.:CHAPTER FIVE – When a serious talk is necessary:.

"Whew," Patrick sighed as he wiped his forehead, watching as his father left the dance studio without looking back at them. "Dodged a bullet on that one." He remarked, looking at his watch.

"Yeah, you know, just because Ronan was here." Noah added, quietly enough so that their music producer, who was gathering his stuff in the corner of her room didn't hear him. Patrick just shrugged, turning away so Noah didn't see the anxious expression on his face.

"You guys did a great job today," Ronan commented as he finally got everything together. "Of course." He added, seeing the looks on his clients' faces. He then sighed. "Your dad just wants to make sure that you're ready for your concert as its coming up really fast, but trust me, you all are doing a great job." He looked at his watch. "So great that I'm letting you all go early today so you can hang out with your friends."

"We'll hang out with them later," Rhuben denied, shaking her head. "Maybe tomorrow, we don't have to be around them all the time, you know."

Ronan just looked at her and nodded. I know that you're scared because your dad may come around and take your home or beat you all in public, but you don't have to worry about it, not today. I just wish that you could tell me the truth, that everything is OK, so I wouldn't have to worry about you guys so much. Ronan pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a pent-up sigh. But I know that you're not going to do that, you're not going to do anything to jeopardize your lives by making him mad. So I guess I just have to keep pretending that I don't know what's going on.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but hanging out with your friends and being a teenager is good thing." Ronan pointed out. "At least, that's what I was aware of when I was a teenager."

"Yet, you're old now so you don't know how things work anymore," Riley remarked and then smirked as Ronan shot her a look, knowing she was joking. "We just want to take some time to rest, and you know the guys, they get into so much trouble and chaos that we can't help but get sucked into." She rolled her eyes. "And I'd rather have peace and quiet today."

"If you say so," Ronan shrugged, as if the matter was closed. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye." Sydney waved and grabbed his gym bag and led his brothers and sisters out of the dance studio and out in the bright light of Los Angeles. "That was close." He remarked. "You know, with Kendall and everybody."

"We know Syd," Rhuben reminded him gently. "We were there." She stopped walking, her hands tightening on the strap of her book bag. "You don't think that they came by just to see if there was anything…wrong do you?"

"What gives you that idea?" Noah scratched his neck, right behind his ear. "It seemed to me that they just came over to hang out."

"Yeah, but they know that we don't allow visitors over due to it being a 'distraction'." Riley commented as she used air-quotes around the words. She then let out a huff of air that blew her red strand of hair out of her blue eyes, which were now narrowed. "No, I think it was something else."

"What are you thinking?" Patrick asked, noticing the expression on her face. "I can almost see the gears turning in your head." He paused. "You think that they know?" he guessed. Riley slid her eyes over to him and nodded. "But that's impossible!" he blurted. "It's too hard to figure out, we've been too careful."

"Yeah, because the way you dropped your guitar on the ground and gaped like a fish was careful." Rhuben shot back, rolling her eyes. Her hands were twitching at her sides and she looked around at everyone that passed them with a suspicious expression. "So what are we going to do?" She asked Riley.

Riley ran a hand through her hair and placed a finger on her chin as she looked around the busy streets. She shielded her face as the glare from a passing car landed on them. The others were silent as they waited for an answer. "The only things we can do," she finally said.

"Which are?" Sydney prompted.

"Staying away from our friends as much as possible, but by still being normal," Riley replied slowly. "Like, push them away a little, but not so much that they notice that something is going on, it will keep us cool for a while and that way we can assess if they really do know what's going on?"

"Is that a good idea though?" Noah looked troubled. "What if we lose them as our friends?"

"Better than losing our lives." Riley insisted. "We're just going to lay low for a while, not for forever. And with our luck, they won't even notice."

"Not sure if you're aware of it," Patrick pursed his lips. "But we usually have bad luck."

"Meh," Riley waved a hand in the air. "First things first," she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and waved it around. "We have to remind our friends that it's important that they don't come by when we're working." She paused. "For their safety and for ours." She then started to type on her phone. "And since I'm sure Kendall was behind this, I'll make sure he gets the message loud and clear."

"You're going to yell at him aren't you?" Rhuben asked, smirking.

"If I have to."

Riley: Meet me at Palm Woods Park, its important

Kendall: I'll be there in 10

A/N: Alright, so the next chapter has to do with the adults and it will be longer. I know there really wasn't much of Riley of her family in this chapter but I had a hard time writing this chapter for a while and this is really all that I could come up with since I didn't want you guys to wait much longer. So the next chapter I will make it longer to make it up for you guys. And the drama and everything starts in the next chapter as well. The story will pick up soon. Sorry you guys had to wait a while, but I hoped you enjoyed it anyway. I'll update again soon.