him a sympathetic look and then walked over to him, she gave him a hug and he hugged her back. Then, she broke the hug and smiled at him. "You're a good kid, don't ever forget that, okay?"
He nodded, "I'll remember that."
She squeezed his hand and then went back to her side of the table. "Hey, Laura?" He said softly and she looked up from her ice cream. "What about you?" He asked, "do you ever feel left out?"
She just shrugged, "I was never going to be a part of it. But the inside jokes they all have, that bothers me because I never know what's so funny."
"I feel you there," He responded back. It was silent in between them again, before he decided to look up again. "So, you're really going to do it? You're gonna marry my brother?"
"Yeah, of course." She smiled big, "I can't wait."
Ryland smiled at her, "sweet, then you'll be my sister. About time I'll be getting another sister. Well, technically two, if you count your sister as well."
Laura laughed, "Rydel's not so bad."
"Nah, she's pretty damn cool."
Laura sighed, dreamily, "Ross is amazing, I could literally talk about him for hours."
"I know, I've heard you do it before. It's sweet." Ryland answered back. "Rocky, on the other hand, might have a different view on that."
Laura laughed again, "we should do this more often. Hang out like this again."
He grinned, "agreed. And after Riley's born, I'll babysit. Don't tell Ellington, Rocky, Charlie or Riker, but everyone knows I'm gonna be the favourite uncle." He winked and she laughed.
"Oh, yes, you will. Definitely." Laura laughed, taking another bite of her ice cream.
"Okay, guys, this is a legit question," Rocky began, gaining the attention of his older and younger brother. "What if, I was you," He pointed at Riker first, "and you were me, and Rydel was Ellington and he was her, or Ross?"
Riker blinked at him, "what crack are you on right now?"
Ross shook his head, "where the hell does that kind of question come from?"
Rocky pointed to his head, "the brain of Lynch, Rocky Lynch," He responded back. "It's a twisted labyrinth, you'll never find your way through it."
"Uh, yeah." Ross agreed, while Riker nodded, silently agreeing. "I'd say so."
Rocky just shook his head and strummed his guitar. "You bozos suck."
That caused Riker and Ross to laugh. Ross looked down at the lyric book in front of him and smiled. "Did you guys now I'm getting married to the most amazing girl in the whole world?"
"Yeah," Rocky nodded, "you haven't shut up about it in the last week."
Riker gave him a look, then looked at Ross, a big smile on his face. "we're all really happy for you, even if Rocky doesn't show it, he's happy."
"Totally dude. You found the perfect girl for you, that's… that's pretty great."
Ross smiled.
"And we get some kickass songs out of it," Riker winked at him and Ross laughed, playfully pushing him away.
"Hey," Rydel softly knocked on the door to Ellington's bedroom, seeing him just lying on the bed. "How are you?"
He shrugged, "it's a depressing day for me. It's been one every year since I was five."
Rydel nodded, going to sit down beside him, she took his hand in hers, "I know you want to be alone…" She softly said, and he looked at her, "but would it be okay if while you were alone, I could be alone with you?"
He gave her a small smile and pulled her down, moving so that she could lie down beside him, "you know you never have to ask that." He whispered and she turned to look at him. He softly kissed her and then she turned back around, holding her tight against him, while she just held his hand that was wrapped around her, lacing their fingers together.
Rocky and Riker opened the door to the apartment, walking in, they softly closed the door, only to find Ryland and Laura were in the living room, watching a movie.
"Sup, party people?" Riker asked, walking into the room, sitting down beside Laura.
"Just watching a movie," Ryland answered, "where's Ross?"
He shrugged, "no idea, he was right behind us."
Laura gave him a look and then leaned over to grab the magazine in front of her. Rocky looked at it over Riker's lap.
"Watcha doin?" He casually asked her.
"Well, as you guys probably know, I'm engaged! And oh my god! I'm getting married!" She said excitedly bouncing in her seat as Ryland and Riker laughed beside her.
"Oh my god!" Rocky mimicked her, his hands going to his cheeks, then he gave her an unamused look, "why am I looking at wedding dresses?"
