UPDATE: I FUCKED UP THE FORMATTING BECAUSE I WAS IN A HURRY AND THE LINE BREAKS DIDNT WORK IM SORRY YALL FIXING IT NOW. PS MY ROOM SMELLS LIKE CINNAMON YAY.
A/N: I'm not dead!:D Not yet at least. I just started my freshman year, so I've been doing a lot of adapting and with everything that's changing, I've basically just spent a lot of time being angry. I've also been working on this in class because at home, I'm swamped with homework. So yea, this has been a long process, but hopefully this super long chapter makes up for the wait. There's some huge stuff that happens, and you really get to know some of the characters. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything you may recognize.
"Up and at 'em bitches!" Mia hollered as she flung open the guest room door energetically. She received identical groans from both Ryan and Alex. She chuckled before crossing the room to yank the curtains apart and allow the morning sunlight in.
"Mia, I swear to god," Alex mumbled, pressing his pillow down on top of his face. The oldest in the room approached the bed, tearing the blanket from the pair and earning herself another groan from Ryan. She rolled over, burying herself in Alex's side.
"I told you to go to bed on time last night," Mia reminded.
"We tried," Alex grumbled, sighing as he draped an arm over Ryan's half-asleep form burrowing into him.
"Walls are thin and you're fucking loud," she mumbled into his shirt, the statement directed at the other Ricketts sibling that stood at the foot of the bed, her expression blank before she shrugged.
"Well while you two slept- and only slept- Mama got some. So I win. Now up!"
After picking up a fallen pillow and tossing it at them, she left the room. With a sigh, Alex unwound his arm from around Ryan and slipped out from under her, rubbing his hands over his face as he sat up.
"C'mon. We really should get up before she comes back and beats us," he said, stretching his muscles out.
Ryan followed in his example with a disapproving groan, reluctantly shuffling into the bathroom with her clothes before Alex could beat her to it. While she washed up and got dressed, Alex took his time unpacking like she had the night before. Once she exited the bathroom in her typical plaid-over-t-shirt and jeans, he took her place, and she went downstairs.
"Mornin' babe. What can I getcha?" Mia asked enthusiastically.
"Some peace and quiet," Ryan grumbled in retort, falling into the barstool beside Chris.
"Not a morning person. Got it," the blond commented as if making note while pouring out four glasses of juice.
"Took you eight years of knowing me to get that?" Ryan raised an eyebrow, accepting a glass. "Your girlfriend is the only morning person I've ever met."
"Yea, well, she's a bit psychotic," Chris admitted in a whisper, purposely speaking just loud enough for both women to hear. Ryan cracked a smile in response to Mia thwacking him with a spatula.
"Love you!" he proclaimed as he stood to leave an over-exaggerated kiss on her cheek.
"Mmhmm, next time it'll be a frying pan. Now go finish your lawyer-y stuff then get to decorating. T-minus ten hours until party time," she informed. Chris nodded, retreating to his office with his juice and a slice of toast.
"Working on New Year's Eve?" Ryan questioned as she took a sip of her drink, her raised eyebrow visible over the rim of the glass.
"Yea, he's been nuts about this one case for about a month now. Apparently there's a lot riding on it."
"Interesting," Ryan commented, setting her glass down.
"What about you? Have you thought about that job offer any more?" Mia asked, her shoulders scrunching upward as she slouched over the breakfast bar.
"I don't really know what I'm going to do about it. I mean, it's great," Ryan had to admit, "but I still have the opening at the company. That'll be open whenever, though."
"Then what is there to think about? You have the chance to try your hand at Ariole. If it doesn't work, go back to the company. You're in the most amazing position right now, Ry."
"I know, I know," Ryan sighed, "and I'm grateful- trust me- but I'm kind of enjoying not having to grow up just yet."
"Well you have your, uh- 'cushion' too, right?" Mia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course!" Ryan answered. "That alone is enough to last me through my thirties if I splurge as much as possible, but I can't just wait until I run dry."
"Which is why I'm saying to just take the damn job! The worst that can happen is you have to quit, and then you get to work at a company you've known longer than you've known your own name."
"Okay, okay," Ryan sighed. "I'll see what I can do. Anyways, what about you? How's the job going?"
