Moving In With R5
~Chapter Nine~
"Okay, it's time for the birthday girl to open her presents!" Stormie squeals excitedly. Laura's gotta give the woman some credit. For someone who she just witnessed receiving a heartbreaking phone call and start to cry, she could really put up a front and be nothing but smiles.
It had to be hard, Laura imagined, having a kid with cancer. Laura always knew Stormie was an incredible mother. When she was younger she would sometimes secretly wish Stormie was her mom. But only for a second. She loved her own mother far too much to want her replaced. Even if she did leave the country on one or two occasions.
Rydel claps cheerfully, standing up from her seat an walking to the table right in the very center that was piled high with presents. "Oh my gosh you guys! You really didn't have to buy me all this crap!" She squeals.
"Okay then we'll take it back," Mark playfully goes for one of the bags. This choruses a round of laughter from all of the guests.
"Daddy! No!" She slaps his arm away and giggles. "I was just kidding of coarse."
Ross glances nervously to Laura, silently asking her if she's positive his sister will like the gift. Laura rolls her eyes at the goofy blond and nods her head, supplying him with a thumbs up as well.
"I feel awkward," Maia pipes up, grabbing Laura's attention, "I kind of crashes her birthday party and I didn't even get her present."
Laura rolls her eyes. "Maia Mitchell, if you are asking to piggyback on my amazing birthday gift then the answer is no."
Maia just laughs. "You know me too well, Marano."
"That I do, Mitchell, that I do." She grabs her friend by the wrist and drags her over to the middle of the backyard where an audience has formed around the birthday girl opening up her gifts.
"And from my dear brother Rocky," she pulls a framed picture out of a box, "a signed photo of himself."
"Best damn present ever!" Rocky declares triumphantly.
Everyone laughs. Rydel just shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "Thanks a lot, baby brother."
"You're so very welcome."
Rydel picks up a bag that has a surplus of tissue paper coming out of the top. She reads the name tag. "Ross, if this is a picture of you I swear I will hurt."
"Just open it!" He shouts at her, smiling.
She obeys, throwing the tissue paper to the ground and reaching into the bag. She pulls out a diamond necklace and a Hello Kitty sweatshirt. Not that she needed anymore Hello Kitty clothes. "Hmm," she looks over items carefully, "Alright, bro, you pass the test this year. Nice job. Thanks Ross."
"You're welcome." He smiles warmly at his sister. Ross looks over at Laura and mouths a 'thank you'.
She simply shrugs. "Where would you be with out me?"
After many, many, many, more presents (including make-up, and clothes, and shoes, and other things that Rydel didn't need anymore of, but loved anyway) she came down to the last few.
"Oh look, a present from my honorary brother Ratliff," she says holding up possibly the smallest box there and sending him a look. He just laughs at her. She knew it would be something goofy, last year it was a bottle of spray cheese because she had told him she was going to go over to his house and spray cheese his room. It was always something like that. The had little inside jokes that only related to them so they incorporated them into birthday presents for each other. They were stupid and cheap gifts, but they held so much meaning. That was them. That was their thing.
She opens the box and busts out laughing when she finds a pack of mash potato and gravy chewing gum. "Oh my gosh!" She says through her laughter. "I forgot about this!"
Ell laughs along with her, walking over to the blond girl. Everyone else just watches the two, not quite understanding, but wanting to indulge in this sweet moment.
"I didn't know it you'd remember or not. That was several months ago when we saw this, but I found the gum at some 99 cent store and I couldn't resist."
Rydel is still laughing. She hugs her best friend and thanks him for the birthday present before returning her attention to everyone else standing in her backyard. "A couple months ago when Ell and I were at some gas station in Pasadena we saw this ridiculous mashed potato chewing gum. Ell said he wanted to chew some of that gum and blow a bubble with it and I replied by saying I wanted to be chewing that gum right before I had my first kiss so that I could say my first kiss tasted like mashed potatoes and gravy," Rydel explains to the crowd of adoring friends and family who are practically melting inside because of these two.
