A/N: Okay, so it seems that daily updates aren't possible, so I guess I'm going with weekly. Thank you to everyone who reviewed/followed this story, it means a lot.
Guest reviewer: You are so sweet, thank you! I'm really glad you're enjoying it.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable.
Ryan and Alex stood beneath the tree as Carlos prepared to climb. Alex shook his head and chuckled.
"You sure you can still do it? You ARE an LA beach boy now," he said teasingly, but he was a bit curious as to whether or not Carlos would make it to the top and back down. The Latino turned and looked Alex in the eye with a smirk.
"When you're on a kid's show, you have to do some crazy-ass stunts. I can handle climbing a tree," he replied confidently. Rubbing his hands together, he grasped a branch and pulled up, bringing his foot up and onto a notch in the wood. He grabbed another branch and pushed off. He continued the pattern, scooting higher and higher while Ryan and Alex watched. Ryan was laughing at Alex's display of confusion and disbelief.
Carlos reached the thickest branch and crawled across it, sitting on the middle and swinging his legs. He stared down at his friends and playfully stuck his tongue out at Alex. Ryan shook her head and laughed, and Alex grumbled. Scowling, he walked up to the tree and grabbed it the same way Carlos had only minutes before, but he fumbled around, not able to find a spot that felt right. Carlos and Ryan were still laughing, and Alex groaned, turning to face Ryan.
"Oh please, like you could climb a tree?!" Alex exclaimed, hands flailing.
"Is that a challenge? 'Cause you know damn well that I'm not a priss. I could climb that thing before you even got off the ground!" Ryan retorted. Alex just gestured towards the tree, and Ryan shrugged. She grabbed a branch and pulled, hoisting herself up on the same notch Carlos had used. She groped her way up the tree and moved onto the branch next to Carlos and slung her arm around his shoulders.
"Unbelievable!" Alex screamed from his spot on the ground. He grabbed the trunk of the tree with a determined face, and he yanked himself up. Carlos and Ryan laughed, cheering him on as if he was climbing a mountain. Straining his muscles, he continued pulling, panting when he reached the top. He sat on a branch by Carlos and Ryan's, maintaining a vice grip on the trunk.
"Well, you made it to the top, but can you make it back down?" Ryan challenged. Alex's eyes went wide, and he groaned.
"Crap..." was all that came out of his mouth. Carlos laughed, and Ryan smirked at her less-than-manly best friend.
"Ten and a half years later, and you're still scared," Ryan clicked her tongue in false disappointment, and Carlos just laughed harder. Ryan grabbed Carlos's arm for support as she leaned over to reach her phone in her back pocket. She pulled it out and went to the camera, snapping several pictures of Alex hugging the trunk of the tree.
"This'll make a beautiful before-and-after picture. Remind me to show this to your future wife," Ryan teased. Alex just glared at her, too scared to let go of the tree to swipe at her. From their branch, Carlos and Ryan were watching Alex's amusement. They leaned on each other and laughed, Carlos holding Ryan's arm for support. Completely immersed in making fun of Alex, they didn't even notice the smirk he was wearing until they finally calmed down.
"What?!" Carlos said, still trying to regain his breathing. "Why are looking at us like that? We're not the ones hugging a tree!" Alex just shook his head, still donning that taunting smirk.
"Why does everyone keep doing that?!" Ryan nearly shouted, quite exasperated.
"Forget about it. Now, HELP ME GET DOWN FROM HERE!" Alex screeched, causing Carlos to almost fall from laughing so hard. Ryan shook her head and started climbing down the tree, almost looking graceful. Carlos regained his composure and followed behind once he heard her jump onto the grassy ground below them. He worked his way down the tree and hopped off next to Ryan. The two looked up to see a look of sheer terror on their friend's face.
"Alex, just come down the same way you went up," Carlos advised. "Use the space where the trunk splits as the first step and scoot the rest of the way down."