"Pretty well. If everything works out, I might be able to get that movie deal I told you about." She sighed thoughtfully. "I'm getting really sick of this whole guest-roles-and-minor-arks thing, y'know?"
"Well what about Broadway. You only gave it like two months before y'all moved out here. I mean, it was your original goal."
"I don't know. It's just…." Her voice trailed off. "I think I've got a really good thing going here, and I don't want to mess that up." Her eyes drifted to the hallway where Chris had left.
"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to overstep, but are you sure you don't feel- I don't know- stuck here?" Ryan asked, almost concerned.
"At first, I thought I did, but I can honestly can that I don't. Broadway was…. I don't think Broadway was it for me. I have everything I need and want here in Santa Monica."
Ryan nodded understandingly, truly happy that her friend was content. Silence barely had the chance to fall over them for more than a second before Alex came bounding down the staircase. The two siblings quickly engaged in a much more light-hearted conversation while Ryan mulled over her thoughts and her juice. What Mia had said stunned her; the elder had always been ambitious and absolutely unstoppable. Something had changed, and Ryan was reluctant to admit it was for the better. Warring with herself, she sighed inaudibly until her thoughts were broken by a sharp poke to the cheek.
"The hell?!" She glared at Alex who was leaning across the breakfast bar, mouth half full. "Did you just stab me with your fork?"
"You disappeared on us," he defended, shoveling syrup-covered eggs into his mouth.
"And calling my name wouldn't have been effective enough?"
Her question was met with a shrug at which she rolled her eyes before standing to wash her glass and snag a piece of his toast. She brushed her bangs out of her face, and her nose crinkled when she felt syrup on her cheek from his fork.
"You just had to eat your weird-ass sticky eggs, didn't you?"
"Sticky eggs?" Alex choked down a laugh along with said eggs as he spoke questioningly.
"It's 9 AM, and I barely got any sleep between Mia's many, many screams- good for you by the way-" she turned to a laughing Mia before redirecting her attention to Alex, "-so leave me be."
Alex threw his hands up in surrender with a chuckle before washing down the last bit of his breakfast with a sip of juice.
"So Mia," he turned to her, "What's the schedule like for today?"
"Well it's 9 AM now, so I'm thinking we should be done with the decorations and setting everything out by, say, 1:30? Break for lunch then finish making the appetizers by 4ish- Ry, Imma need you for that- then hopefully the caterers will be here and gone by 5. Then, we get ready," Mia spoke in a single breath, hands folded in pride. Alex gave a low whistle and Ryan gave a dry laugh.
"Didn't think she'd have a literal schedule," she mumbled under her breath, the comment still heard by Mia.
"Damn straight. And I intend to stick to it, so haul ass!"
"I am not wearing that!" Ryan nearly shouted as she stood from the stool she had been placed in in front of Mia's vanity.
"And why the hell not?" Mia demanded, spreading the dress out on the bed beside her own.
"Mia, that's barely enough fabric to even be considered a shirt!"
"You're wearing the fucking dress. Now sit down and let me fix you."
She shoved her down into the chair once more, glaring at her in the mirror in a way that showed she meant business. When Ryan made no move to stand back up, Mia grinned.
"I don't know why I'm even letting you whore me out," Ryan admitted through gritted teeth as Mia proceeded to apply her makeup.
"'Whore' is such a strong word. I'd like to believe I'm making you more of a…." she clicked her tongue, searching for the word, "a vixen- rather than a whore." She smiled, satisfied with both her statement and the smooth application of Ryan's foundation.
"Have you seen that dress?" Ryan raised an eyebrow over a closed eye. "The word is whore." She jumped when Mia gave a harsh tug to her ponytail.
"Watch it. That's my dress," she growled, cracking open a compact and allowing pinkish powder into the air, making Ryan cough.
"Yea," the seated brunette began between coughs, "but you're a beautiful whore," she stated playfully, laughing when Mia pulled on her hair again.
"Mmhmm, whatever. Either way, you need to release that inner whore sometimes. Why the hell do you think I invited your four Hollywood nutjobs?"
