The Truth Behind Rydellington

I'm Fine..

Rydel's POV:
"Come on Ellington. I'm ready to leave." I call up the stairs, where my boyfriend is getting ready.
"Ellington?"
"Just a minute Rydel." He calls back.
I pull out my phone while I wait, scrolling through the comments on my latest photo on Instagram. My eyes try to avoid the hateful comments, but it's hard not to see them.
Eww @rydelr5 is so ugly.
I wish she'd quit the band already!
Gross...
I close the app and lock my phone, shoving it in my pocket as I head upstairs to check on my boyfriend.
"Ellington, what is taking so long?" I ask, entering our bedroom. He is sitting at my makeup table, staring into the mirror as he tries to do his hair.
"It. Won't. Stay." He grunts as he attempts to smooth down a piece of hair that is persistent in sticking straight out.
"Here babe let me help you." I say, picking up a spray bottle filled will water. I spray him, causing him to screw up his face as the mist lands on him.
"Relax Ell, it's just water." I chuckle, running my hands through his hair as I look at our reflection in the mirror.
The fans are right. I do look ugly today.
"What's wrong Del? You're really quiet." Ellington grabs one of my hands that is resting on the top of his head, rubbing his thumb over the back of it.
"Nothing. I'm fine." I smile, pulling him to stand up.
"Let's go." I say, starting to leave.
"But I'm not ready.." He whines.
I stop and turn to face him.
"Ellington Lee Ratliff, we are just going to my parents house for dinner. And it's already taken you a whole hour to get ready. We are leaving."
"Fine." He mumbles, grabbing his jacket and we exit the house, me giggling at him the entire way.

After a short drive, we pull into my parent's driveway, and Ellington races around to open my door.
"Such a gentleman." I smile, looping my arm through his as we make our way to the door. My mom answers, engulfing us in a tight hug before stepping aside to let us in. We follow her into the dining room, where my whole family, aside from Rocky, is already gathered at the table.
"Look who decided to show up." Ryland teases.
"Well we would have been here twenty minutes ago, if Ell didn't take so long to do his hair." I laugh, making my boyfriend blush slightly.
"Rydellington!!" Rocky shouts, racing into the room out of nowhere. He tackles us in a crushing group hug, before steering Ellington into a seat beside him. I roll my eyes at their bromance, taking the last spare seat, at the opposite end on the table, between my Dad and Ross. We chatter away as the food on our plates disappear. When we are on to desert, the conversation turns to the band's social media.
"So guys, I've been monitoring the band's Twitter and Instagram feed, and overall it's been fairly positive" my Dad says, swallowing his pudding.
"But.. I did notice that there has been quite a few hate messages on certain posts."
"Oh yeah?" I say, my voice cracking slightly. I cough and Ellington makes eye contact with me from across the table, puzzled.
"Yeah. Especially under the Rydellington hashtag and on your account Rydel. I'm surprised you haven't noticed.."
I can feel myself go slightly red.
"Oh. Well I haven't really been checking my social media lately. I've had other things on my mind.." I trail off.
"Ok Del. Just remember to monitor it every now and then, and let me know if anything gets out of hand."
"Sure thing Dad." I give him a smile, avoiding Ellington's eyes which seem to be burning holes in the side of my head.

Just as we are finished clearing the table, I yawn and my mom notices instantly.
"It's getting late," she says while glancing at her watch, "why don't you kids crash here for the night?"
"Sure thing mom. Sounds fabulous." I say, standing up.
"All of your beds are still made up. So is the spare bed Ellington." She smiles, patting him on the head.
I race up to my old bedroom before anybody can say anything else. I go straight to the ensuite and take a quick shower, before changing into some pajamas and crawling into my old bed. A few minutes after I do so, my door swings open and I hear somebody enter the room.
"Rydel? Are you alright?" Ellington's voice calls out softly. I know that he is going to ask me about the hate messages, but I'm not in the mood to discuss it right now. I consider pretending to be asleep, but before I can do so, my boyfriend's face comes into sight as he kneels beside my bed. "I'm fine," I whisper, "just tired."