"Easy for you to say, you're a Latin ninja!" He screamed in response. Ryan and Carlos shared confused looks at the comment.
"Don't know how to respond to that... Either way, just quit whining and get down from there," Carlos says. Alex nervously shifts his feet around and grips the tree even tighter. Shaking, he moves down, inch by inch, until he finally reaches the bottom. He falls to the ground, looking happier and more relieved than ever before.
"Oh, sweet ground!"
"Wimp," Ryan stated, yanking her friend up and off of the grassy floor. Alex growled at her, reaching to smack her head, but she caught his arm and twisted it before he could reach her.
"Ow ow ow, pain!" Carlos laughed at Alex's response. He received a pained glare, and when Alex's arm was released, he starting running towards Carlos. Carlos yelped and ran, sensing the anger in Alex's expression. Ryan sighed and smacked her forehead.
"Morons!"
The trio was sitting on a bench, still panting from running. By the time Alex had caught Carlos, he was too out of breath to yell or hit, but Ryan didn't pass up the opportunity to smack both of them upside the head. She didn't mind climbing trees, but she hated running. She gave them a stern lecture between gasps for air, but eventually, they all just fell onto a bench.
"You know... I hate... Running!" Ryan yelled weakly at Alex. He shrunk, leaning towards Carlos. He knew that even a tired Ryan was dangerous. Carlos chuckled breathily, shoving Alex off his shoulder. They were slowly regaining their breathing, and mutually decided to leave.
Alex sat behind the passenger's seat, pouting about being confined to the back seat. He hadn't even gotten to the car, but Ryan was already riding shotgun, and Carlos was driving.
"Dude, have you always been such a baby? Can't climb a tree, can't unhook a bra, can't handle sitting in the back. Yeah!" Carlos teased him, looking in the rear-view mirror to see his friend's angry expression.
"You suck," Alex grumbled, angrily opening the door as they pulled up to his apartment. He stepped out, shutting the door dramatically, but not necessarily angrily.
"Wanna get out here, or should I drop you off at home?" Carlos asked Ryan as he turned to face her.
"Home's fine. Thanks." Carlos nodded and put the car in reverse, pulling out of the parking space. They made small talk during the drive, and she gave him the directions to her apartment throughout their conversation.
"So, how we're you able to get this much time off from work?" Ryan asked.
"We'll, we had a week off between shooting and rehearsing for the tour. I was able to work out a way for me to rehearse the songs with them over Skype, and I've been watching the dance rehearsals. It's been interesting, but it works."
"When do you go back?"
"Well," he sighed ran his fingers through his hair, keeping his left hand on the wheel, "I'm leaving right after the re-opening. I don't know how in hell I got this much time off, or even how I was able to work out rehearsing over Skype. I'll probably come back around once a month, but I'm gonna be gone for a while when we're touring."
Ryan nodded, feeling a bit sad. She knew he had to go back, and she knew he would be back soon, but they'd become so close. He was her first real friend since Alex, and she wasn't sure how she'd handle rarely seeing him. The last minute of the ride was silent as they reached Ryan's apartment.
"Thanks, Carlos," Ryan said, faking a smile and trying not to sound upset as she opened the car door.
"No problem," Carlos responded before grabbing Ryan's hand. "Thanks for everything, Ryan. Really. It's nice having some friends back home. Last night was a lot of fun, and today was great." Ryan nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. She gave him a real smile and stepped out of the car, closing the door behind her. Carlos watched her walk away and sighed, carding his fingers through his hair. His hand moved down and rubbed at the back of his head. He wasn't sure why, but he was already dreading returning to LA. He missed California, but something told him he'd miss Florida even more.
A/N: So, what did y'all think? Please, please, please give me some feedback or ideas. I'm craving some input, because honestly, I don't know exactly where I'm going with this. I know what I want to happen, but give me some ideas about how I can have the story play out. Constructive criticism never hurts!