We're Not Friends | 3
One Week Later
Saturday
May 21st, 2022
The days following their big blowout, neither of them tried to contact each other. Laura's too embarrassed of the way she acted to reach out to him. She handled it terribly and doesn't even know how to apologize for her drunken state. And with him not contacting her, she feels like he's mad at her and doesn't want to hear from her. He's not mad at her, though. He could never be mad at her, especially for expressing how she feels. He's still giving her space and according to all his brothers and sister, space is good. Rocky blabbed to the entire Lynch family that him and Laura had a fight. Their family group chat has been pretty interesting the last few days. And his almost daily FaceTime calls from his mom.
However, when Kiernan called up Laura this morning and invited her to a cast lunch, she accepted. It took a little bit of convincing on Kiernan's end for her to actually say yes to the invitation. Her main reason for considering was that she didn't want to see Ross, but she didn't tell her that. Instead she fed her the usual; I'm not apart of the cast, won't it be weird? After a million and one reassurances by Kiernan, she caved and said yes. Now she's in her bathroom and getting ready. She wasn't going to make herself too fancy, she's doing her everyday makeup; base, eyebrows, eyeliner, mascara, and lipgloss, then straightening her hair. Vancouver's weather was still a little chillier than she's used to, so she put on a pair of light blue skinny jeans, a grey (fake) button up sweater, and her white nike tennis shoes. She's suppose to be meeting them in the lobby in ten minutes. She packs up her oversized purse and fills up her water bottle.
Ross meets his cast mates in the hall. He's in his usual; jeans and a loose button up shirt, his dirty yellow converse and a backwards hat on. He jogs to catch up with his cast mates farther down the hall.
"Maybe we'll catch her on the elevator." He hears Kiernan say.
"Who?" Ross asks.
"Laura." She smiles at him. His smile falters. "I called her earlier and invited her to lunch."
"Oh." Is all he says. Nobody notices his unsure tone.
"You said she wouldn't hang out with us that much, I'm proving you wrong, Ross." Kiernan ends her sentence in a sing-song tone. He rolls his eyes.
"Whatever." He mumbles, nudging her arm. I guess my space giving is coming to an end. "She likes you guys, of course she's gonna wanna hang out." He adds.
"Have you talked to her much since she's been here?" Lachlan's asks him. He shrugs his shoulders.
"Not really." He lies. Not really means a big fat no.
"Weren't you guys really close when you were younger?" Lach then asks.
"Extremely close, yeah. But we haven't been for years." Kiernan nudges him now with her usual grin on her face. He can't help but smile down at her.
"Well, now that she's hanging out with us you can get close again!" She cheers.
"Maybe." He smiles. They don't meet Laura in the elevator. She's already in the lobby of their apartment building waiting for them. She immediately smiles as she sees the Sabrina cast exit the elevators.
"Hello hello!" She says to them. She immediately pulls Kiernan in for a hug.
"I'm so glad you could make it. I'm sorry it was so last minute but we're didn't finalize our plans until late last night and Ross has mentioned that you go to bed early so I didn't want to wake you up." Laura waves her off. Only Kiernan, Lach, Gavin, Jaz, and Ross could actually make it. The rest of the cast had to reply to do other work related things.
"No, it's totally fine. Most of my cast mates are golfing and this gal is not a golfer, so you actually saved me from a boring afternoon." Ross has to hold back a snort at her words. He cannot even imagine Laura playing golf. I mean, he's not that great at the sport, but Laura is definitely not a golfer. He looks away from her and instead looks around the lobby.
"What's your show about again?" Jaz asks.
"Um, it's a drama series." She starts. "There's seven of us as the main cast and in one of the classes we share our professor gets murdered in class and me and my classmates try and solve it." She frowns. "Sorry, that's an awful description, but it's the gist of the plot, I guess. There's a lot of things that happen to the characters to make it a drama."
"Damn." Jaz laughs. "That sounds awesome." Laura gives her a smile.
"I'm starving." Gavin announces. Laura points at him.
"Right." She says. "Where are we going?"
"This amazing little Italian inspired cafe that's a few blocks away. We eat there a lot." Kiernan tells her. Laura chuckles. As she begins to follow them, her and Ross lock eyes for the first time. For a moment they keep their hold, emotionless expressions on their faces, and then Laura offers him a small smile. He returns it, his smile just as small as hers. He makes sure to stand in the other side of the group than her as they walk down the sidewalk. With a quiet sigh, Laura keeps walking next to Kiernan. "How was the first week of filming?" Kiernan asks her.
"Slow." She admits. "I'm used to movie schedules and multiple cameras, so doing an hour long show with a single cam is much different. And I just haven't filmed a show in ages, so memorizing scripts every few weeks is going to be weird." She explains.
"When was the last time you were apart of a show?" She asks. Laura chuckles.
