Under Winter Stars - Ross x Robert Story

Practice - Chapter 26

Ross' POV:

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The sound of the alarm from the oven woke both me and Robert up and made us shoot our eyes open and flinch. We had fallen asleep while reading the book and completely forgot the lasagna was baking. I tiredly but quickly got off of Robert and the couch to walk to the oven. I shut off the excruciatingly loud alarm from the oven and opened it to check the lasagna. I was met with the smell of melted cheese and tomato sauce which made me smile to myself. Robert followed behind and knelt down to look at the lasagna as well.

"Wow, it looks amazing." he beams happily.

"Mhm, we did a good job." I respond, still a little tired.

I put on some gloves and pulled the lasagna out of the oven and placed it on the stove. I take the gloves off and grab a spatula to cut the lasagna into squares.

"Let's wait for it to cool down before eating." I suggest, seeing there's still smoke fuming from the tray.

"Alright, let's go sit back down." Robert responds, making his way back towards the couch.

I followed behind him and sat down next to him on the couch. I was expecting him to pick up his book for us to continue reading but he didn't.

Instead he asked, "Do you wanna start practicing?"

My stomach knotted a little, I forgot about that. I already know this is going to be really hard for me, but at least Robert's willing to help.

"Sure." I reluctantly answer.

Robert nodded and we both changed our positions on the couch so we were facing each other.

We both stayed silent for a bit, I wasn't sure on how to start off the conversation. I frowned to myself and looked down because of how awkward it felt. Robert noticed and took hold of my hand reassuringly while giving me a small gentle smile.

"This is too hard, I can't do it." I muster up, feeling a little disappointed in myself. Why does opening up have to be so hard?

Robert also frowns but starts giving me a pep talk to try and cheer me up, "I know it's hard, but trust me you'll feel a lot better when you tell your mom. Based on the time I've been here I can tell that she will support you no matter what and wants the best for you. Practicing might help your confidence a little and give you ideas on what to say. And trust me, I'll be there for you every step of the way to help you prepare and while you have the talk. You can do it."

I looked up at him and gave him a small smile back. I can always count on him and his bright attitude to help me feel better.

Still though, I didn't know how I should start the conversation, and I think Robert noticed that's what I was struggling with.

"Maybe I could pretend I'm you, to give you ideas?" he suggests.

I thought about it for a minute, it would help but him pretending to be me sounds kind of embarrassing.

"Are you sure?" I question.

"Yeah! Let me just think for a sec." he answers, now starting to think to himself.

He thought for a few seconds before he tucked his lips awkwardly for a second and fidgeted with his fingers.

"I didn't realize how cringe and awkward this would be." he admits with a chuckle.

I chuckled back at him. "Don't worry, I won't laugh at you." I assure, not knowing if that statement would prove to be true or not.

"Okay, I'm gonna do it."