"Rocky, I think this definitely beats your autographed photo," Ratliff sasses to the third eldest Lynch.
Rocky just tosses his hair back dramatically. "Bitch please, everyone wants a photo of this," he gestures to himself. "I'm fabulous."
Rydel rolls her eyes and hugs Ellington tightly. "Thank you, Ell. Really. It's great."
He hugs her back, resting his head on top of hers. "You're welcome, Rydel."
…
The party was dwindling down in the late hours of the evening. Only a few of the guests (aside from the family members of coarse) had stuck around this late.
Laura sat at a table all by herself. Maia had left her about half an hour before and she didn't really have anyone else to talk to. Plus, she was kind of tired and just wanted to sit down for a bit. She took her brown sandal wedges off her tired feet and three them somewhere amongst the wet grass of the backyard.
Laura yawns, outstretching her arms over her head. Then she goes and lays down on the length of the picnic bench. Granted, it's not the most comfortable seat, but it'll do for now.
"You think you've got everyone fooled don't you?" Someone in front of her snaps in an annoyed tone of voice.
Laura, who's eyes are resting peacefully, can't see who it is she's talking to, but she has a pretty good guess. "Lauren. Just go away would you?"
"You just play that innocent little act of yours. "I'm Goody-Two Shoes Laura and I have alllll the boys just so in love with me," Lauren continues, ignoring Laura's comment. "Well, I'm not buying it, Missy."
Laura opens her eyes and sits back up again, now looking the blond girl in the eyes.
"You know what I think you are?" Lauren challenges.
"No, and I really don't care." Laura fires back.
Again, Lauren ignores her. "I think you're a lying bitch."
"Do you have any proof to back that up with?"
"I've seen photos of you before," Lauren says, "Stormie has tons of them -as if you were her actual daughter- and let me tell you something, girlfriend. You were ugly as hell. So what? All of a sudden you're gonna be staying with four guys and you just happen to look like that?" Lauren asks, gesturing to the brunette.
"What are you talking about?" Laura asks, half annoyed and half confused.
"I'm saying girls don't just become hot overnight. And especially not when it's convenient for them. And especially not when they looked like you did." Lauren crosses her arms over her chest defiantly. "And I thought you hated Ross Lynch? Or was that whole thing at the beach just some sort of act to fool me?"
"It wasn't an act," Laura defends, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest as well.
"Oh really? Cause trust me, honey. You're not that great an actress."
"What about you, huh?" Laura says. "What about you, Little Ms. Dress Like A Slut So Guys Will Notice Me."
"Don't pretend like you don't do the same thing," Lauren says.
"I don't! You are seriously just disgusting! You wear almost no clothes and then throw yourself at guys who don't even want to be with you. You can't possibly take a hint and you're so damn obsessive people just hate being around you!"
"I throw myself at guys?! Seriously?! What do you do, then?! Cry on their shoulders until they feel sorry for you and become your best friend, then once you've got them alone in a room with you, you seduce them and then throw them away like they mean nothing to you?" Lauren step up closer to Laura, intensely glaring at her. "I heard about you and Ratliff and your little slumber party on the living room couch."
"I did not sleep with Ratliff!" She screams.
"I think you did. And I think Ross is next. I think before the summers over you'll have had your way with all of them. And no one will have suspected a thing. "There just like brothers to me!" "I don't think about them that way!" I can see straight through all your bullshit, Marano."
Laura narrows her eyes at Lauren. "I'm nothing like you!" She spits out angrily.
And that's when it happens. Lauren slaps Laura right across the face. She steps away from the brunette girl, wearing a smug smirk on her lips. Laura gasps in surprise. She brings a hand up to her cheek, feeling the heat radiating off of it, and in one instant she loses it. Her hand balls up into a fist and she pulls her arm back, anger blinding her vision. She's ready to sock Lauren right in the nose.
"I don't think so." A deep voice from behind Laura echoes throughout the backyard. Riker's hands grab Laura's arm to stop her from retaliating, as Rocky does the same for Lauren. "Sorry, Laura, but we don't need you putting anyone in the hospital during Rydel's birthday party."