"She just told you why." Ryland responded back.
"And just for that, you get the wonderful honour of going shopping with me, Rydel and Vanessa." Laura patted the top of his head affectionately.
"Yeah, yeah…" Rocky grumbled, rolling his eyes. Then, he realized something. "Wait, Rydel is going shopping? Like actually and physically, legit going shopping."
Laura nodded, "yeah."
"That girl hates shopping, like with a passion." Rocky shook his head, "I don't believe that for a second."
Laura shrugged, "well, she's making an exception this time for her brother's wedding." She smiled, "so there." She playfully stuck her tongue out.
Rocky rolled his eyes again as Laura got up to go to the kitchen, she turned around, "where's Ross? He should have been back with you guys like ten minutes ago."
Rocky looked up then and saw Ross put his finger to his lips, he nodded, "So, Laura." He said casually, "on a scale of 1-10, how awesome would you feel if Ross was right behind you?"
Laura looked at him confused, "what?"
"Turn around," Rocky told her and she did, gasping when she saw Ross behind her, holding a teddy bear. Her eyes filled with tears and she took the teddy bear from him, before wrapping her arm around him and hugging him close.
"You act like you haven't seen him in years," Riker joked.
"All day is close enough," Laura said and then kissed him in front of everybody. He smiled and kissed her back.
"What's up?" He asked.
"We were just looking at wedding dress options," Laura told him, kissing him again before breaking away from him.
Ross raised an eyebrow, "you? With my brothers? Are we talking about the same group of guys here?"
Laura laughed, "pregnant women have a lot of power."
Rocky shook his head, in disagreement. "Not really, we just sat down with her and looked, it didn't take too much convincing."
Laura laughed, "so where have you been?"
"Oh, yeah," Ross said, sitting down on the couch as Laura sat beside him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder, "I dropped off these bozos and went to get you the teddy bear. Actually, I went to refill my prescription and then saw that and thought you'd like it."
Laura smiled and kissed him again, "well you were right. I love it."
"What's the occasion?" Ryland asked him.
"No reason. Just because." Ross responded back.
"Cheeseballs," Rocky muttered and after a moment of silence, everybody laughed.
"Come on, you have to eat something," Rydel told Ellington, gently pulling his hand. "I know you're sad but trust me, your father, he wouldn't have wanted you to be today. He would have wanted you to be happy and live life like you always do."
Ellington just blinked his eyes back at her. She sighed and then cupped his face in her hands, leaning in she kissed him, at first soft and slowly, but as he kissed her back, it became much more heated and intense. She broke it off a few seconds later.
"Your mom wants you to come downstairs," She whispered, knowing if they continued then it wouldn't solve anything. She had only kissed him to let him know she was there for him, no matter what and that she loved him, no matter what. She hoped he got the message since he usually did. She gently kissed his forehead since he still didn't move.
"Is this stupid?" He finally asked her and she looked at him, curiously.
"Is what stupid?"
"Me, being sad and depressed like this? I mean he died before I was born, I never met him and yet I'm this sad about his death."
Rydel shrugged, "maybe it's because of all those stories you've heard throughout your life, or it's because you're thinking of the guy you wish you got to know, the person you see only through pictures… you wish he was alive so that you could make him proud of you, but let me tell you something, Ellington." She leaned his forehead against his, "he would be so damn proud of you. You grew up to be an amazing person. You're a successful musician and you're one of the kindest and most funniest people I have ever met in my life." She closed her eyes, "you should be proud of that as well."
"Thanks, Rye." He whispered emotionally and she opened her eyes to look at him, "I definitely needed to hear that."
Her eyes filled with tears and she softly kissed him. "He's watching over you okay? He lives in you." She said, before Ellington leaned forward and kissed her again. She kissed him back and then they slowly broke it off.
"Let's go downstairs and eat some food," He told her and she smiled.
"There's my always hungry boyfriend. He's back." She smiled again and he took her hand, and with that, they left the room.
