IMAGINES ▹ ROSS BUTLER

↳ something's off

( SOMETHING'S OFF )by messedupbuttercup

"You just don't care anymore!" You heard the cries of your mother as you stared at the ceiling of your room, letting out a breath and turning your head to look at the clock on the nightstand. It was only 3am and they were already fighting.

Your parents had probably fallen out of love ages ago, but still lived under the same roof. Your mother stayed in the master bedroom while your father had moved all of his stuff into the pool house and stayed in there. It was just constant arguing about their broken marriage and really stupid stuff. You were honestly sick of it, but couldn't do anything about it since you had school and the River Vixens to focus on. And Reggie.

Reggie Mantle, yes, you snagged Mantle The Magnificent and stole his heart. The two of you had been dating for about 6 months now, and it was looking good. But then again, anything looked good compared to what you see at home. Even Archie's ex-relationship with the music teacher, Ms Grundy, looked better than this.

Grabbing your earphones from the night stand, you plugged them into your phone and pushed them into your ears, picking a playlist and closing your eyes, hoping for some sleep before you had to wake up in less than three hours so you could go to the gym before school.

-

"Morning, babe." Reggie appeared next to you, pressing his lips to your cheek as you stood in front of your locker, grabbing the books that were necessary to you for your upcoming lessons. Smiling tiredly at him, you closed your locker and leant against it, looking up at him. "Mornin'," you hummed quietly, running your fingers through your hair.

"Is everything okay?" Reggie asked as he looked down at you, eyebrows furrowed. You simply nodded, coming up with some excuse that you had worked out at the gym for too long and were tired. Little did he know that you were up all night to the sounds of your parents arguing.

"I have history with McCall, so I better go." You looked up at Reggie as you pointed your thumb over your shoulder. "And you have football practice, so don't let me be the reason you're late." You had your hand on his shoulder, standing up on your tippy toes and pressing your lips to his in a chaste kiss, turning away to walk to your history class.

Reggie stood there, slightly confused. You didn't seem like yourself, and he was worried for you. He didn't know the problems that you were having, but if he had any idea, he would try his hardest to help.

Looking over your shoulder, you saw your boyfriend still standing there, watching you. Giving him a small smile, you blew him a kiss before walking into your ancient history class, taking a seat next to one of your close friends, Cheryl Blossom.

"We've got practice after school, by the way," Cheryl spoke as you sat down. You nodded, resting your head on the table and letting out a sigh. You were so tired right now, and just wanted to sleep. Cheryl looked down at your resting body and furrowed her brows, her red lips going into a line as she rested her perfectly manicured hand on your back, rubbing it gently.

-

(Y/N), keep up!" Cheryl snapped her fingers as she paced in front of the Vixens, trying to perfect the routine. The team had a game coming up on Friday, and the girls needed to be perfect to one up the opposing team.

Letting out a breath, you placed your hands on your hips and looked at Cheryl, an apologetic look on your face. She waved you off and you went over to your bag, grabbing your water bottle to take a drink from it.

"What's going on with you?" You heard Cheryl's voice from behind, making you jump slightly and turn around. Swallowing the water that was in your mouth, you looked at the red head you had known since kindergarten. "What do you mean?" You asked quietly, taking another drink from your water bottle.

"Something's off with you, (y/n). First of all, you fell asleep in history. You've never fallen asleep in class. Never. And now you're falling behind with the routine? This isn't you and I'm worried. But, unfortunately, I'm going to have to drop you from this week's performance." Cheryl didn't want to drop you, but she couldn't have her team falling behind.

"Cheryl. You've never dropped me from a performance!" You exclaimed, looking at the red head like she had decided to dye her iconic curls some different colour. "This – It's all crazy!" You tried to plead, but Cheryl simply shook her head and walked back to the Vixens. She just wanted what's best for you.

Grabbing your gym bag, you let out a frustrated sigh and walked out of the gymnasium doors, pulling your hair out of the ponytail that you had thrown it up in. "Babe?" You heard the familiar voice of Reggie, making you silently groan as you turned to face him, a fake smile plastered on your lips. "Why were you arguing with Cheryl?" He asked, eyebrows pulled together in concern.

"We weren't arguing," you muttered, rolling your eyes and walking towards the parking lot. You could hear Reggie's footsteps behind you, but you just stared ahead, making a beeline for your car.

"(y/n)!" Reggie groaned as he grabbed your upper arm, forcing you to look at him. "Something's off with you," he softly spoke, repeating the words that Cheryl had said. Shaking your head as tears welled up in your eyes, you dropped your gym bag and wrapped your arms around his waist, crying into his chest.

Reggie's arms immediately went to hold you close, a look of concern on his face. You rarely cried in public, and didn't cry in front of him much. "Hey," he cooed softly, running his fingers through your hair. "What's the matter? You can tell me."

"It's been so loud at home," you started, pulling away from Reggie's hold. Your voice was shaky and soft, eyes slightly puffy as you looked up at him. "My parents, they've never been this bad before and it's been going on until 3 – 4 am," you looked at the ground, clenching your jaw. "I haven't been able to get anything done. It's just too much."

Reggie knew about your parent's situation. He had unfortunately been there one night – when he snuck in – and heard the argument happening downstairs. You had ignored his stares and just turned up the music that was playing through your speakers, going back to your English essay. He didn't know how bad it had gotten for you, and he wanted to beat himself up for not doing something about it.

"Hey, you know you can come stay with me for a few days if you need to. Give your parents some time to organise this. My mom loves you, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind. She needs another girl in the house sometimes." Reggie chuckled as he looked down at you, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. "C'mon, let me drive you to your place and we'll get some of your stuff."

"You're too good for me," you murmured, watching as he picked up your pink bag and slung it over his shoulder, holding his hand out for you to take. You placed your hand in his, intertwining your digits and smiling softly.

Reggie just gave you a smile, pulling you closer to him as he murmured an 'I love you' in your ear, making your heart flutter.

You didn't want to turn into your parents, and Reggie wouldn't let that happen.