Laura doesn't fight back against Riker's strong grip around her, instead she sighs and stands perfectly still, frowning at the girl in front of her.
Lauren, on the other hand, is fidgeting in her place. Rocky just stands, arms wrapped around her midsection like rope, locking her arms in, completely unfazed by her attempts.
Rocky drags the fuming blond out of the backyard away from Laura. When they're a safe distance away from each other, Riker let's Laura go.
"What the hell was that?" Riker questions worriedly.
Laura just huffs angrily and stomps away to the house. The older blond follows behind her.
Laura opens the sliding glass door and slips inside. She takes a seat at the kitchen table and runs her fingers over her red cheek, tears stinging the back of her eyes, but she refuses to let them spill over.
"Here," Riker says softly. He goes over to the fridge and grabs a bag of frozen vegetables. He places it in her hand. "Put this on your swelling face."
She rolls her eyes and does as she's told.
Riker sits down across from her at the table and eyes the brunette carefully. "Are you okay?" He asks her.
She runs her hands through her hair and shrugs. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"You don't look fine." He tell her. Riker places his fingers under her chin and lifts her face upward. He gestures for her to remove the vegetables so he can examine her face. "She got you pretty hard there, Laur."
"Yeah, and if you wouldn't have stopped me I would have gotten her even harder," Laura grumbles.
Riker chuckles and shakes his head. He retracts his hand and leans back in his seat.
Laura looks down at the table, a trace of sadness flashes through her eyes for a moment. "Is that what everyone thinks of me?" She asks quietly, mostly to herself, but Riker manages to catch her words.
"Is what what everyone thinks of you?"
Laura's eyes snap up to meet Riker's. She shakes her head, embarrassed. "No- I just... It was something Lauren said, and I..." She trails off their at the end of her sentence, "I don't know."
"Laura," he says and looks at her seriously, "I don't know what she said to you, but I promise you it's not true."
Laura slumps back in her seat as well. Shes eyes Riker for a moment. Riker always had been like an older brother to her. She remembers when she was younger she used to beg Vanessa to date him so that one day they would get married and Riker really would be her older brother.
Even though that never happened, Laura still thought of him that way. When she was younger she would often go to Riker with her problems. Of coarse back then her problems were seemingly unimportant, but he would always listen to her and then offer her some ice cream as a way of making her feel better. The adults use to entertain themselves with the thought of Laura having a crush on him. Maybe she did a little bit, but it was never anything serious.
He was just her honorary older brother.
She lays the frozen pack of vegetables back down on the table and stands up from her chair. "I'm gonna go to bed. I'm tired."
"Okay," Riker says.
Laura pads her bare feet across the tile floor heading toward the staircase when a thought goes through her head. "Just for the record; I didn't sleep with Ratliff."
Riker laughs, seemingly amused. "Okay."
Laura smiles and nods her head. "Goodnight, Riker."
He smiles back at her. "Goodnight Laura."
…
"So, how's it feel to be twenty years old? You have officially lived through two decades now," Ellington asks his best friend as they walk down the sidewalk, the pale moonlight shines down on them like a spotlight just for them.
"Shut up old man!" Rydel slaps him in the chest playfully and both of them laugh. Rydel looks around at her surroundings, not noticing anything even vaguely familiar. "Where are we even going?! If we get lost I'm gonna hurt you!"
"Where not gonna get lost," Ratliff assures her.
Despite the late hour, the two young adult had been drifting through the neighborhood after the party had ended. Rydel sighs contently, things were finally starting to feel normal again. It had been a while -too long if you asked her- since she had spent time alone with one of her best friends. She stares up at him in a sideways glance with a small smile on her lips.
She looks back down at her black Chuck Taylors stealing glances at Ell every now and then.
"You know I can see you right?" Ratliff says, smirking.
Rydel hides her face, cheeks burning intensely. "Oops," she says quietly.
Ratliff laughs. He stops walking and swallows nervously. Rydel stops walking when she notices that he has too and looks up at him, confused.