"I don't know, courtesy maybe? Graciousness? Kind and pure intentions?" Ryan offered, words reeling in exasperation.
"Since when have you known me to have kind or pure intentions?" Mia retorted, raising a challenging eyebrow as she leaned down to fill in the small wing of Ryan's eyeliner. "And quite your flinching. Dear Jesus!"
Ryan remained quiet and as still as she could, the cold feeling of the liquid eyeliner foreign to her. Once the task had been completed and her mascara had also been applied, she opened her eyes to the feeling of Mia yanking her hair out of it tie. Twisting and flipping it, putting pins here and fluffing there, her hair was finally set into place. It fell in its usual waves, swept over her right shoulder as she usually kept it, but this time more elegantly.
"Perfect. Now go change," Mia demanded, tossing the dress towards her. Before the younger could protest, Mia held up a silencing hand then shooed her away into the conjoined bathroom.
With a sigh, Ryan stripped out of her dark-wash jeans and University of Miami t-shirt she had changed into just before she began getting ready out of caution for spilled makeup and hair product. She slipped into the unzipped dress- if one could even consider it that- guiltily reveling in the soft glide of the satin over her skin. She pulled it up over her chest before struggling slightly to twist her arms around her back and zip it up, the top of the dress coming up just below the small scrawl of the tattoo on the left side of her back. She looked down at herself and groaned, throwing the door open.
"Ricketts!" she hollered, attempting to get Mia's attention.
"Ry, you look gorgeous!" Mia beamed as she approached her evidently displeased friend.
"I look like a prostitute," Ryan gritted out through her teeth.
"Exaggerating much?" Mia asked as she spun Ryan around, tugging and tucking at the fabric until she heard feet shuffle into the open bedroom door.
"Someone call me?" Alex inquired, his eyes on his phone.
"I was addressing the other Ricketts in the room," Ryan informed, yanking at the hem of her dress.
"Alex, tell her she looks pretty," Mia demanded. Alex looked up from his phone for the first time since he'd entered, sliding it into his pocket.
"Wow," he breathed. "Ry, you really do look stunning," he took her arm and spun her around, entirely ignoring her eye roll, "but, uh- why exactly are you wearing that?"
"For the party that you should be getting ready for," Mia informed as she stepped towards her vanity.
"A) It's only going to take me ten minutes, and B) SHE'S WEARING THAT?!" His voice nearly cracked at the volume he had reached.
"Yes, she is. Problem?" Mia challenged, setting down her mascara.
"Yes. That isn't a dress. That is a shirt at best. And even then, it's strapless!" He stalked past Ryan over to his sister.
"I thought it looked 'stunning' as you put it?" Mia paused her makeup application and stood with her arms crossed defiantly across her chest.
"Yea, but I'm practically her big brother. None of the other guys that'll be here will look at her innocently."
"Which is fine as long as they don't try anything. Alex," Mia sighed, "she's 24. Don't try and dress her like she's nine. Innocence is long gone"
"Do I have any say in this?" Ryan attempted to ask over the shouts of the argument, but to no prevail. "Alright, great. Guess I'm playing tramp for the night," she muttered under her breath, sliding into the black and impossibly high heels. As she descended the stairs, swift but careful in the tricky shoes, she heard a door open to reveal a disheveled and nervous looking Chris emerging from his office.
"Hey Ryan," Chris called out, running a hand through his matted hair, "you look great."
"Thanks," Ryan chuckled as she finally came to stand before him. He wrung his hands before glancing around.
"Can I, uh- Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Ry," Alex caught her attention by knocking on the open bedroom door. "People are starting to arrive."
Ryan nodded from her place on the bed but made no effort to move. Noticing her hesitation, Alex entered the room and sat beside her on the bed, unbuttoning his suit jacket. He sighed, recognizing the paper she was holding.
"Reading it again?" he asked.
"Need some motivation," she grumbled as if her search for inspiration was reluctant, folding the paper back up as she stood.
"Motivation for…." He quirked an eyebrow before realization hit. "Wait, are you-"
"Don't get ahead of yourself there, bud." She let out a breath. "Never said I was actually going through with anything."
