The Boy Next Door (R5 fanfic)

Chapter 33

The whole drive home from the studio, Ross is very quiet, keeping his eyes focused on the road in front of him.  I stay silent as well, not being able to completely read the blonde sitting next to him and know how he’s feeling. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ross says, kissing me good night after we climb out of the car.  I pause for a second before turning and walking towards Rachel’s front door, watching as Ross disappears into his own home.  I head straight for my room, mumbling an early good night to the girls watching TV in the living room.  As I plop down on my bed, my anger and jealousy begin to take over.  It’s all because of what Laura did and said that Ross didn’t say anything.  She was the one who made our night uncomfortable and completely ruined my plans.  The conversation I overheard plays in my head again and I decide to log onto twitter on my laptop, curious to see if Ross was right and something was actually posted online.  As soon as the page loads, it explodes in notifications.  “I knew it!  Raura still lives”  “Sorry Elizabeth, looks like Ross doesn’t like you that much”  “#Relizabethisdead”  All of the tweets are captions to the lovely picture of Ross and Laura kissing.  I force myself to do a bit of digging and find out who posted the original picture.  Not to any surprise, it’s the girl who bashed me on set that captured the moment.  I slam my laptop shut and lay down, not stopping the tears from running as my body shook and I felt like my summer romance was really just that: a fling for the season. 

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I must have ended up crying myself to sleep because the next thing I know my phone is broadcasting the time of 3:25 in the morning.  I look at the window again as I hear the noise that woke me.  I carefully walk over to it and open the blinds, only to find Ross on the other side, a small smile on his face and his hands tucked in his pockets.  He jerks his hide to the side, motioning for me to come outside.  I hold up a finger, telling him I’ll be out in a minute as I throw on a pair of shorts and a hoodies, slipping into my Converse before walking out my bedroom door.  While walking down the hallway, I can’t help but notice that every other bedroom door is ajar, all of the beds unslept in, including Rachel’s.    

The crisp night air hits my face as I close the front door behind me.  It’s much cooler now than it was during the day, but it still isn’t the warmest. 

“Hey, do you mind taking a walk with me?” Ross asks.

“Not at all.  I love taking walks in the middle of the night,” I sarcastically say which earns me a small laugh from my boyfriend who grabs my hand as we begin walking down the sidewalk. 

“I want to apologize for the way I acted on the ride home from set.  I had a lot on my mind and I’m feeling you did too because I don’t know about you, but I felt a lot of tension in that car,” Ross says.  I nod in agreement, wondering what he plans on telling me.  “I think that all that tension deserves an explanation, which is why I’m about to tell you something that you may not want to hear.

"After everyone left today, I went back to Laura’s dressing room with her because there was something that I needed to get set straight.”  Ross pauses, as if thinking about how to explain everything.  I contemplate telling him not to bother, that I know what happened, but I’m curious to hear what exactly his version of the story may be. 

“Apparently Laura has feelings for me because she kissed me while we were meeting some of our Austin & Ally fans.  I pushed her away after I realized what was going on, but I did kiss her back at first.  It meant absolutely nothing to me!  I have no idea how it happened but I told her it better not happen again.  I’m so, so sorry, Elizabeth.”