"Has anyone heard from Rydel?" Ross asked his brothers, who all shook their heads, just as Laura's phone rang. "Is that Rydel?" He asked, looking hopeful.
She shook her head, "it's Charlie." She excused herself and got up to answer the phone call. Ross sighed.
"Have you tried texting her?" Riker asked.
Ross nodded, "no answer."
"Why are you so antsy?" Rocky asked, "she's with Ellington, we know she's okay."
"Laura and I have something to show you guys, but I want her here with us." He responded back.
"Ooh, like what?" Rocky asked, his interest showing.
"Not telling, try calling Rydel, reach her and we'll go from there, kay, cool." Ross clicked his tongue and got up to go see what Laura was up to.
"No, oh my god, really?" She was talking excitedly about something and then squealed. "I can't wait! Yeah, I'm going to tell Ross, right now. Yeah, okay. Love you too, bye." She hung up and looked at Ross a smile on her face.
"Sup?" He asked with a nod of his head.
"Charlie's going to be here on Friday. He'll stay here of course…" She trailed off.
"As much as I would love that and I'm not saying this because I don't want him here, but we've only got the couch… so he can stay with my mom. Trust me, she'll love that." Ross smiled at her and Laura smiled back. "He can even be Ryland's roommate, he would also love that."
"Best fiancé ever," Laura whispered and then leaned in to kiss him.
As he kissed her back there was a knock on the door. Ross sighed and then broke the kiss.
"Sup, did ya miss me?" Rocky asked and Ross sighed again while Laura giggled. "Anyways, I reached Rydel, she said she and Ellington would be on their way soon. And I just talked to mom, I don't know if you wanted her here either, but she's coming and then coincidentally, I talked to Vanessa, since we're dating and all, and I told her what you told me, Ross, so she and your mom," He pointedly looked at Laura, "are on their way as well."
"Well, now it's a party." Laura smiled and kissed Ross' cheek.
"That's how life should be," Rocky said and Laura laughed. "So, get your asses ready, they'll be here in like ten minutes, since we all don't live far from each other, awesome how that works right? Oh and sorry for interrupting you, but not really, I needed to tell you guys that and now I'm going to go because I'm rambling, peace," He threw his fingers up in a peace sign and with that left the room.
"You know, I've given up trying to understand him," Laura commented and Ross agreed.
"That's been a struggle for me since the day I was born… or really since I could think for myself when I was about two, I would say. I'm not sure to be honest, but you get the point."
"Now you're rambling," Laura laughed and then kissed him again, her hands going to his neck, she pulled him on top of her and kissed him deeper while he kissed her back just as deeply.
Ross knew he wasn't going to move anytime soon and Laura didn't either, until Rocky came in and broke them apart, telling them that everyone was waiting for them in the living room, Ross grumbling the whole way about what a cockblock his older brother was.
"So, I'm sure you're all like, hey, why are we all here, what's going on?" Laura said as she and Ross stepped inside the room in front of their whole family who was sitting on the couch waiting for the news.
"That's pretty accurate," Rocky agreed.
"I can't think it's anything else," Ellington spoke up, "I mean we all know you're engaged and that Laura's pregnant, unless you guys are moving to South Africa or something, I don't see anything else that would surprise us."
"Good point," Ross said, pointing at him, but he reached into his pocket and pulled out something that looked like film. He grinned and looked at Laura, who was also grinning. "We got a picture of Riley."
"In Laura's stomach?" Rocky asked.
Ross nodded, "we wanted you all to see it together, it's a feel good moment kind of thing."
Rydel laughed, "I agree, Ross. Definitely."
They all then crowded around them to see the pictures, Ross handing one off to Ellington, Rydel and Rocky.
"That's your kid?" Rocky asked him, "he looks like an alien."
Ellington studied the picture for a moment, "yeah, but you have to admit, he's going to be really good looking someday."
Rocky shook his head, "not if he's an alien."
Laura gave him a look, Rydel giving him the same look she was.
"What? I'm just saying, Vanessa back me up here." Rocky defended, but Vanessa was laughing so hard she couldn't. He waved everyone off, "whatever, bro."
