The Girl Inside (Raura)

Chapter 15: Crazy, It's True

Ross' POV

"Slow down! My legs aren't as long as yours anymore!" Laura laughs, trying to catch up to my run. "And I think we can agree I'm not the most athletic person."

"I can't argue with that," I laugh with her and slow down my pace so we're walking side by side.

We pass a boutique with clothes and jewelry sprawled out behind its display windows, I catch Laura sneaking a glance at them.

"I'm going to buy you something from there one day," I tell her. "Anything you want, and it's yours. I don't care about the cost."

Laura's mouth slightly hangs open. "As much as I'd love that, I can buy my own jewelry, thank you very much."

I shake my head and let my hair flop about. I promise to myself that one day I will give her everything, jewelry and more.

Five minutes later our Converse tread on the luscious, full grass outlining the park and the playground where Laura and I always used to run off to together.

We stop at a concession stand where I purchase a churro for the both of us. "Have some," I offer.

She smiles, taking a bite of the sugary dessert and then giving it back to me after grabbing some napkins from the stand.

"I know how much you love cinnamon," I break apart some of the churro to stuff in my mouth. "That's something I never found out about Courtney."

Laura knows how hard I'm trying to forget about Courtney, but there's something preventing me from fully doing that. I've spent too long in the confines of a promotional relationship I thought was genuine. In less than an hour the truth was spilled out in front of me and somehow, the world expects me to move on like nothing had affected me. I thought I put all of myself into that so-called romance when in reality, Courtney hasn't put one ounce of emotion in.

I swear on my life, Laura is the sweetest, most perfect girl on Earth to me. She's risked so much because she cares so damn much about me. I only hope I can display the same compassion for her as her for me.

"You have cinnamon sugar on your mouth," Laura points to my lips while wearing the most captivating smile.

I smirk and speculate down at her. Before she can run away to escape I pull her in close to place my cinnamon covered lips on her strawberry flavored lip gloss, immediately loving the aftertaste.

I sense Laura smiling, I'm doing whatever it takes to communicate to her that I'm trying to feel the same way she does.

Gingerly I pull away and smirk again. "You have cinnamon sugar on your mouth," I mock her.

Laura slightly blushes and pushes my side. She takes the napkins she got earlier and teasingly wipes off the cinnamon to my dismay. I admit it may as well have been to my benefit because the sight of Laura licking cinnamon off her lips may affect me more than it should at the moment.

Laura's POV

I take Ross' hand and drag him to walk through the rest of the park alongside me.

It's strange to see him in this state, not completely happy but not completely melancholy. Ross is always the most ebullient person ever when he's around me and any passer-by would easily interpret our friendship as a relationship when seeing the two of us; but today there's a trace of cautionary betrayal in Ross' tone. I can understand how the truth may have hurt him since I dumped everything on Ross within one hour. It's difficult to face something so life-changing because the universe simply expects you to move on after the fact, like nothing's happened.

There's hardly been any time to process the information. I remain uncertain on whether or not Ross is conscious of what's going on around him. He's the one who asked, or kind of demanded, that I go to the park with him, hoping it would help him forget Courtney's sins.

He most certainly doesn't hate Courtney, but he hates what she's done to him. Ross sometimes sneaks a glimpse at me on our walk and I believe he's trying to communicate something, but he doesn't have the courage to speak. Courtney's in his head, impairing him and preventing Ross from saying what he wants to say.

I glance up at Ross and him back down at me. There's some fear hidden within his facial features, but I can tell he doesn't want me to notice them.

His expression hides a broken soul, a soul torn apart by Courtney's disregard for humanity. "You okay?"

Ross squeezes my hand that he hasn't once let go of. "Kind of," he does his best not to let me see his face. "I just can't believe I was nothing to her. She treated me like an object that doesn't have feelings. A literal stepping stone in her path and-" Ross stops and stares me straight in the eyes. "And I was too stupid to see it."

A shiver runs down my spine and I pull him in to reassure him. Ross tightly hugs back almost mercilessly while trying to forget Courtney ever existed.

My hair moves with every one of Ross' exhales and I hear mumbled words softly being sent into my left ear:

Don't ever do something like what she's done to me. I can't lose you. You mean too much to me. Trust me when I say there's no one I'd rather be with than you.

"I have to tell you something else." After I assert this Ross stares back at me with that broken look begging that I'm not going to betray him like Courtney. "Courtney didn't go to New York for a modeling job. She has a boyfriend named Scott and she went there to spend time with him. I know this because I overheard her on the phone after I had faked my frustration to your family on that day. I'm sorry Ross."

I see the feeling return all too familiar throughout Ross. As if he thought Courtney couldn't have a more despicable image, he finds out dishonesty and fraudulence don't leave her with guilt whatsoever. During all the hours they were together she was pretending Ross was someone else because, to her, Ross is an insipid waste of time.

He contemplates his gaze on me, realizing I already understand everything he's taking to heart. His broken expression somehow appears to crack into even more pieces and I'm his only remedy. Without hesitation I draw him in so tight that you can't even fit a sheet of paper between us.

This is real, I decide. Ross is certain who I am to him and what we are together. He's certain he's found his truth in life. I smile into his chest and attempt to retract my arms, but Ross remains glued to my front. "Um... Ross? You can let go now."

His head shakes while on top of mine. "No I can't, Laura."

***

Aye aye what's up

Got that Raura in for ya

Calum has replied to me twice on Twitter in the last week so I'm really happy rn and you should watch his new shows.

There was a Coss reunion last night, but the entire cast hasn't been together since that taping for the first episode of For the Record, over a year ago. :'/

May your dreams and lives be Rauslly filled. :)

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Steph (yesifeelgoodr5)