Celebrity Status

Chapter Five

Laura sits in the back of the coffee house, sipping on a pumpkin spice latte and mindlessly scribbling song lyrics down in her notebook. She'd been sitting there for the past hour and not only was she bored out of her mind, but she was running low on coffee and couldn't afford a refill.

But what else was she suppose to do? She couldn't go home.

Well, actually she could, but she just didn't want to. Not today. School had been crappy enough so she really wasn't in the mood to go home and get shitted on some more.

Not literally of coarse because how gross would that be?

She swirls the contents on the bottom of the mug around with her half-eaten peppermint stick before taking another crunchful bite of it. Eventually it's gone and her cup has run dry.

She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. Laura closes her eyes and leans her head back against the cool leather of the seat. She breathes in and out at a comfortable pace. Might as well get a few moments of peace before the obnoxious blond barista at the counter notices that she's done with her drink and is taking a nap and not-so-kindly asks her to leave in that nasally tone of hers.

Laura's stomach grumbles very loudly. She groans at the sound. That's what she gets for skipping out on lunch to indulge in some quality reading time in the school's library. She had been hungry all day since this morning's breakfast was a hearty helping of walnut maple pancakes and Laura absolutely hated nuts. She probably should have eaten lunch today, but The Fault In Our Stars had been impossible to put down. Blame the brilliance of John Green for the pain in her abdomen she was currently experiencing.

Laura saunters up to the counter. The smell of freshly baked breads and pastries captures her attention rather quickly. Unfortunately the cheapest thing to buy is $7.50 and she's only got about two dollars in change in her backpack.

She forlornly steps away from the delicacies and, because it's just her dumb luck, she backs up into someone when she does.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry-" Only as soon as she turns around and those words leave her mouth, she realizes just how not sorry she is.

"Are you like, stalking me or something?" She glares at him angrily and crosses her arms over chest.

Ross chuckles. "I happen to like coffee, too ya know. Besides, this is a "little town" hence the name. We're bound to run into each other on occasion."

"Yeah, well it seems a little to often for my liking," she mutters. "After you so conveniently moved into the house next to mine and everything."

"That was merely coincidence!" He shouts, putting his hands up defensively.

She rolls her eyes good-naturedly. Her hands go back to rest at her sides.

"You want one?" He nods his head, referring to the pastries in front of them.

She opens her mouth, but he quickly cuts her off.

"Don't bother to tell me that you don't because I'll know that's a bullcrap lie."

She shakes her head, trying to keep the smile that's tugging at her lips off her face. "Oh, good 'ole Ross, always so charming with the ladies."

"Only the pretty ones," he brushes past her, turning around for just a slight second to wink at her after his cheeky comment.

She snorts, quite unladylike. "Still the biggest flirt I've ever met too. Too bad your lines and comments don't work on me, Mister."

"Still too smart for your own good I see."

She smirks. "Some thing's never change."

And of coarse, being the gentlemen he is, he buys her an apple blossom and a chocolate eclair for himself and if her stomach wasn't being so obvious to the fact that it was hungry, she would have denied his offer. But since she was making more noise than a jumbo jet taking off down the runway, she couldn't exactly lie and say she wasn't hungry. She could however, tell him to fuck off. That she didn't want to eat food that he paid for, but honestly, she was so starved right now she would have eaten food that a serial killer bought for her.

Assuming he didn't poison it or anything.

They sit down across from each other at a table, in the midst of an uncomfortable silence. Or at least Laura finds it uncomfortable. Ross is too engrossed in his treat to even have a clue as to what's going on around him.

"Are we even gonna talk about the ginormous elephant in the room?" She asks as one eyebrow shoots up in curiosity.

"What?" He says around a mouthful of chocolate and cream. He swallows before continuing. "Laura, I know I'm a blond, but I think I'd notice if there was an elephant in here."

Mental face-palm.

Oh, yes, some things truly never did change.

"Are we gonna talk about what's been on both our minds since you got back here or what? Are we gonna just forget about it and act like it didn't happen or just ignore it and not bring it up? Or are we even gonna talk at all?"

"I don't know." He shrugs, taking another bite.

"Honestly that third option doesn't sound like such a bad idea," she deadpans.

"Laura, I would love it if we could move on from what happened between us so long ago, but I can't expect you to forgive in the present day if you're still living in the past now can I?"