"Can I talk to you?" He asks.
Her lips quirk upward into a smile. "Uh, yeah, sure...," she looks around them again. They're standing in the middle of a bunch of unfamiliar houses. She's not even sure they're in the same neighborhood anymore. "Like, right here? In the middle of the sidewalk?"
"Yes," he says. "Just, like, ignore the random houses in the background."
Rydel giggles as Ell grabs her hands and places them in his own.
"Rydel Mary Lynch," he starts, hoping to make this as cheesy as possible in hopes of deterring some of the awkwardness.
Rydel giggles once again, her cheeks flushing a pink colour. "Oh no, you're using my full name, this can't be good."
Ratliff grins at her. "Hey, no interrupting me, missy," he scolds mockingly. "Alright, so I'm like really fucking nervous right now, and I'm terrible at asking girls out, but," he laughs at his own awkwardness before continuing, "Rydel, I really like you and I... kinda hope you like me too."
"Wait... Are you- are you serious?" Rydel asks, genuinely surprised.
"It depends, if you like me back then I'm one hundred percent serious," he smiles hopefully, but then frowns, "however, if you don't like me back then, nah, I was just kidding."
Rydel smiles up at him and takes a step closer, just inches away. "I like you too, Ell."
"That's cool," Ratliff says quietly.
Rydel laughs. "That's cool?" She wraps her arms around the brunette's neck.
"That's really cool." Ratliff places his hand on Rydel's waist and leans down to kiss her, but stops himself at the last minute.
"Wait," he says.
"What?" Rydel says.
"Remember, you wanted to be able to say your first kiss tasted like mashed potatoes?"
Rydel laughs, grabbing the pack of gum and chewing a piece. After a few minutes of standing there and chewing the gum, Rydel spits it out into the bushes behind them. "Happy?" She asks jokingly.
He cups her face, bringing her lips up to his in a searing kiss with all the same fireworks and butterflies that you're suppose to feel during your first kiss. Rydel smiles happily into the kiss, her arms once again wrapping tightly around him.
Ratliff breaks away from the kiss and rests his forehead on hers, grinning goofily. "Very."
"So, does this mean you and I are, you and I?" She asks hopefully.
"Rydel Lynch, will you be my girlfriend?"
"I thought you'd never ask," she says teasingly before crashing her lips against his for the second time that night.
A/N
Yay! Rydellington! Yay! Lol, sorry that the last scene kind of sucked, I'm not so great with the whole "asking out/ start of relationship" sort of stuff. I'm better with the flirtatious build-up and the established relationship stuff, but trust me I've got some great things to come for these two (as well as the other two ;)) in upcoming chapters. So, look forward to that, and if you don't neccasarily ship Rydellington, you will after reading my story trust me! Lol, just kidding... Probably.
Also! I've made up a sort of layout for this story, which means that updates will be more frequent than before because I won't be scrambling my brain for ideas. I have the whole story planned out, and I've gotta say, there are a few sad parts :'( but I think you guys are really gonna like it. There will 23+ chapters (subject to change) to this story (including the nine that have already been published)
I'm sorry about there not being much Raura in this chapter (or really the last one either that much) but there will be next chapter I promise! The story's main focus is the two of them and they're slow relationship development, but it will have a few other sub-plots to go along with it and I plan on having a lot of different moments between all the different characters (not just Ross and Laura or Rydel and Ellington) like in this chapter there was a bit of Riker and Laura (clearly platonic because I still don't like Riaura) so you can look forward to that!
Thank you to xxSmileYoureBeautifulxx, Lilyfanficlover, Scittore Ombra, Happy17, Citylights at Midnight, UselessScottishTigerGirl556, and all the guests who reviewed! You guys are amazing and I can't thank you enough for reading my stories and reviewing them. I love you guys so much, you have no idea! You guys make me smile on days that I feel like I wanna cry and I apologize for the long, rambly authors note, but for those of you who read the whole thing, I LOVE YOU!
Thanks you guys :) love ya
Kthanxbai!
Morgan :)