Ryland bounced in his spot beside Ross, who looked at him.
"Excited for a nephew?" He rhetorically asked him.
"Hell yeah, I'm gonna teach him how to play hockey. I'm gonna love the shit out of this kid." That caused Ross and everyone else to laugh.
"Just don't kill him," Laura told him and Ryland playfully rolled his eyes.
"I won't." He winked at her and she smiled back.
After everyone had looked at the pictures and Ross and Laura had gotten them back again, they all decided to talk and hang out for a bit, while Rydel asked for the pictures again so she could look at her nephew.
"Pretty cool, right?" Ellington asked, sitting down beside her and she nodded, smiling.
"It's my nephew, that's so cool."
"Even if he looks like an alien?" Ellington joked and Rydel playfully pushed him away, rolling her eyes. She stared at the picture for a moment when a memory came to her.
"When you were a baby, you looked kind of like an alien. I really thought your mother had given birth to one."
"That's a mean thing to say."
"It's true. Though now, now you've grown into a beautiful young woman…"
"Are fathers allowed to say that to their daughters?"
"Fathers are allowed to say whatever they want-"
Rydel gasped, dropping the photo to the ground, she covered her face with her hands.
"Rydel?" Ellington said her name, but she didn't answer.
"What are you doing to her?"
"I'm not doing anything wrong."
"That's-that's not right, fathers don't do things like that to their daughters."
"Get off me!"
"Rydel, don't be like that, it's okay. Don't listen to him."
"No, get off me!"
"Stop yelling, everyone will hear you-"
"Let me go! Just let me go! I have to go to dance class!"
"Hysterical? They'll think you've lost your mind!"
"I HATE YOU!"
"Why because I called you an alien?"
"No because you are the most disgusting person in the world!"
She stood up suddenly, her breathing becoming shorter as she put her hand to her chest, tears in her eyes as she tried to focus on getting out of the room. The same room that suddenly felt too small for her. Seeing Ross and Laura's room, she ignored everyone's calls to her and just walked in, closing the door behind her, she sat down on the bed and covered her face with her hands.
"I just want you to know, I wouldn't have allowed your father to continue doing what he did to you. I couldn't stop him. He's my best friend."
"You do realize that makes you just as disgusting as he is? You know what? Whatever."
"Don't walk away from me! Don't you remember me? Uncle George, you and I used to go see movies together and-"
"Yeah, used to. I hate you just as much as I hate him now. And truthfully, I hope you both rot in hell together."
"Rydel, you have to understand that I would never allow-"
"Yet you did! You watched him do what he did and you didn't stop it! I don't care if he's your best friend or not. You should have stopped him!"
"If I could go back and change that I would, you have to understand that."
"Well, now you can't. So now you've got a problem."
"You're not going to tell anyone are you?"
"There's no reason to. Other than treating Ross like shit, he hasn't done anything else wrong."
"No, I meant about me."
"Just know this, I'm not keeping two secrets. Goodbye, George."
She fell to the ground, her eyes filling with more tears as she heard the door open and then felt someone hug her tight. She leaned against them and cried for a few seconds, before she eventually calmed down and looked to see who it was.
Ellington.
"I'm sorry." She whimpered, "I didn't mean to-I-" She shook her head and Ellington did the same, kissing the side of her head, he just held her.
"It's okay." He whispered. "It's okay."
"Is she okay?" Rocky asked Ellington as he stepped out of the room. Ellington shrugged, "she's lying down, but I think I'm going to take her home soon. She's… she's not good and I have no idea what's wrong."
"She isn't saying anything?" Riker asked him.
"She hasn't spoken in the last half hour I was in the room with her." Ellington responded, he looked at Ross. "Got any ideas?"
"I think I know what's wrong." Ross said, sighing. "I saw the look on Rydel's face when Rocky said Riley looked like an alien. I saw it in her eyes, it must have triggered something, which by the way, Rocky, isn't your fault." He nodded.
"I said it too." Ellington said, "that must have made it worse."