"I don't think you understand just how hard it is to move on from something like this! You weren't the victim of this situation Ross! You can't just determine how easy this should be, okay? You don't have the right!" She points an accusing finger in his face.

"Maybe that's true," he sighs and wipes his hands on his jeans. "But come on, is it really that big of a deal? Yeah I said some stupid shit that I didn't mean. I regretted it the day-no the minute after I said it-but I didn't think that it mattered. I was floating on cloud 9 by that point. I was high off of something that I'd been dreaming of since I was a kid. Something that, up until that point, seemed unlikely. I was fourteen. God knows fourteen years old say shit they don't mean everyday. They're naive and hormonal and bitchy. They don't know how they feel because they never feel the same way about something for more than two seconds before they've changed their opinion on the matter."

She looks him straight in the eyes and can read him like a book. This is all real, no bullshit. He really means it. But that doesn't mean anything. She knows he's sorry, but in her book that doesn't excuse him of the crime.

"Are you ever going to forgive me?" He asks in a desperate voice, but his facial expression actually looks quite amused.

"To be honest," she says and then pauses as if to think it over, "probably not."

He sighs dejectedly.

"But I think it's pretty cute that you keep trying."

"That's a plus I guess," he mumbles pathetically.

"There's still one thing that I don't get, though." He gives her a look that signals for her to continue. "You've apologized, like, what, three times now? And I've shut you down you every single time," he nods, "so why do you keep apologizing? I mean, you're free and clear now. You've offer your forgiveness and I've yet to accept it. That's not your fault. You can leave this situation without feeling any guilt because you know that you tried to reach out to me and I refused, so why don't you?"

He gives her an incredulous look and rests his hand on hers that rests firmly on the tabletop. It sends her a sense of familiarity. On touch and she remembers hundreds upon thousands of memories she thought she'd long forgotten.

"Because this isn't just about clearing my conscious," he says in a low voice. It's the most serious tone she's ever heard him use before. "I can't just walk away from you like that. If you run away, then I'll chase after."

She looks down at the table. Her big brown eyes can no longer stand to look at his charming hazel ones. They're too inviting, too risky.

"I'm not the same girl you knew when you left. I've grown up. I've changed. That girl's long gone. Trust me, Ross, I'm not worth the chase."

"Maybe according to you you're not," he brushes the pad of his thumb over her knuckles lightly, "but I think you should let me determine that for myself."

"No matter what you do, I'm not the same, you're not the same, and our friendship wouldn't be the same as it was before. Face it, buddy, were just not the same Ross & Laura that we use to be." That sentence hurts, physically pains her, to say. Thinking it was one thing, but admitting it out loud was a whole new level of heartbreak. It just made the reality of it sink in even more. "We aren't children anymore, Ross! Wether you like it or not, we both did some growing up over these past four years. You're not Peter Pan, Ross, no matter how much you'd like to think you are. I'm not the only one who's changed."

"You're right," he says quietly. His thumb freezes, no longer rubbing over her skin gingerly. He retracts and then his eyes snap up to meet hers. They communicate through nothing but looks, a silent language that they always seemed to be fluent in, until both of them know that the conversation is over. There's nothing left to say.

"Thanks for the apple blossom, Ross. Really, it was nice of you and you really didn't have to." She grabs her jacket and slips out of the booth. Ross follows suit. "I have to go, but... really, thanks."

He nods, a blank look plastered on his face. Laura searches his eyes for any trace of emotion, but when she finds none she moves on.

"Hey, Laura," he calls to her softly.

She hums in reply and turns her face toward him.

"Who said that I still wanted to be just the same Ross and Laura anyways?"

She doesn't respond (not that he expected her to) but simply slips out the door into the cold world that awaits her outside. She throws her jacket on, flips the hoodie over, and zips it up. She discovers the gloves she'd shove in the pockets and quickly covers up her cold porcelain hands with them. Her breath materializes in front of her as it meets with the frigid air.

She doesn't know what to make of his little comment back there, so instead she ignores it. It's easier to act like it never happened. Instead she begins to count the stars in the sky. A task that's almost as impossible as decoding the hidden meaning behind Ross's words.

…

Ding-Dong!

Laura groans at the sound of the doorbell. She gets herself up off the couch, pausing The Vampire Diaries and padded across the soft carpet in her sock-feet.

