"Baby! I've been looking all over for you!" Audrey turned around in a jolt, recognizing the voice that made her want to own a punching bag.
Ryder dressed in casual jeans and shirt with a black vest, was walking towards her with a 100 watt smile.
"Don't get your head up in the clouds, I was just practicing for the camera." He stated as he approached her.
"Oh good, I'll also practice how not to throw up when you're shamelessly throwing around cheesy dialogues." She retorted.
Ryder's hands quickly clutched the left side of his chest and he stumbled a few steps back, faking a pained expression, "You words seep in like bullets, love."
Audrey gave him an unamused smile and dialed Kaylee's number on her phone to check where she was, it was a charity bake sale with the foster kids foundation that Audrey was helping out at. Without her manager slash best friend Kaylee, there was a huge possibility things could go out of hand.
"Oooo. Is that lipgloss that you're wearing?" Ryder inched closer to Audrey and simultaneously she took a step back. "I see someone has come prepared, cause you can't seem to get enough of me." He smirked.
"C'mon, c'mon..pick up." Audrey silently muttered to herself, hoping for Kaylee to show up as soon as possible.
"Holy cow." She saw Ryder's face go blank. "What are those." He said, pointing in the direction of the playground.
Audrey could not believe what she had to deal with, "Kids, Ryder. Children. The foster kids that we are here to help today."
Ryder swallowed. "Kids?" "KIDS?" "Nonononononono." He cried, pacing back and forth.
"Ha! Would you look at that? The great RJ Ryder's kryptonite are a bunch of seven year olds." Audrey exclaimed.
"They are evil, Audrey! EVIL. My nephew almost set my pants on fire and then proceeded to hit me with a baseball bat as he tried to put it out." Ryder's face held sheer panic as he recollected the thoughts.
Audrey smirked and found this as a perfect opportunity to bargain her way out. "Well, you know, if you could announce on your radio about how horrible you are for making those comments and apologize to me on air, you can leave." She suggested, hinting a small smile trying to be as sweet as possible.
Ryder stopped pacing and faced Audrey. "Well, they're not that evil." He smirked.
Audrey's face went into a sulk, this was going to be a long day.
"Umm, Audrey?"
"What now?"
"I don't think Kaylee's gonna make it." Ryder said, looking at his phone. "I just got a text from Connor, seems like they're, umm, busy."
Audrey sighed, she could almost read tomorrow's headlines. "Booming author Audrey Blair, found dead due to severe annoyance"
"Well," he started putting an arm around Audrey's shoulder. "Guess its just you and me, babe."
~*~
It was not that Ryder disliked kids. It was just that he hated them. And yes, he was aware of the fact that hating little kids seemed almost as cruel as hating puppies or bunnies or whatever fluffy specie that made hearts melt.
But he was also aware of the fact of this one kid, who was currently standing beside him as he scrolled through his Twitter feed, was going to give him yet another reason as to why he hated kids.
"Is that your phone?"
Ryder sighed, "Yes." he deadpanned without looking up.
"What kind of a phone is it?" The kid inched closer to him, finally making Ryder look up.
"The kind of phone big people have." He said, giving his best smile hoping the kid goes away.
"Does it have any games?"
Ryder groaned in agony and searched for Audrey, almost willing to agree to her earlier deal of the live broadcast. He saw her seated on a plastic chair, surrounded by more little ones.
She was reading them a story and Ryder watched fascinated at how she used her hands to create the visual effect of an alligator's snapping mouth, and how her eyes lighted up with a million expressions at once.
He almost found her cute. Almost.
Ryder quickly snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a tug at his shirt sleeve. "What do you want, kid?"
"I need to go to the bathroom."
Ryder clenched his teeth to prevent himself from screaming into thin air as he quickly spotted a reporter nearby.
"I see you've found a new friend." Audrey smiled as she made her way over to him.
"Ryder smiled back even wider, "Please, get me out of here." He said through his clenched teeth, his eyes trying to warn Audrey about the reporter that was looking at them.
Audrey slowly looked to her side and found them, she smiled lovingly at Ryder. "Right after we help the kids with the baking, sweetheart!"
Ryder wished he had super speed like The Flash to run away from the tangle of misfortune he had gotten himself into. As he got up, Audrey faced him, leant in closer and kissed his cheek. Ryder was caught off guard and slowly held her waist in his arms as she circled hers around his neck.
"One apology in your show and this nightmare will be done with." She whispered into his ears.
Ryder understood her moves but he wasn't going to go down without a fight. he pulled her even closer to him and held her tight. She broke away from the hug, trying to get away but squirmed under his tight grip around her.
"How hard can baking be?" He was going to get used to enjoying this.
~*~
"Chocolate cupcakes. Yum." Ryder rubbed his hands together and put on the apron, tying it.
Audrey hadn't spoken a word to him ever since their little "encounter". She thought she could've had the higher hand, but she needed to be more prepared for this.
She sighed and continued to gather the necessary items. "Are you just gonna stand and pose for the cameras or actually do some work?" She snapped.
"Aww, does somebody need another hug?" He replied stretching his arms.
"I have a spatula and 3 months of self-defense classes. Just saying." She replied and Ryder quickly dropped his arms.
Audrey saw him pick up two eggs and juggle them between his palms. "You're gonna break them."
"Actually, I had a few weeks of training with baking, myself. Wanna see something cool?"
Audrey looked up to say no but Ryder had already approached her with an egg in his hand. "What are you doing?" She said cautiously.
"Stay still." He said, pressing his lips together in concentration.
Before Audrey could move away, Ryder tried to crack an egg on her forehead, resulting in a yellow yolky mess, dripping all over her face.
Ryde tried to control his laughter as he saw Audrey stunned with disbelief.
"Did I say few weeks? I meant few hours."
This meant war.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Well hello there! Sorry for the seriously long hiatus. But now The Publicity Stunt is back on track. I know this chapter may not have been all that great but hey, it's just the beginning of Rydery's journey! :D
So, what do you think is going to happen next? Anybody cozying up to Ryder? Did you like their little "moment"?
COMMENT. VOTE. FAN.