"Also, not your fault." Stormie assured him.
"It's dad's, for doing what he did to her and thinking he could just get away with it." Ross said after a few seconds of silence. "I'll go talk to her." He said as Rocky's phone rang and he excused himself to answer it.
He softly knocked on the door to the room, sticking his head inside. Rydel nodded and he walked in, closing the door behind him. He laid down beside her, facing her.
"I didn't mean to ruin that whole Riley picture thing," She whispered. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong." He gently told her. Then he hugged her. "You'll be okay, I promise."
Her eyes filled with tears, "I feel like something's wrong, there's something wrong and I don't know what it is. It's just a feeling. Something's going to happen."
"Don't worry about it, okay? Just focus on you." He told her. "And when you want to talk, I'm here."
She nodded and then he pulled her close and hugged her.
"Thank you, Ross." She whispered.
He nodded and hugged her tighter.
"Anytime." He whispered back.
The next morning, Rocky got up earlier than usual, because his phone went off with a text.
Yo bozo, wake everyone up and turn the TV on to channel 7. Laura and I will be on doing an interview.
"What?" Rocky mumbled as he rubbed his eyes, making sure he read what he was reading correctly.
We were going to announce it last night, but… yeah. Just wake everyone up.
And get your ass up.
Wow, he thought, Ross sure knew if he was about to go back to sleep or not, which, he totally wasn't going to do.
He got up again, looking to his right to see Riker was still sleeping. He got up and pushed his older brother who opened his eyes.
"Get up, we have to watch tv, Ross and Laura are going to be on."
"What?" Riker looked at him confused, rubbing his eyes.
"Just go downstairs. I'm going to go wake everyone else up." Riker nodded and yawned.
Rocky, somewhat successfully, got everyone else to wake up and together they all walked down the stairs where Stormie was already waiting for them in the living room. She held up her phone, "I got Ross' text." She explained.
Rocky nodded and yawned, sitting down beside her, Ryland and Riker doing the same. Rydel and Ellington soon joined them and with that, they settled down to watch the tv.
"Are you ready to do this?" Ross asked Laura, who nodded back.
"I think it's time." She told him. "We can't hide it forever."
Ross took her hand in his, squeezing it gently.
"Ready to take on the world together?" Laura softly asked, looking up at him.
"With you? Yeah, I'm ready. I've always been ready." Ross responded, not breaking eye contact.
Laura smiled, she leaned up to kiss him and with that, they were told they would be going on stage in less than a minute.
They looked at each other and took a deep breath, knowing it was now or never.
"What are they doing?" Rydel asked, blinking her eyes in confusion.
"Oh shit, they're actually doing it." Ellington said.
"Doing what?" Rydel asked, still confused and Ellington realized she hadn't been there when Ross and Laura had the fight about telling the world about Riley and that they were together. He understood if Rocky was confused too, since it was the day they both went to visit Mark in jail.
He sighed. Those two were ballsy, that he had to admit.
"Everyone please welcome, Ross Lynch and Laura Marano, stars of the hit Disney Channel show, Austin & Ally," She smiled and waved at the camera. They did the same and the interviewer asked them a few questions.
"How's filming going?"
Ross and Laura looked at each other, "well um…" Ross began. "It's… we're taking a break for a while."
"I'm sorry, why?"
Laura and Ross looked at each other again.
"Is there something going on?"
Rocky's eyes widened as he watched the television screen, "holy shit, they're actually going to do it."
"Who's going to do what?" Rydel asked, walking back into the living room, having just gone to the bathroom for a quick second.
He pointed at the TV, "Ross and Laura are going to tell everyone about the pregnancy."
"Wait, how do you know that?" Ellington asked him.
"It's so obvious," He responded back. No one could deny how observant Rocky was in that moment, not even if they wanted to. He shrugged.
Her mouth dropped open, "no fucking way."
"Come here and watch," Ellington said and she wordlessly nodded, sitting down beside him.
"And we're back with Ross Lynch and Laura Marano." The interviewer smiled at them, "so it's true, you two are dating?"