With that, she left the room, heels clicking on the wood floors. He followed closely behind, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. By the time they had reached the base of the stairs, they were already mixing into the small heard of guests that had already arrived. Mia beckoned them over from one side of the room. Her flaming red dress designed similarly to Ryan's but surprisingly more modest, yet its colors still acted as a beacon for attention. Once they had reached her, it was a flurry of greetings and introductions as they worked their way through the crowd. Mia, distracted by the emptying appetizer trays, rushed off to the kitchen allowing for Alex and Ryan to make their way to a safer spot in the nearly empty foyer just ten feet from the front door.
"Do you remember any of their names?" Ryan whispered to Alex as the door opened once again.
"Uh…." He scanned over the small but growing group of attendees. "I think that guy's name is Mike." He pointed to a tall man speaking to Chris in a friendly manner.
"Pretty sure his name was Mark," Ryan laughed. Alex chuckled in time with her, shaking his head in defeat as they observed the many different people they'd be ringing in the New Year with. The bell rang again before a slightly older, balding man- Ryan believed his name was Richard- answered the door.
"Oh finally," Alex sighed in relief, recognizing the entering guests and approaching them quickly.
"Oh fuck," Ryan muttered in response, clearing her throat before turning with a small and admittedly forced smile. She waited for them to find their way to her after being greeted by Alex, smirking slightly when she saw their eyes fall on her and go wide in shock.
"Whoa, what happened to you?!" Logan joked, eyes raking over Ryan's unusual attire before adding an approving nod. James and Carlos simply displayed stunned smiles, and Kendall gave a chuckle and a low whistle.
"Damn, Ry." Logan spun her around as James spoke. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you, gentlemen. Y'all don't clean up too bad either," she admitted with an impressed nod.
"Well now that we've got the formalities out of the way, it's time to party!" Logan cheered, leading the group into the crowd.
All six attendees were shoved around slightly by the guests and Ryan and Carlos deliberately by the four other men until they were standing just a couple of inches apart from one another. While the others struck up conversations amongst themselves and the other guests, Carlos contemplated exactly what to say to the transformed woman standing beside him, but his mouth betrayed his mind.
"You look very sexy," he blurted out, eyes going wide immediately after realizing his own blunder. Ryan only laughed, feeling empowered more than embarrassed, and she placed her hand on his arm while struggling to resist squeezing the muscle below the suit jacket.
"Likewise, sir," she complimented, her own mind stunned with the confidence of her mouth.
Her legs carried her away in a saunter before she could react normally to what had happened. Carlos, still stunned by the situation, attempting to mix back into the crowd and mingle alongside his bandmates.
The night ticked on with Ryan cycling between speaking with other guests, completing simple chores for the hosts, and grumbling in a corner over how pulling her dress either way would only expose more of the opposite end. Pulling it up over her chest displayed more of her legs whereas pulling it down showed off even more of her chest, and it was driving her absolutely insane. Above all, she had Alex on her tail every moment, chastising any of the band members who dared glance at her. Her only successful escape finally came after she threatened to shove her heels somewhere in Alex's body that stunned him enough to allow her the momentary peace of the small hallway powder room near Chris's office.
"Hey 'Rena," Ryan spoke into her phone, leaning against the sink.
"Ry, I know it's New Year's, but it's almost 3 AM here in Weston," Serena responded, enough exasperation evident in her voice to make Ryan's eyes roll.
"Be quiet. I know you're staying up waiting for Alex's text."
"Irrelevant!" Serena defended. "But what do you need? I was in the middle of a very intense scene of Supernatural."
"Is Dean screwing Lydia?" Ryan asked with a knowing smirk.
"Please, Lydia is screwing Dean," the younger laughed. "But seriously, talk or I'm hanging up."
"I just need you to call Alex. Distract him. At least until midnight."
"Why? I really don't want to seem clingy. I mean, it has only been a week since we got together. What are you even planning on doing?"
"I'm not planning anything!" Ryan nearly shouted in defense. "And trust me, he wants you to call."
"Okay, but why do I need to distract him?"
"Because I just need some time to breathe without him up my ass."
"And Alex is up your ass because….?" Serena's voice trailed off questioningly on the other line.
