The Boy Next Door (R5 fanfic)

Chapter 13

“What do you mean?” Nicole innocently asks as she brushes past us and plops down on the couch. 

“You know exactly what we mean”, Mary says as we follow Nicole into the living room.  “You and Riker?”

“Oh, that!” Nicole smiles as she leans her head onto the back of the couch and looks up at the ceiling.  “What do you want to know?”

 “Um…everything!” I giggle, hoping I will be able to figure out how she really feels. 

“Well, that first night we met, Riker and I stayed up until, like, 4 in the morning texting each other.  Then we just started getting really close and I began to like him.  A lot.  And earlier today we went on a walk down by the beach and he kissed me and now I think we might be dating.  I mean, he never came out and actually said it, but if he was comfortable enough to kiss me in front of you guys then that must mean something, right?” 

 “Yeah, I would say it’s official.  I’m so happy for you, Nicole!” Mary gushes.

 “Now you two need to help Mary and I find a boyfriend”, Rydel says. 

“What about you and Ellington?” I ask.  “Don’t deny that there isn’t something going on there.”

“I don’t know”, Rydel shrugs.  “We’ve known each other and have been friends for so long and I don’t know if we would work in a relationship.”

“But that’s exactly why you guys would work so well together!  You already know each other so well and understand each other and are so cute together in interviews and stuff!” Mary says. 

“Do you think he likes me like that, though?” Rydel questions.

“Well do you like him like that?” I ask. 

“Maybe…” Rydel trails off as she smiles at her hands folded neatly in her lap. 

“Oh, my God, I knew it!” Nicole screams. 

 “Yeah, but me liking him doesn’t automatically mean he likes me!” Rydel says.

 “Do you want me to find out?” I ask.  “I can hint at it when I talk to Ross tomorrow?”

“Only if you won’t be super obvious about it”, Rydel tells me after hesitating for a few seconds. 

“I promise I won’t”, I say, sticking out my pinky and linking it with hers to let her know her secret was safe with me.  “And I’m pretty sure he likes you back so you have nothing to worry about.” 

“What about me?” Mary asks.

“Don’t worry, Mary.  We’ll find someone for you”, Rydel giddily tells her, not even trying to hide her excitement about Ellington and revealing her secret.

 “Are you still interested in Rocky?” Nicole asks.

 “Yeah, but we haven’t really talked much since we first met”, Mary says. 

 “Don’t worry!  I’ll figure out a way to get you two together”, Rydel winks at Mary. 

The rest of the night we pig out on junk food and watch movies off of Netflix.  We eventually fall asleep at about 2:30.  Rydel was lying at one end of the couch and Mary at the other while I was curled up in the bend of the wrap-around couch and Nicole laid out on the reclining armchair. 

I later wake up to the sound of Rydel and Mary whispering to each other from opposite ends of the couch. 

“Morning”, Mary says as she sees my eyes open. 

“Morning”, I reply, leaning down to grab my phone off of the ground and turning it on.  I yawn and stretch as my phone vibrates on my stomach.  I grab it and smile at the good morning text Ross had sent me.  I quickly reply and asked if he was available to hang out at all today so that I could try and get some dirt on Ellington for Rydel.  His whole day is free so we plan to have a picnic at the nearby park later that day. 

After eating breakfast, Rydel goes home and I begin getting ready for my date with Ross.  As I shower, I think about what Nicole had said last night about Riker.  Apparently I was wrong, I think to myself.  They started talking the first night we met and she seemed so happy talking about him.  Ross was right; I had nothing to worry about.  After drying off from the shower, I select a simple pink top, some cutoff shorts and my worn-down black Converse to wear on our date.  Just as I am touching up my make-up I hear a knock at my bedroom door. 

“Come in”, I say, swiping my mascara wand across my eyelashes. 

“Hey, gorgeous”, Ross says as he walks up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, placing a soft kiss on the side of my neck.  “You ready?”

“Now I am”, I respond, turning around with his arms still around me as I quickly kiss him before grabbing my phone and sliding it into my pocket.  We walk out of the house, hand in hand and climb into his car.  I had promised Rydel I would say something about Ellington but I still had not been able to figure out how I was going to bring it up.  I decided to just enjoy the ride to the park and hope that I can somehow work it into the conversation later.