Twenty

~Laura's P.O.V~

"I can't believe you stood that crap!" Chris growls.

"Well, it's not my fault!" I defended.

"I can't believe she used me," Chris buried his head in his hands.

"Dude, neither can I." Ross sat on the sidewalk beside Chris and patted his back.

"Neither can you? She used me for you, that's what you can't believe. You can't believe that she had to use me for you when she could've just gone straight to you, huh?"

"That's not what I meant." Ross shook his head.

"Why am I so stupid?" Chris cries.

"Just forget about it, Chris. Caroline was a stupid jerk," I say.

"What's going on there?!" Rydel calls from the door.

"You were right!" Ross and I replied simultaneously.

"You knew?" We asked each other.

"Yeah." Again, in unison.

"Why is Rydel great at that thing?" I ask Ross.

"People!" Chris shuts us up "What're you talking about?"

"Come with me and learn the truth, Mister Reynolds," Rydel said. "Mr. and Mrs. Ross Lynch learned the truth before it was too late and you. . . It's too late."

"Wait, who's Mrs. Ross Lynch, Rydel?" I ask.

"Umm actually future. . ."

"And that is who. . .?"

Rydel rolls her eyes. "Duh! You."

I scoffed and tagged along Chris and Ross who were entering the house.

Rydel led us to her room and let us sit on the floor. Chris sat in between Ross and I. She opened her fan and sat on her spinny chair.

"Now Laura and Ross," Rydel starts. "You're already aware that Caroline has a secret agenda, right?"

"When was he aware?" I asked the same time Ross asked, "When was she aware?"

"Since I told you?"

"When did you tell him?" Again, simultaneously with Ross' question, "When did you tell her?"

"It's creepy when you say the exact same words at the same time." Chris shudders.

"He said she I said he." "She said he I said she."

"Stop it!" Chris cries in a whisper.

"Okay," Ross and I said.

"Unbelievable," Chris mutters.

"Okay, how did your 'relationship' with Ms. Taylor start?" Rydel asks.

"It started when I came back then she was there, I remember how I used to make fun of her. . . How she liked Ross when he was the new kid in school and I befriended him. . . She transformed into a different person," Chris explains.

"A different person, heck yeah!" I commented.

"So Mr. Reynolds--"

"Stop using last names Rydel!" Chris complains.

"I suppose you remember in seventh grade. . ." Ross chuckles. "When our Science teacher mistaken you as Mr. McDonalds!"

"Shut up, Ross!" Chris sneers. "Mrs. Jose is always hungry that's why."

"Oh doesn't mean she's fat she's always hungry. Tsk, Chris." Ross shook his head playfully.

"Okay, okay. So Caroline had a crush on Ross since seventh grade, huh?"

I nod. "Yeah, I told you, right?"

"Mhm," Rydel agrees. "And when did the actual relationship start Mis--"

"No last names, please." Chris cuts off Rydel.

"Okay when did it actually start, Chris?"

"When I came back. . . I don't really know how to explain," Chris says. "I actually came back a month before I went back to school. So we bonded and bonded 'til I developed feelings then I asked her out."

"That's it?" Rydel scoffed. "That beginning of your love story spells out boring. Wait 'til you hear Ross and Laura's."

"What?!" Ross and I exclaim simultaneously.

"Seriously, just quit doing that." Chris remarked.

"Sorry."

"And stop apologizing in unison when you do."

"Oh, sorry."

"Ross! Laura!"

And we actually didn't reply that time. I was expecting Ross to do apologizing or something but I guess in his mind he's hoping me to do the things I'm hoping him to do. That was weird. It's actually kind of a tounge twister.

"Okay settle down, everybody. I want everything to come out clearly," Rydel explains prim and properly.

"Now Chris how did the break up happen?" She asks.

I stood up to object the motion. "Break up? That immediately? Can't you at least let Chris tell his romance to all of us?"

The two Lynch kids looked at me and shook their heads disapprovingly which concluded me to just shut up and take my seat on the floor. Being crisscross applesauce made me legs numb and tingly so I decided stay behind, well, actually by the corner and straddle my legs but I was still facing them.

"Laura? Aren't you go here and listen?" Rydel sassed. It wasn't really an action of sass but she said it sassily. "And you do the splits? Do you dance?"

"Well, straddling gives an illusion of a full split to the observer," I say. "And no, I won't go there. My legs are darn numb from sitting crisscross applesauce. And I don't dance."

"Well my butt's numb and you clearly can't straddle the butt," Ross complained.

"That'd be a big break." Chris jokes.

"Rydel, can you hurry up? We're all numb here," I lamented, standing up to jump and shake my legs up.

"Okay, okay!" Rydel said loudly. "Just say everything Chris, everything that happened in the break up. We will make no interruptions."

"So it was Monday morning," Chris starts. "I was fetching her from her house, about to go to school. I was actually by her door, waiting for a very long time. I called and called but she wasn't answering. I still tried calling when she walked out the door with her phone in her hand, ringing. She passed by me, well, it was like she passing by no one. She didn't see me! I can't accept that--"

"I can't let you pass me by!" Ross sung, cutting Chris off.

"Ross, I said no interruptions and why'd you sing that?" Rydel reprimands. Her lips were pressed and she was giving Ross a look that I guess only the two of them can understand.