"Austin and Ally..." She trails off. Kiernan's eyes widen. "Multiple cams, only twenty minutes long, so so so different than this." Kiernan laughs. "And it was a family-friendly, Disney Channel sitcom. This is a mature, Netflix drama. I'm way out of my comfort zone."
"I'm sure you're killing it." She tells her.
"Err, debatable." Laura tells her. "But I guess we'll see." The walk to the cafe didn't take too long. The walk over is t awkward at all, they all just talk about random things and try to explain some of the things on the menu that they love. Ross is trailing behind them with Gav, the two of them giving input on menu items they love. When they got to the cafe they choose a spot inside by the windows. Laura sits in between Kiernan and Lachlan on one side of the table and Jaz sits in between Ross and Gavin on the other side of the table. "I still haven't decided on what to get, you guys. Help me!" She semi-complains. Kiernan looks over the menu to help her.
"You don't like artichokes, right?" Ross asks her. A little surprised that he's talking to her, she looks up from her menu at him. He keeps his eyes on his menu, though, staring at the pastas and pretending like he doesn't feel her gaze on him.
"Um, no. I don't like artichokes." She tells him.
"Then I'd get the al sugo di coda pasta." She looks down at the menu to find the pasta he's talking about. It has tomato, oxtail, celery, and golden raisins mixed in with the creamy sauce. "It's not as good as they make it in Rome, but the one here comes close. The Italian in you will love it." Despite him still looking down at his menu, Laura gives him a small smile. So maybe Ross hasn't forgotten her likes and dislikes, maybe her assumption about him is a little off.
"Sweet, thanks." She says.
"You're Italian?" Jaz asks.
"Yes, ma'am. My dad was born and raised in Italy. He has the best accent." Ross nods his head.
"His accent is pretty dope." He comments. He's so tempted to tease her and tell her to show them her impression of Damiano's accent, but he stops himself by biting the inside of his cheek.
"That's awesome!" He tunes them out and stares at the menu. He wasn't expecting to have an uncomfortable lunch. He thought he was going to have a good lunch with his cast mates, no awkwardness or uncomfortableness. Boy, was he wrong. While everyone is talking, Ross' phone rings from his pocket. He pulls it out, seeing his mom wanting to FaceTime. He almost ignores it and texts her that he's busy, but he sees this as the perfect opportunity to escape.
"Hey, uh, my moms FaceTiming me." He tells the group. "I'm gonna take this outside real quick. Can someone please order for me?" He asks no one in particular.
"Yeah yeah, of course. The usual?" Jaz asks him. He stands up from his seat, his thumb hovering over his screen.
"Yes, please." He answered the phone and heads towards the main doors. Laura watches him as he walks outside in front of the windows, his eyes on his phone screen.
"Hi, mom." He says once their call is connected. She's sitting on the couch in her living room, the TV paused and the dogs lounging on the ground by her feet.
"Hi, sweetie!" She cheers. "What are you up to today?" He kicks a rock that's on the sidewalk and sighs.
"Out at lunch with some of the cast." He tells her. "We're waiting to order." He adds.
"Ooo, who's all there?" She asks.
"Um, Kiernan, Gav, Lachlan, Jaz, and..." He's hesitant to tell her that Laura's there. If he does, he knows for a fact they will be talking about her for a while. "uh, Laura, too. Kiernan called her up this morning and invited her." Stormie's eyes widen the slightest and she tilts her head.
"Are you two talking again?" He looks through the windows of the cafe, his eyes locking on Laura. They hold their gaze for a moment before she chickens out and looks away.
"No." He looks up at the sun. "I mean, we said a few words to each other today. I'm still giving her space."
"Is that why you didn't ignore my call?" He chuckles.
"Mom, I only ignore your call when I'm busy. You pretty much know when I'm busy." She smiles at him. "I answered because I'm uncomfortable being in there when she's in there. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells around her."
"Give it time, sweetie. I'm sure she's thinking about this just as much as you are." He shrugs his shoulders.
"I don't know, mom." He mumbles. "I must admit, she's harder to read now." She clears her throat.
"Let me talk to her." He furrows his eyebrows and tenses his shoulders.
"What? Mom, no." She raises her eyebrows at him, giving him her best mom stare.
"Yes, go hand her the phone. I want to say hi." She's serious and Ross can see that. He knows he's not getting his way this time. Sighing, he heads back to the door. Laura clears her throat when she sees Ross heading for the door.
"Hey." He sets his phone down on the table in front of her. "My mom wants to talk to you." She furrows her eyebrows and looks up at Ross. He's already pulling his seat out to sit down and avoiding eye contact again.
"Laura?!" She hears Stormie through the phone. Laura's eyes snap down to the table where Stormie was currently displayed on Ross' phone screen. Her eyes widen.
"Stormie, hi!" She quickly backs out of her seat and looks at the CAOS cast, not even sparing Ross a glance. "Um, I'll be right back." She picks up Ross' phone and heads to the doors.
"Oh my stars, I haven't talked to you in ages." Laura smiles at her.
