The Boy Next Door (R5 fanfic)

Chapter 20

Elizabeth’s P.O.V.

I glanced at the time on my phone, wondering what was taking the boys so long to get snacks when I hear their voices as they begin walking down the aisle to our seats.  Ross squeezes past his brothers and comes down the row to join me at the very end.  He hands me the popcorn he had bought for us and places the large pop in the cup holder in between us.

“Was there a long line at the concession stand or something?” I ask, popping a small piece of buttery excellence into my mouth.

“Actually, no,” Ross says, glancing down at everyone else to make sure no one was listening before continuing.  “Rocky’s ex was in the lobby and she really knows how to piss him off, which she did very quickly.”

“Really? Alice was out there?  Did she want anything from him or was she just mad?”

“She said she wanted Rocky to do her a favor but she never said what it was and if he wouldn’t then she would spread a bunch of rumors about us,” Ross whispers.

“Do you think she will?” I ask him and watch as his forehead creases while he takes a second to think it over.

“There’s a possibility.  She knows that there are a lot of…gullible fans bu-”

“Hey, Elizabeth,” Nicole says, leaning around Ross to try and get my attention.  “How long did you say this movie is?”

“Um, I think it’s about two hours.  Why?”

“So we’ll get out of here at about 10:15 then, right?” Nicole asks, a smile crossing her face as I can see a plan formulating in her head.

“Yeah…” I respond, wanting to know what she was thinking about but was interrupted by the lights becoming dimmer as a preview started to play.  I leaned back in my seat and directed my eyes towards the screen, ready for the movie to start.

After the third preview, my mind started to wander.  I kept thinking about what Ross had told me concerning Rocky and Alice.  Having been a part of the R5 family, I was very aware of how fast a rumor can spread and be twisted into several meanings.  With Alice no longer being associated with the Lynch family, whatever rumor she would decide to spread would probably be completely false.  The only true thing that would rile up the fans would probably be about us being on a group date and that Ross and Riker are no longer single.  But unless she has evidence, like a picture, will the fans believe Alice?  Maybe? I stored the questions in the back of my brain as the feature presentation begins, reminding myself to bring it up to Ross later.

                                                    ________________________________

“I can’t believe they showed us thirty minutes worth of previews!” Nicole exclaims as we walked out in the warm summer night air, her hand intertwined with Riker’s.

“At least they were good previews though,” Riker tells her.

“Does it interrupt your secret plans you had for us tonight?” I ask Nicole.

“You have a secret plan?” Ellington asks from the front of our group. 

“Yeah, so you follow Riker and we’ll see where he takes us!” Nicole responds. 

“You’re not going to tell us where we’re going?” Mary asks. 

“What if you don’t like your little plan?” Rydel pipes up as we all come to a stop as we reach our cars.

“Trust me, you will,” Nicole says before walking around Riker’s car and climbing into the passenger seat, leaving us all standing there with curious looks on our faces.  I watch as Riker quickly disappears into his car as well, obviously not open for any questioning from us.  Nicole isn’t really the planning type so I had no idea what it was she had up her sleeve but, knowing her, it could go either two ways.  It could be an absolute blast or it could be an absolute bust.

Mary’s P.O.V.

I climb into the backseat of Ellington’s car, aware of the silent boy sitting next to me.  Ever since he came back from getting us snacks, he seemed to completely shut down and become a different person.  I knew someone either happened or was said that upset him.  I tried racking my brain, hoping I never said anything that might have offended him but come up with nothing.  Whatever was going on with was not because of me, or at least I do not think it is. 

“Are you okay?” I finally muster up the courage to ask Rocky, keeping my voice low to prevent Rydel and Ellington from hearing me.  Luckily they were immersed in their own conversation so I was sure they were not paying any attention to us. 

"Uh…yeah, everything’s fine,” Rocky hesitates as he looks out the window.  I can tell there is something he is itching to share with me but I do not want to force it out of him.  “It’s just…I ran into someone I’m not particularly…fond of in the lobby in the theater and I just keep replaying what was said over and over in my head and am trying to forget it but it isn’t working very well.”

“Well focus on something else then if you want to get your mind off of it,” I suggest, sliding my hand towards his that was resting on his knee.

Rocky smiles and places his hand over mine before grabbing it and bringing it up towards his mouth, brushing his soft lips against my knuckles in a kiss, causing a shiver to run down my spine.  “You’re right.  There are much better things I should be focusing on now,” he says. 

“We’re here!” Rydel announces from the passenger seat as Ellington puts the car in park.  I look out the window to see a flashing neon sign and roll my eyes, giggling as I figure out what Nicole’s mysterious plan was. 

A/N:  I know some of you may not find almost 500 reads to be impressive, but I do!  Thank you so very much to all of you who have read my story so far and to those few who have voted.  I have always had an interest in writing stories and knowing that people enjoy it enough to keep coming back for more really means a lot to me!