She swings open the door to reveal the one and only Riker Lynch.

"Uh, hey Laura," he says awkwardly and rubs the back of his neck.

"Hey, Riker," she replies, just as awkward and a little confused. "What do you want?"

"Oh, um..," he coughs, "we ran out of sugar. Mom wanted me to come over here and ask for some."

"Oookay," she stretches out the word and gestures for him to come inside and follow her, "sure. I'll just check the kitchen."

He nods and follows in step behind her.

Laura checks one of the cabinets in the kitchen and immediately spot a little bottle placed up in front labeled 'sugar'.

"Here." She hands it to him

He smiles in appreciation. "Thanks."

Laura just nods and rocks on the balls of her feet.

"Is your sister home?" He craned his neck around as if talking about her will make her appear out of thin air.

Laura slips a small smile on her face. She always remembered the attraction the older blond had for her sister. Vanessa had always shot down his advances, saying how she thought of him as nothing more than a brother, but Riker's feelings never really left. Obviously.

But then Laura's throat tightens, along with her chest and she bites down on her bottom lip. "No, no she's not home." The words come out more grim than she had intended for them to.

"Hey, are you okay? You look sick," Riker says worriedly. He places his hand on her arm comfortingly.

"Yeah, yeah," she shrugs away from his touch, "I'm fine."

Riker isn't completely convinced, but he lets it go. Laura composes herself and let's out a big breath. Then she flashes him a quick smile to further assure him.

"Well, uh, I'm gonna go..." Riker jabs his thumb in the direction of the door and slowly backs away. He holds up the sugar and shakes it. "Thanks for this, though."

She just nods.

"Oh, and Laura,"

Laura snaps her head up.

Riker pauses, looking almost hesitant, to decide what he wants to say and how he wants to say it. "Look, I don't know what went down between you and Ross all those years ago," she rolls her eyes and Riker, noticing this, gives her a look as if to say 'just let me continue', "but I do know that he's really sorry about it. His apologies are one hundred percent sincere. He feels awful about what he did to you -whatever it was- and he's not gonna give up trying until you forgive him. No matter what you say, or what you do, Ross is persistent and he's very stubborn and very determined."

"Well, thanks for the warning," she says dryly.

Riker just shrugs. "I'm not telling you to forgive him or even try to make you feel sorry for him, but I will tell you this; Ross doesn't have a lot of people in his corner anymore. He's having a really tough time right now." Riker pauses again, gripping onto the door knob. "We all are."

Laura's eyebrow raises up in confusion. "Uh, Riker?"

"Well, I need to get going, Laura!" He says cheerily, as if that last strange moment that just happened had never occurred. "If you remember to tell Vanessa I said hi!"

Laura shuts the door behind him. She runs her slender fingers through her hair and sighs. "I'll be sure to tell Vanessa you said hi," she mutters in mock-happiness and then mutters a bitter, "that is if she ever returns back home."

…

Ross Lynch was done.

He was done with clinically depressed mothers that he felt like he would never be able to help. Never bring back to the way she had once been. Never see that bright and cheerful smile she had always worn when she was making pancakes for him and his brothers and sister. Never have her tell him she loved him without falling to pieces all over again.

He was done with fathers whose idea of a solution to a problem was just to get himself out of the problem as quick as he could and leave the rest of them to be dragged down by the situation. Fathers who wouldn't even try to do anything about the situation. Fathers who were just selfish bastards who didn't care about anything else, about anyone else.

He was done with siblings who made him feel like the bad guy. Who dumped the blame entirely on him. Who made him feel shitty ever moment they could. Who fought with each other so much it drove him absolutely crazy. His head would ache in pain and his chest would tighten with anger.

Ross Lynch was done.

He couldn't take anymore of this. The headaches, the heartaches, the nights spent tossing and turning because he couldn't sleep. He couldn't dream of a better tomorrow and he couldn't wish for a less difficult nightmare.

His life was a living hell.

The physical suffer was nothing compared to the mental torment he received. Everything weighed down on him like he'd been buried alive with no way of escape. No hope to ever see the light again.

It was all just too much.

Ross stumbles through the doorway of his own house. He chugs down the rest of his drink before throwing the glass bottle behind a bush. Once he hears the a satisfying shatter resonate through the air, he continues inside.