Laura looked at her, confused, since they hadn't announced it yet. She pointed at their hands that were laced together.
"Kind of gave it away."
"Oh." Ross said and then looked up from their interlaced hands, sharing a look with Laura. She nodded. "Yeah, we're dating," He finally responded, "had to happen sometime right?" He joked as Laura playfully smacked him.
"And what about the show?" The interviewer asked.
"Well, like we said, it's on a break for the time being, so we don't know," Laura reminded her.
The interviewer nodded, "so tell me you two, what else has been going on?"
Ross looked at Laura again and she silently nodded.
"Are we really going to do this?" He whispered in her ear.
She nodded again.
"Okay." He said, pulling away from her, both knowing it was now or never.
Meanwhile, Rocky, Rydel, Ellington, Riker, Ryland and Stormie were literally on the edge of their seats, waiting for it. The moment that they knew was about to come.
"Okay, well, we have some news, some big news," He said and then took a deep breath, before finally saying it. "Laura's pregnant."
The interviewer's mouth dropped open and they both knew, she hadn't been expecting that.
"She-she is?"
Ross nodded, "we're naming him Riley."
"Oh. Oh my god." Then interviewer said and looked at them. They just shrugged, like the innocent teenagers everyone outside of their close friends and family thought they were. "Wow. That, that I wasn't expecting."
"Trust me, nobody was." Laura responded.
"But we want everyone to know, that we knew it was the right time. We don't want to hide our son from the world anymore. We're not ashamed of him." Ross said and Laura agreed. "We love him and we just.. we wanted to make that clear to all of the haters out there."
"Ten bucks says he's going to talk about his upcoming marriage too," Rocky said.
"Shh! It's sweet!" Rydel scolded him, as they all tried to process and get over their shock over the fact that now the news was going to be known worldwide.
"So, ten bucks right? It's a pretty safe bet." Ellington said a moment later and Rocky nodded. He held his hand out and Rocky slapped it as Rydel shook her head and rolled her eyes.
After the interview was over, Ross and Laura walked out of the studio, Laura taking a deep breath she didn't know she was holding, Ross doing the same.
"We really just did that, holy shit." Ross said and Laura nodded, before a smile spread across both their faces.
They didn't care about anything they knew would be coming their way, the hate, most importantly. She smiled and squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck, he caught her and then they shared a kiss, realizing that it was now okay to do that in public. Now that everyone knew the truth about them, they could almost do anything they wanted in public.
"No regrets?" He asked her and she shook her head, still smiling.
"None." She promised him. His phone vibrated in his pocket.
"Maia just texted me, HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS!" He widened his eyes for emphasis and it made Laura laugh again. "Just like that." He was about to put his phone back when it went off again. "Calum and Raini sent me basically the same thing."
"I'm afraid to look at my phone," Laura joked.
"Come on, let's go to my mom's house, I hear she's making breakfast, at least that's what she told me when I texted her to watch the interview this morning."
Laura laughed, "you'd do anything for pancakes or french toast, won't you?"
"You know me so well," He teased and then kissed her again before taking her hand and leading the way to his car.
His phone rang and he picked up, knowing it was Rocky.
"Ross! Laura!"
He sounded more distressed and less shocked, so it concerned Ross. He looked at Laura.
"What? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just… hi."
"I'm going to kill you, Rocky." Ross sighed, shaking his head as he unlocked the door and he and Laura got in the car.
"I called you for a reason, what the hell was that? Oh my god, I, for one, am shocked that you didn't tell them you were engaged too." He was silent for a moment, "actually to be honest, everyone else is too."
"One bomb at a time, or two, if you count the news of us dating." Ross said. "Look, we're on our way to the house, we'll see you soon."
"You better haul ass," Rocky told him and before Ross could respond, he hung up the phone.
"Alright then, Rocky." Ross sighed and with that, started the car.
"Wow, I've never seen Ross this happy." Rydel said as Rocky hung up the phone, she thought back to the interview and how Ross had such a big smile on his face. "He's like a giggly four year old."