"I know, it's crazy." She pushes the doors open. "How are you, how are your dogs? I can't get over how cute their little outfits are you put them in." Stormie's smile turns soft.
"We're all doing great." Based on her new expression, Laura has a feeling she knows where this conversation is about to go. And boy, she really doesn't want to go there. "How are you and Ross doing?" She sighs and closes her eyes for a brief second.
"He told you?" She asks.
"Actually, Rocky told us." She quietly says. Laura looks up at the sky and bites the inside of her cheek. Us. Great. "Hey, you more than anyone should know that the Lynch Family doesn't keep secrets." Laura lightly chuckles.
"Yeah, I know." She let's out another sigh. "I snapped at him and I know it was the wrong way to approach the topic."
"Do you really blame him for everything?" Stormie asks. Laura thinks for a moment.
"I think..." She bites her lip. She squeezes her eyes shut tight. "I don't know, Stormie." She admits. "I feel like I tried to stay close with him and he just didn't have any interest in staying close with me. It got tiring trying to keep that closeness when he wasn't returning it." Stormie nods her head understandingly.
"That makes sense." Stormie says. "I'll admit that he isn't the best at keeping in touch with you." Laura looks away from the screen. "Honey," She glances back at Stormie. "I really think you two should sit down, soberly, and hash things out." Laura looks down at the sidewalk. "You're both at fault here. And you need to remember that."
"Yeah." She mumbles.
"You two has such an amazing friendship during Austin and Ally. It'd be so nice to see that side of you guys again. You guys made me laugh so much when you were together." Laura can't help but smile. Her teenage friendship with Ross was amazing. They spent so much time together the first couple of years due to them doing school the first year together and R5 not touring all that much. They were so close. She misses that so much. She hasn't had a friendship that's come close to it and honestly, neither has Ross.
"That'd be nice." Laura says.
"Well, think about what I've said." Laura nods her head. "I'll let you get back to lunch with them. I miss you, Laura. Being in Vancouver with Ross is a sign to patch things up."
"I'm starting to think so." She whispers.
"I love you and tell Ross I love him. I'm going to be texting both of you later to remind you of this little talk we both had." Laura chuckles, her mind flooding back to the past when Stormie has said those words to her and Ross before.
"Okay, Stormie. I love you, too. Bye."
"Bye, sweetie." Laura ends the call. She stays outside for a few more moments to breathe some fresh air. She needs to apologize for her behavior, she knows that.
"Dude, stop watching her." Gavin says. Ross quickly clears his throat and looks away from the window, his hands immediately folding onto the table. "Are you two good?" Ross snaps his eyes to Gavin.
"Huh?" He questions.
"Are you and Laura okay?" Ross thinks for a moment, trying to decide on whether to share what's happening or keep it private between him and Laura.
"Yeah." He shrugs, deciding privacy is the best option. He looks around the table, though, and realizes he's not as smooth with the lie as the thought. They all are giving him the raised eyebrows looks with the slightest head tilt.
"Wanna rethink that, buddy?" Kiernan questions. "Because you two are definitely acting different today." Ross furrows his eyebrows.
"None of you have ever hung out with me and her before aside from last weekend, so how would you know if we're acting different." Now he's just being a smartass. He wants the subject to change. They stare at him. Defeated, he slumps in his seat and crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Don't worry about it." He mumbles. Before he could say anything else, Laura walks through the main doors and heads back to their table. He watches her for a moment, noticing the slight crease in her brow and her thinking face intact. She looks him in the eyes as she sets his phone down in front of him on the table.
"Your mom says she loves you and that she'll be texting us later." He raises his eyebrows at her as she takes a seat.
"Us as in both of us?" He asks.
"Us as is both of us." She confirms. His eyes close for a moment and he throws his head back. Fuck. "Have we ordered yet?" She asks, changing the subject.
"Nope, still waiting." Lachlan tells her. Ross' phone dings. Grumpily, he picks it up and looks at the text, tuning out his friends.
Mom:
She's been thinking about you too. When you talk about it later make sure you don't shut her feelings down and make sure she hears you out too. This is silly! Be smart and love each other ❤️💛
Ross:
👍🏻
He slides his phone across the table to Laura. It lands beside her glass of water. She looks up at Ross, confused as to why he just did that. He motions her to look at his phone. Hesitant, she looks down at his screen. After she's done reading the text from Stormie, she looks back up at him. Within the few seconds of her reading the text, Ross is already joined his friends in the conversation.
Ross:
👍🏻 - Laura
She locks his phone up and when he looks at her, she gives him the smallest head nod right before sliding his phone back to him. His response is a small smile.
• chapter three is done and over!!!! i really hope you guys are liking this book so far. as you can tell it's sort of fast right now but it'll slow down soon. if you liked this chapter don't forget to vote, comment whatever it is you want to comment, and if your felling extra nice go ahead and give me a follow! •