"It's barely covered in this god forsaken dress," Ryan mumbled to complete the statement, rubbing her forehead in pure annoyance at the situation.
"Dress?!" Serena hollered into the phone. "Pictures. Now." She demanded, but her request elicited only a groan from Ryan.
"Just call him. Please."
And with that, the call ended. Ryan sighed, exiting the half-bath and nearly bumping into Chris who was on his way out of his office.
"Oh, Chris. Hey," she greeted, stopping beside him. "Ready?"
"Yeah…. I think," he admitted with a sigh, running his hands through his hair. "Just need to freshen up. I'll see you out there?"
She smiled and nodded before making her way out of the small hallway. Dodging an excited Alex speaking into his phone, she laughed and entered the kitchen, glancing at the clock before picking up a bottle opener and approaching the fridge. She opened the door and bent down with caution as to not allow her dress to rise. Her fingers closed around the icy neck of a beer bottle just as she heard someone approaching from behind clear their throat.
"What happened to 'I don't drink,' Miss Avera?" Carlos questioned playfully as she stood and popped the cap off with ease.
"What happened was that I was in a raunchy club in downtown Miami about an hour from my apartment with four guys I barely knew and an Alex," she defended skillfully.
"Point well made," Carlos admitted with an impressed smirk, tipping his champagne towards her.
"Damn straight. Now would you like to swap that fairy piss for a beer?"
"Not a fan of champagne," Carlos nodded to himself. "Noted."
"Jesus," Ryan scoffed in slight offense, handing him her opened bottle before reaching down for another. "People keep saying that as if speaking to me requires note taking."
"Because it damn well does," Carlos laughed. "You're confusing as all hell, Ryan," he admitted, as the pair leaned back on the island counter. "For example: all of our friends are in the living room mingling and getting ready to clink flutes and toast, yet you've got me here with you swigging beer in a corner."
"Well feel free to go if you so please," she retorted snarkily before tipping back her beer. "I'm just getting a quiet spot with a good view of what's about to go down."
"Which would be…." The Latino's voice trailed off in suspicion and curiosity.
"Just watch and wait, asshat. Less than a minute."
Carlos raised an eyebrow but shrugged to himself, taking down a sip of his own drink and watching the crowd of people frantically preparing themselves to celebrate in the final second of the year. When the countdown came to ten, Ryan straightened up and pointed wordlessly with the tip of her bottle. Carlos followed her gesture and gaze to the edge of the mass of people where Mia stood and spoke animatedly with a friend. Chris stood beside her silently and seemingly nervous in a way that drew Carlos's attention to him.
As the final second came, the house erupted in cheers, the remaining three band members included. Mia turned to kiss Chris into the New Year, and when she did, she gasped inaudibly. Until that second, no one had seen Chris fall to a single knee through all of the commotion except for Ryan and Carlos who watched attentively from the kitchen.
When the attention was brought to the host couple, the pair in the kitchen could only see Chris's mouth moving in formation of the words everyone knew he had been speaking through the intense amount of noise filling the house. Mia laughed, again inaudible amongst the cheering as she nodded tearfully.
Ryan and Carlos cheered and clapped from their spot in calm isolation. Ryan watched her faux-sister choke up at the sight of the ring being slid onto her finger, and she smiled. She watched Chris stand, tears evident in his eyes as well. She watched them embrace each other, and she watched the exchange of loving looks she had only remembered seeing once before, long ago.
Carlos set his hand on Ryan's lower back, drawing her attention to him. He smiled. It was a simple action, but mixed with the events occurring around them, it was enough to make Ryan dizzy. She hadn't expected the proposal to have such an effect on her, but as she stared into his smile, she thought back to the words she had read from that paper time and time again.
You deserve it, my dear, so you will get it. You just have to try.
And in that moment, she pulled away from the counter, his hand never leaving her back. Barely having to reach up in the heels she wore, she set her hands on the lapel of his suit jacked and pulled lightly until his lips met her.
A/N: I HAVE A MINUTE LEFT OF CLASS SO I GOTTA GO BUT I HOPE YOU LIKED IT I KNOW IT KIND OF SUCKED IN PLACES BUT WHATEVER. FOLLOW/FAVORITE/REVIEW!:D