Notebook, One-shot
Title: Notebook
Author: luckyj52587
Rating: G
Pairings: Rob/Kristen, Jackson/Ashley
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone. I also don't own The Notebook.
Spoiler Alert: I basically ruin the entire plot of The Notebook for you.
“So things with you and Jackson are good?” Kristen asked.
Ashley smiled softly. “Yeah. Really good.”
There was a pause, and then Ashley looked at Kristen. “How’re things going with Rob?”
Kristen sighed. “I’m annoyed with him.”
“Did you get in a fight?” Ashley asked, concerned.
But Kristen shook her head. “No. I went shopping with Nikki, and we ran into Michael.”
“Oh,” Ashley said, eyes going wide.
But Kristen shook her head. “No, it wasn’t bad. We stopped and talked - well, mainly it was Nikki doing the talking - and that was it. But then when I got home, Michael sent me a text saying it was good to see me.”
“Good, like - “
“No,” Kristen said, knowing what Ashley was thinking. “Good like, he’s glad we can see each other and not get into a screaming match or have it be terribly awkward or something. I knew what he meant, I was glad everything was okay too. I mean all that stuff happened so long ago, and now it just seems like, it’s official that it’s all in the past, you know?”
Ashley nodded. “Okay, that makes sense.”
“Yes! Thank you. I was feeling like, so grown-up about it, about everything. But when Rob found out he got all pissy.”
“Oh, so you got in a fight?” Ashley asked sympathetically.
Kristen shook her head. “Ugh, no, he did that thing where he just gets all quiet and says it’s fine, and his voice gets all serious. It’s really annoying, and when I call him on it he pretends like everything’s fine. And then after awhile he’s acting fine again, mostly, but there’s like…this trace of something there, and it’s really annoying.”
“That sucks.”
Kristen shrugged. “Yeah. So I’m kinda annoyed with him, which he knows but isn’t doing anything about. So…I don’t know, I just kinda needed a break.”
She let out a breath. “Sorry I just dumped all this on you.”
Ashley put an arm around Kristen’s shoulders. “It’s fine. Wanna go out and get drunk?”
Kristen pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment, then shook her head. “Not really.”
“Hmm,” Ashley said, glancing around her apartment.
Her eyes lit up. “I know!”
She dashed over to her DVD stand, and picked one out. “Let’s watch this!”
Kristen moved closer, and saw Ashley was holding up a copy of The Notebook. “I’ve never seen it,” Kristen confessed.
Ashley’s mouth dropped in shock. “Never?” she asked in disbelief.
“Nope.”
“Oh my God. We are watching this immediately. It’s just…it’s so…they’re…you have to watch it.”
Kristen looked at Ashley, wary of her enthusiasm. “Well, start it up.”
************************************************************************
“What are they doing, anyway?” Rob asked as they walked outside.
Jackson shrugged. “Whatever girls do during girls’ night.”
Rob’s face scrunched up in thought. “Like paint each other’s nails?”
“Why do you keep asking me about this? How should I know?”
“You have sisters.”
“So do you,” Jackson pointed out.
Rob paused, then continued triumphantly, “I only have two. You have three. So you should know more.”
Jackson merely raised his eyebrows at Rob, who was grinning. “They’re talking about you,” Michelle put in.
Rob, Jackson, and a group of Jackson’s friends were finally heading home after a night out in LA. Michelle, Jerad’s wife, had caught up to Rob and Jackson and heard the tail-end of their conversation. Kristen and Ashley had told Rob and Jackson they were having a girls’ night in, and so the guys would have to go out without them. Now, as they started heading back to Ashley’s apartment, Rob and Jackson had started wondering what their girlfriends had been doing all night.
“What?” Rob asked Michelle.
He didn’t seem to mind including her in their conversation even though he didn’t know her very well. Rob was a little buzzed, and he had certainly never been accused of being a belligerent drunk. “On girls’ night, you talk about your boyfriends,” Michelle informed him.
Jerad had caught up to them as well, and he put an arm around his wife. “And husbands,” she added, smiling up at Jerad.
“Like bad stuff? Or bragging?” Rob persisted.
“Why are you so interested?” Jackson wanted to know.
“I have an inquisitive nature,” Rob said loftily.
But Jackson just looked at him carefully for a moment. “You did something,” Jackson decided.
“I did not!”
Jackson grinned, even more sure now that he heard the defensive note in Rob’s voice. “You know,” Jackson said casually. “Kristen’s the one that called Ashley, wanting a girls’ night. She wanted to talk to Ashley without you or me around.”
Rob and Jackson got into a cab, waving goodbye to the others. Jackson continued their conversation with, “Why would that be, do you think?”
“Jackson, let me explain something to you,” Rob said, gesturing wildly with his hands.
“Here we go,” Jackson muttered, but Rob wasn’t paying attention.
“Actresses,” Rob went on. “Are very dramatic. Everything’s always a big deal. They jump to conclusions. There’s really nothing you can do, you just have to go with it.”
“As I happen to be dating an actress,” Jackson said dryly. “I know you’re full of - “
“Right! So you know what I mean,” Rob interrupted.
He glanced at Jackson, who simply had a bemused expression on his face. “All right,” Rob said, his voice getting lower. “Kristen might be a bit pissed with me at the moment.”
Jackson smirked. “Knew it.”
The cab pulled up in front of Ashley’s building, and they paid and got out. “It’s not my fault,” Rob complained as they walked up the stairs to Ashley’s floor. “It’s really not, this time.”