Rocky sighed as if he was reliving the memory, "he was so cute then."
Rydel looked at him, "he's still cute!"
Rocky waved off her comment and then stood up, motioning for Ellington to do the same.
"Where are you two going?"
"Rocky and I are going thrift shopping, see you later." He leaned down to kiss her.
"Thrift shopping?" Rydel gave them both a look.
"Like Macklemore, peace!" Rocky threw her the peace sign and with that, both boys left.
Rydel just sighed, leaning back on the couch, she looked at Riker and Ryland just as the front door opened. Ross and Laura walked in, taking the place of Rocky and Ellington.
"Why did Rocky and Ellington just leave? Rocky was the one who told me to hurry my ass up and get here," Ross asked, taking his sunglasses off.
Rydel shrugged, "they just went thrift shopping."
"Why?" Ross asked.
Rydel shrugged again, "I think Ellington needed a distraction."
"Don't you?" Ross asked her.
"I guess, but I hate shopping so…" She trailed off. Ross smiled at her.
"Dude, that interview, wow." Riker said and Ryland agreed.
"Blew my mind, holy shit." Ryland added.
"Where's mom?" Ross asked.
"In the kitchen, making breakfast." Ryland responded.
He nodded.
"You're okay with your decision right? You don't regret it?" Rydel asked them.
Laura nodded, her arm linking with Ross' as she grabbed their hand and laced their fingers. "Yeah we don't regret it. Like Ross said, we're not ashamed of Riley and we didn't want to hide him from the world anymore," She looked at Ross, "he's the best future husband ever."
Rydel smiled at them, "Riley's one lucky kid." She said.
"Don't we know it." Riker added and everyone softly laughed at that.
After talking to Stormie and having an amazing breakfast with everyone else, Ross and Laura sat on the living room couch and just watched tv.
"This feels like old times, you know?" Laura smiled, "back when we both started out dating. Good times," She joked.
"Nothing's changed, other than Riley and us getting married soon. Oh and that we live on our own now too," Ross added, "we're tighter now than ever."
Laura smiled, "that's true."
He looked down at their hands, "so are we sure about our decision? About Riley's godparents?"
Laura nodded, "I think they're perfect, it's one of the best decisions we could possibly make."
"Okay, then as soon as they come home, we'll tell them."
Laura smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.
About an hour later, Rocky and Ellington walked in, Rocky saying a quick hi, before running up the stairs. Ellington, however, walked into the living room, putting his stuff down on the couch.
"Hey guys." He smiled at them, "what's up? Glad to see you're still here."
"Yeah, we didn't feel like going back home just yet." Laura smiled back, "how was your random thrift shop trip?"
"Not as random as you think. We planned that a while ago." Ellington told her. "The timing was just kind of shitty, but wow, guys major props for that interview. That was ballsy."
"We thought it was time," Laura said, as Rydel walked into the living room, wrapping her arms around Ellington's neck from behind. "It would have to come out eventually."
Ellington nodded in agreement, "well again, major props to you both." He turned his attention to his girlfriend, "hey."
"Hey," She said quietly, "Rocky told me you were down here." She looked at the clothes that were on the couch, "looks like you got a lot of stuff."
He shrugged, "you're probably going to steal my flannels, again, so I got more, just in case."
Rydel laughed and Ross and Laura shared a smile.
"I got to go put these in my care before I forget them," He said, standing up as Rydel nodded and let him go.
"Hey, before you go, we want to ask you both something," Ross said.
"More surprises?" Rydel asked.
"Sort of, depends on how you want to look at it." Ross answered and then he motioned for them to sit down again. Ellington sat down first, with Rydel sitting on his lap. "So we were thinking about this and we've thought about it for a really long time, but we know that you two are going to last for pretty much all of eternity so, with that in mind, we want to ask you…" He trailed off and looked at Laura.
She nodded and gave them both a smile, "how would you two feel about being Riley's godparents?"
Rydel gasped, her eyes filling with tears as her hands went up to cover her mouth. "Oh my god, are you-seriously?"