"So I followed her, calling her name but she ignores me. We reached the bus stop and that's the time she actually noticed me. Well, I know she knows I'm there but she ignores me. So she told me that she can't hold it anymore, pretending. She knew that whatever she was gonna do, it backfires. She said she couldn't play it anymore so she had to put things to a stop. And, that was our break up," Chris explains, cracking in the end. I guess he really loves Caroline, that's nothing to wonder about. Caroline's an amazing girl and I couldn't blame Chris for loving her so dearly. But you can't trust her, especially now. The Caroline I met can be trusted the moment you exchange your first 'hi' and 'hello'. Things are different now.

"That's it?" Rydel said blankly, no emotions. Preppy, sassy, angry, hyper; neither was shown. "You didn't even say a word?" Well, an emotion did not show but sarcasm did, I guess.

"Of course I did."

"Then spill it, stupid!" Rydel snapped.

"It wasn't done why are you so impatient," Chriss mutters. He continues, "So I asked her what is that pretending that she cannot hold onto anymore, what are those plans that backfire, what is that thing she was playing and why is it putting a stop to it needed and she replied with something that made me slap her, hard."

"And she said. . . ?" I inquire.

"She told me the whole point of being friends with me, comitting a relationship with me was all to become close with Ross," he pauses, but he had an impatient look on his face, actually, it was unexplainable. "And get this; it was a plan since seventh grade."

"What?!" I exclaim while Rydel hissed, "That girl is very sneaky." Together with Ross yelping, "Since we were twelve?!"

"I understood nothing," Chris spat.

"Sorry." Luckily, I was the only one who apologized or Chris would totally burst out in annoyance.

"But, we were best friends that time. She never informed me of having a crush on Ross," I say.

"That's because you don't know Ross yet and what was the point of telling you that she has a crush on someone you didn't know?" Rydel explains.

"But she told me this year that's the reason I became friends with Ross," I blurted out without even thinking. Ugh, it'll also come out sooner nevermind.

"What do you mean?" Ross looked back to me, asking.

"I was playing matchmaker for the two of you," I admitted. He shifts his position, now facing me with a look on his face, a look of confusion and anger there is literally no in between it was unreadable.

"How do you feel about it?" I ask Ross quietly. "Also the reason why I tutored you."

"Until now?" Ross asks.

I scoffed. "What? No! Didn't you listen to what I said? I said, I was playing matchmaker, not am. When she started going with Chris I quitted."

Ross doesn't share eye contact with anyone in the room, he was looking at unidentified space with a wry smile. "I now get everything you were asking," he stated. "I was actually weirded out," he says with chuckle. "But, why were you doing that?"

"Because she liked you," I stated the obvious.

"Well, yeah, of course I knew that." He scoffed with playful arrogance evident in his tone. "I meant, why does it have to be you? Why does Caroline need to use you as a bridge to me?"

"Why not? Is it that awful?" I ask. "If it wasn't because of that, we wouldn't have met each other."

"Aww." Rydel coos.

Ross and I looked at her with an annoyed appearance. She zipped her mouth and threw her hands up, surrendering.

"Laura, it's not that. It's not like you've heard of Leah and Byron."

"That was you?" Ross queried.

I nod. "Mhm. Also, Angelo and Maggie? Yup, matchmaker was me. Kathy and Jay? By yours truly."

"Whoa." Ross expressed.

"Laura, since you're great this matchmaking thing, I need help." Rydel speaks.

"I kind of plan on quitting but I'll give it a shot," I said. "Who?"

"You know them. You all know them." Rydel gave clues.

"You and Ratliff?" I cooed, playfully wiggling my eyebrows with a wink.

"Rydellington?" She says the ship name in an unreadable tone. "Nah, I don't think so."

"Then who?"

"I want. . ." She trailed off, a slow smile forming on her lips. Creepy.

"I want Raura to happen!" She squeal.

"Eh? That's a very hard and long process which'll clearly end not having the result that you want." I declined.

"But Ross likes you!" Rydel whines.

"I do." Ross mutters.

"See?" Rydel pointed out, dragging the 'e' sound.

"He definitely meant 'I do?'. He was asking." I defended.

"Ross." Rydel went stern on him.

"Yup, Laura's correct."

"Okay, back to me now." Chris spoke up.

"Oh yeah, you're still there!" Ross said.

Rydel rubs her plams together, asking, "So, how can we clean our businesses with Caroline?"

_____________________________________A/N:

GAH that was finally over.

The chapter not the story hahaha.

I did this chapter in the bathroom, in my room, the living room, the nail salon, the waxing salon, the car, my cousin's house my other grandma's house (mom's aunt) a theme park (lol not DLand haha im in the PH) and lots more places. If gadgets weren't prohibited in school I could've done a part of the chapter there but they are prohibited so boo school.

Ten chapters to gooo!

Huh?

What?

Huh? Wait, what? Did I just say ten chapters? TEN?

YAAA I SAID TEN!! I EXTENDED UP TO THIRTY CHAPTERS! WEEE!!

Okay, support! Vote! Comment! Follow for quicker updates on news and whatevs! Add ro your reading lists! Spread the word about this book! I want it to come to that point where I hear my schoolmates talk about my story.

LOL haha never gonna happen. R5's barely known in mu school, let alone the country.

Wasn't a great chap tbh. Really didn't know how to write it I just wanted them to know the truth like... ya know. Yep.

Get well soon Ryland. Hope you learned your lesson. Same goes to Ross and Rocky.

But, yeah. I ♡ ya guys sooo much! That's why I extended

Byeee

~raina♥