Jackson fished a key out of his pocket, putting it in the lock and opening the door. “Ooooh, you have a key,” Rob whispered.
Jackson ignored him, walking into Ashley’s apartment, and was surprised to find it mostly dark. “Ashley?” Jackson called out.
He looked at Rob, who shrugged. The two of them walked further into the apartment, spotting a glow coming from the living room. They walked in to find credits rolling on the TV, and Ashley and Kristen sitting on the floor. “Hey,” Jackson said, hitting the lights.
As light flooded the room, Jackson and Rob got their first good look at Ashley and Kristen. Both were sniffling and, judging by their red and puffy eyes, had been crying for awhile. “Geez what’d you do?” Jackson asked Rob under his breath.
“This is not my fault,” Rob hissed back, looking slightly panicked.
“Chill out,” Kristen said, seeing the look on Rob’s face. “We just finished watching The Notebook.”
“What’s that?” Rob asked, taking a cautious step forward as Kristen got to her feet.
Ashley stood as well, hastily wiping the tears from her eyes. “Sappy romance movie,” Jackson answered Rob.
Rob smirked. “I guess you’d know, seeing as you have three sisters.”
Jackson rolled his eyes. Ashley came over to him and he wrapped his arms around her as she hugged him tightly. “Hey darlin’,” he said quietly.
“Hi,” Ashley said softly, her voice muffled by his shirt.
Rob was eyeing Kristen warily. She appeared to have herself under control, but her cheeks were still wet. “Ready to go?” he asked her cautiously.
Kristen nodded wordlessly, then turned to Ashley and Jackson. “Night guys.”
Ashley pulled herself away from Jackson and gave Kristen a hug, whispering something to her that caused Kristen to smile. “See ya Rob,” Ashley said, and Kristen and Rob left.
Ashley turned back to Jackson, then put her arms around his neck. She leaned forward, giving him a brief kiss. “What’d you say to Kristen?” Jackson asked when she pulled back.
Ashley smiled. “Oh, just a line from the movie we watched.”
Jackson put his arms around her waist. “You’re not usually a crier.”
“I know. But it’s The Notebook. How could anyone not cry during that movie?”
“Hey, they’re together in the end, right?” Jackson said, trying to cheer her up.
To his surprise and horror, Ashley’s eyes filled with tears. “What?” he asked, feeling as panicked as Rob had looked earlier. “It’s good that they’re together, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Ashley said tearfully. “It’s just so beautiful!”
“Aw, sweetheart,” Jackson said, hugging her to him.
Ashley buried her face in his shoulder for a moment, then pulled back and looked at him. She blinked her tears away and smiled at Jackson. “I love you,” she said.
He smiled back at her, bringing his forehead to hers and looking into her eyes. “I love you too.”
************************************************************************
“So…did you like the movie?” Rob asked Kristen as they walked out to Kristen’s car.
“Yeah.”
An awkwardness had fallen between them, as they walked the rest of the way to the car in silence. They got into the car, Kristen sitting in the driver’s seat. She put the keys in the ignition, then paused. “Actually,” she said, dropping the keys in her lap and turning to face Rob. “I really liked the movie. It’s this great love story.”
Rob twisted in his seat too, so he could look directly at her. Kristen had been annoyed with him all day, and maybe they could finally resolve it. “Oh yeah?” he asked.
“Yeah. The girl - Rachel McAdams - and the guy, who’s played by Ryan Gosling, have this perfect summer together. Well it’s not perfect, because they argue and fight and stuff a lot, but it just like…intensifies their relationship, you know? But then the summer’s over. And their differences and life and everything get in the way, and they end up not seeing each other for years. And Rachel McAdams’ character gets engaged to this other guy, who’s perfect in every way, but then she freaks out when the wedding gets closer and starts thinking about Noah.”
At Rob’s questioning look, she clarifies. “Noah’s the Ryan Gosling character. Anyway, so she goes back to see him and of course the attraction’s still there.”
Despite the movie’s genre - sappy love story - Rob was finding himself enthralled with the story. Kristen’s face was animated as she spoke, and he was already rooting for the Ryan Gosling character to get the girl instead of the stupid fiancée who was seemingly perfect for her.
Kristen continued. “And so then she has to choose, and she wants him to tell her what to do. But all he keeps telling her is that he loves her but she has to do what she wants, and not think about anyone else but just do what’s right for her.”
“So does she choose him?”
Kristen had to smile. Rob had gotten into the story. “Well, I don’t want to give it away…” she teased.
“Spill, Stewart,” Rob ordered.
She raised an eyebrow, but she finished the story. “She chooses him. And then they live a long and happy life together, and being in love with each other is the best thing either of them did.”
Rob’s hand had found hers, his thumb rubbing circles on her palm. “That’s a good ending.”
“Yeah, it is. She knew that she had to follow her heart and that led her to Noah, even if they fought a lot or didn’t view everything the same way, even if it’d be hard. Because he was the one who challenged her and made her laugh and loved her more than anything.”
Rob’s fingers tightened over hers for a moment, then relaxed and gently started stroking her hand again. “Those are good reasons to choose him.”
Kristen looked into Rob’s eyes and for the first time since he’d found out about Michael’s text, he seemed completely relaxed. No slight tension in his body, no hidden annoyance or uncertainty in his eyes. Maybe the movie had softened her up, but Kristen felt her heart melt. “Yes, they are,” she answered quietly, bringing a hand to his face.
Rob looked up and his gaze locked with hers. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”