Ross nodded, "you guys, you're the best, really. I mean, I'm not excluding everyone else, but Rydel, you and I have a really special relationship and I'm closest with you out of all of our other siblings, we always have been and everyone knows that and Ellington, you really stuck by my side when I needed you to, especially the last few years of our friendship and you treat my sister like she's the most important thing in the world to you." Ellington and Rydel shared a smile. "You've both have also been there for Laura when she needed you as well and we both know, that you two are meant to be. So, if anything were to happen to the both of us, we'd know that Riley was going to be safe and well cared for. That's why we want you to be his godparents, if you accept, I mean.""
"Wow, dude, thanks, that's, that's the best-" He didn't know what to say. "I would love to be Riley's godfather. Wow, saying that feels so badass."
The four of them laughed and Rydel nodded, she reached over and gave both Ross and Laura a hug.
"I would absolutely love to be Riley's godmother," She whispered emotionally and Ellington hugged them as well. It was one of the best group hugs in the world.
They broke it apart, Rydel wiping underneath her eyes as they did.
"Best day ever." Ellington smiled at her and she nodded.
"Best day ever." She whispered.
Rocky paced back and forth in his room for a few moments, deciding on whether or not he should tell anyone about the phone call he had received the day before. He was nervous and anxious about keeping the secret, the thrift shop adventure he had gone on with Ellington had been a really good distraction. Now it was over and he had to face reality again.
"You okay?" Riker asked Rocky, as he walked into the room, towel drying his hair as he sat down on the bed, "you look freaked out about something."
He decided that probably telling Riker wasn't such a bad idea. They were really close, he knew he could count on him to help him out.
He got a text from Vanessa and quickly responded back, before sitting across from Riker on his own bed.
"I…I got a call yesterday, from dad's lawyer." He told him. "And I have no idea why he called me or how he got my number."
"And? What did he say?" Riker asked, his full attention on Rocky.
"Let's just say it's bad news for Ross and Rydel…" He trailed off.
Riker's eyes widened and he shook his head, "no don't tell me…"
Rocky nodded, his head hanging for a moment, before looking up at Riker, "dad's being released from jail, this afternoon, on parole until the trial and unless both Ross and Rydel testify in court, he's going to stay out of jail."
"Oh, oh my god." Riker said. "Oh my fucking god."
Surprise? Haha.
Review, tell me what you think. Like, really, don't hold anything back.
Also, I got a review from livelearnlovesing that suggested I give Rydel flashbacks of her abuse, so that's kind of heavy, but I really liked the idea. Thank you so much for that, the credit goes to you. So yeah, that's something that's going to come up a lot, especially now with the news that her father is going to be let out of jail. That's pretty huge, just saying. So things will come up, intense things. Just a warning.
As for Ellington's storyline, just think back to Don't Let Go, when they're all drinking and talking about their fathers. It was kind of obvious, but yeah, there's a reason for why I said what I said about his father. You'll see why soon enough.
Also, I'm still like fifty million episodes behind, but my little brother was watching the new episode of Austin & Ally, yesterday (Ross' long hair is like my fav) and I saw a scene when there's a guy singing in Spanish to Austin and he's like repeating what he's saying and following him around and up the stairs while Austin was just trying to go to the bathroom. I thought it was so funny. Especially when he was like, "I'm a big boy." I died. But yeah, that's all I saw, haha. I'm sure I'll really catch up eventually, but that scene was my favourite one, like ever. Well, at the very least one of my favs, top five definitely.
Oh and I watched Laura's movie, Bad Hair Day, I think it's called? Yeah, so good. I loved it. And I'm super excited for Teen Beach Movie 2! I really liked the first one. Honestly, I thought it was good, but that's just me.
And poor Ellington for having jury duty today while everyone else got to go to Radio Disney and have fun. I feel so bad for him because I heard that sucks. I've had friends who had it and they hated it. So, hopefully you kept yourself well entertained, dude.
Okay, well, that's it. I hope you liked it!
Much love, xx