No one is home. That's a good thing. They had all gone out to eat to celebrate Rocky's birthday, but Ross couldn't even bother to show up. He couldn't take another night of fake smiles and insincere happiness.

Ross fumbles with his footsteps. He trips at the bottom of the staircase, banging his knee on the last step, but that doesn't stop him from making his way up them and into his bedroom. He throws the door open and slams it behind him.

Tears streak down his face as his throat burns from the alcohol. His body may be drunken, but his mind is completely sober. He remembers every detail. Every single, painful detail.

"Rocky! Stop playing that chord!" Riker snaps at him irritably. They were in the middle of an impromptu rehearsal, but it was pretty obvious that no one was in the mood for it.

"That's the chord I'm suppose to play, dumb-ass!" He barks back, rolling his eyes and folding his arms over his chest.

"No it's not! And if you would listen to me for more than twelve seconds then maybe you would know what the fuck was going on and quit playing the wrong goddamn chord!"

"I'm so sick of you acting like you know everything. Ya know, just cause you're the oldest doesn't automatically make you the smartest."

Riker sets his bass down on the floor and walks over to Rocky. "Would you just get over yourself for one second?" He pokes him in the chest for good measure.

Rocky just pushes him away and glares. "Please, you're the one with the huge ego, Riker."

Ross doesn't know how it happens, it's probably due to the fact that both boys are aggravated to no end and just feel the need to hit something, but before he knows it Riker is taking a punch. It connects fully with Rocky's jaw.

Rocky, being the unsuspecting victim, is knocked back by this hit. He soon balances himself once again as an appalled-looking Riker gazes down at his own fist, not completely conscious to his own actions.

But then Rocky's taking a swing and then everything just goes to hell. Rocky pushes his older brother up against the wall and Riker pushes his back with the best effort he can, but thing quickly get out of hand.

Rocky knees Riker in the stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him.

"Rocky!" Rydel shrieks. A hand flies up to her mouth and she rushes over to her older brother, pushing Rocky out the way.

Ratliff grabs Rocky by the shoulders and pulls him back upstairs to let him calm down.

Ross just stands back helplessly. In a matter of seconds, everything falls apart. His family isn't even his family anymore. These are definitely not the people he remember them being. What happened to all the love and support he had once known from them? Growing up, he had alway been taught that family was the most important thing. It was way above everything else, but slowly those morals were seeming less and less true.

Present day Ross grips onto his chest for dear life. His chest is pressed right up against his bones. He can literally feel his heart beating right against the palm of his hand. That's how tight it is.

He's sobbing uncontrollably, gasping for air and making all kinds of horrific noises. Tears burn his red-rimmed eyes and there's a pounding against his skull.

"I can't take it anymore!" His scream rips through the air. He grabs ahold of his trash can and throws it across the room. He flips over a table and all the contents on the top scatter about.

"I can't take it anymore, dammit!" Ross punches the wall angrily. His knuckles crack against the wall, but that's the last of his concerns.

"Dammit!"

Ross leans his head on the wall and cries out in pain. Mental pain, physical pain, every single kind of pain.

He kicks the wall, and pounds against it, spilling out all kinds of profanities as he does.

"Fuck! Fuck everything! Fuck stupid L.A.! Fuck Rocky! Fuck everyone! Fuck everything! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

In a moment of weakness, of outrage, or hatred, of poor-judgement, of vulnerability, of self-pity, Ross makes a hasty decisions.

Any other time, with his mind not clouded by alcohol and an overload of emotions, Ross would have known what a stupid idea it would be, but this wasn't one of those moments.

The shiny, silver object seems to stick out amongst the other things scattered on-top of his dresser. It's as if that's the only thing his mind can clearly make-out. Everything else is just a blob of color, except for that one object.

Ross grabs the scissors and bites his lip, wondering if this really is indeed a good idea. He's reluctant, but only for a second.

Soon enough he places the weapon of choice out in front of him and plunges it back toward his stomach-

"Ross!"

Laura grabs his arm violently. She turns him around so that he's looking at her, fully in the eyes.

Laura swears she's never seen Ross Shor Lynch look so broken.

His eyes are bloodshot, his nose looks red and irritated and all color seems to be drained from his face. The scent of alcohol dancing on his tongue.

"Ross," she whimpers out.

He looks away from her. He can't physically look at her and see the look in here eyes. He can't stand to see the pain and disappointment in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey," she says soothingly. She places her hands on his arms, as he is know I front of her. Her hands travel down his arms until they reach his hands and she squeezes them gently. His hands are balled into fists, but he soon loosens his grip, letting his hands fall to his sides and the pair of scissors to fall to the floor.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay, Ross. It's gonna be okay," her arms go down to his waist, instinctively wrapping around him and hugging him from behind. She rests her head on his shoulder, whispering in his ear.

"It's alright. It's okay. It's okay, Ross. It's gonna be okay."

She presses her lips to his cheek briefly and wipes a tear away with her thumb.

"It's gonna be fine, Ross. I promise," she mumbles against the smooth skin of his cheek.

He sniffles, wiping his nose with the back of his hand and then running his fingers through his messy hair.

"Come on," she says softly, grabbing his hand and leading him to his bed.

He sits down on it and she sits down next to him. The bed creaks with the increased weight.

Ross had been too distracted to notice Laura going out to get the mail as he was walking back home that night. She'd avoided him as best he could, but she couldn't help but notice his strange behavior. Even though she was incredibly mad at him still, she knew that he was in trouble and she couldn't let him do any damage.

"I-I..." he trails of with his words and looks helplessly into the brunette's eyes. "It's so hard, Laura... It's too hard. It's- it's just..." Ross breaks off into a fit of sobs before he begins to violently cough.

"Hey! Hey!" She rubs his back and raises her voice worriedly. "Ross, calm down," she says as his coughing subsides.

Laura grabs his hand and intertwined it with her own and she wraps her arm around his shoulder, pressing him into her side. "Ross, it's okay." He looks up at her with a confused frown on his face and she just brushes his hair out of his eyes and murmurs. "You don't have to explain anything to me."

Ross leans into her side, crying gently into her shoulder and she just sits there and let's him, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

Her lifts his head up for only a minute, looking deeply into her eyes with complete and total sincerity.

"You might not need me as a friend anymore, but I still need you as a friend."

Laura looks down at the blond with a look of remorse.

No matter what happens to them, they will always be Ross and Laura. Even after all these years, there is still that resonating spark between them. It may have been just a tiny flicker, but even through the harsh rain that was there fallout oh so many years ago, it still produced a flame.

Ross and Laura were like two pieces of a puzzle that had been through so much damage thy would never fit in with any other pieces besides each other. He needed her and, even though she wouldn't admit it, she needed him. She needs him! There is no past tense in this situation. Right now, in this moment in the present and all the moments hence forward, they would need each other.

They're better together. There's no way they could make it without each other.

They were Ross and Laura, partners in crime, childhood best friends, a perfect match.

When Laura thinks that Ross has finally put himself to sleep she gently pushes him off of her and onto his bed. Laura grabs a blanket out if his closet and lays it over him.

"I forgive you, Ross," she whispers quietly that she barely hears it herself.

Then she slips away, back to her house.

Her grudges forgotten and her heart guarded.

Laura just hopes that this time there won't be more to guard her heart from than the last time.

A/N

Hmmm... What's going on there? Well, this chapter was... Eh. I'm trying really hard not to criticize my own writing anymore, but I don't know. I feel like I rushed. I know some of you might be disappointed that she's already forgiven him, like, that's what the story was all about right? Him getting her to forgive him right?

Well, wrong! That's not ALL the story is about. They still have a lot of stuff to go through (ie. family problems, possibly feelings for each other *wink wink* and lots of personal growth) so trust me when I say, this might be an emotional roller coaster!

Merry Christmas you guys! This is your Christmas present! Hope you liked it. And for those of you who don't celebrate Christmas (if any) then Happy Thursday! Lol

Someone requested that they'd like to see more of Ross's point of view, so maybe I'll do some of that in upcoming chapters I don't know. Ross's POV is kinda hard to do. I definitely have to kinda build a personality for him before I do that. I'm think this story's Ross will be childish/goofy/totally adorable and lovable as opposed to my other story's Ross who's kind of a "tough guy" so to speak.

Alright. Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know! Looooong authors note! I'm done I swear!

Thanks to xAmityStarlightx, Don't-Stop-Believin, xxSmileYoureBeautiful, Emmault, City Lights At Midnight, writermeAL, and the guests who reviewed! Whoooo! Y'all rock!

Kthanxbai

Morgan :)