Sequel: You Could Be Happy ›
Wilted and Faded
when I wake up in my make-up
Blinking slowly back to consciousness I realised I had fallen asleep, again.
Pushing myself up from the comfortable bed in one of Johnny’s many guest bedrooms I noticed that I must have slept the whole day away as it was dark outside. Rubbing my eyes I stumbled over to where I had deposited my bag and rummaged through it, looking for a change of clothes. Grabbing a pair of black shorts and a Misfits shirt I stripped out of my clothes.
As I was moving around I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I ran my hand through my hair, the pink and blonde streaks looked cheap and nasty, the dark circles under my eyes were still there. Running my other hand over my collarbone, I noticed how much it stuck out, turning to the side my ribs were visible and my hips jutted out against the elastic of my boyshorts. When had I gotten so disgustingly thin? Turning to face the mirror again I noticed my once naturally curvy figure looked emaciated and unnatural.
I quickly threw on the Misfits shirt but swapped my shorts for grey sweatpants and swept my hair back in a lose bun. As I made my way down the stairs I could hear voices from the kitchen, suddenly remembering what Johnny said about Brian’s band staying with him.
“Well hello there sleeping beauty!” Brian grinned as I entered the kitchen.
“Hey Brian,” I smiled slightly as he engulfed me in a bear hug.
“How you doing, kid?” he asked quietly so only I could hear.
“I’m gonna be okay,” I reassured myself as much as him.
“Good to hear,” he smiled as he released me from his iron grip.
It was then that I noticed the two other guys in the room. One was pale with shaggy black hair and clutched a cup of coffee in his hand while the other had shorter dark hair and was perched on the counter, his Converse clad feet dangling over the tile floor. Both were obviously in a band, they just had that air about them.
“Ruby this is Gerard and Frank. Guys this is Johnny’s little sister Ruby.”
I waved, “Hi.”
“Always good to meet another Misfits fan,” smiled the taller of the two, Gerard.
“Yeah,” agreed Frank.
I suddenly felt self conscious under his hazel gaze and nervously tucked some of my hideous pink bangs behind my ear. Social situations were usually my thing, I mean I went to parties for a living for fuck sake, so why did I feel so tongue tied around two guys I’d never met before?
“So you guys are in a band?” I asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“Yeah, My Chemical Romance,” Gerard answered.
“Oh! I’ve heard your stuff, it’s great. Bullets wasn’t out of my stereo for the longest time. And 3 Cheers was awesome.”
I cringed inwardly at my rambling and wished the ground would swallow me up, suddenly feeling like a little fan girl.
Realising that this was a totally one-sided conversation I’d managed to get myself into I cringed again, what was he supposed to ask me? ‘So you drink copious amounts of alcohol and don’t get up till noon everyday?’
“Thanks,” Gerard smiled graciously.
There was an awkward silence as we all stood, not looking at each other.
“So we were about to watch a movie. Wanna join us?” Brian asked.
“Sure,” I replied.
I followed him into the living room and settled down for what could possibly be the most uncomfortable evening of my life.
Pushing myself up from the comfortable bed in one of Johnny’s many guest bedrooms I noticed that I must have slept the whole day away as it was dark outside. Rubbing my eyes I stumbled over to where I had deposited my bag and rummaged through it, looking for a change of clothes. Grabbing a pair of black shorts and a Misfits shirt I stripped out of my clothes.
As I was moving around I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I ran my hand through my hair, the pink and blonde streaks looked cheap and nasty, the dark circles under my eyes were still there. Running my other hand over my collarbone, I noticed how much it stuck out, turning to the side my ribs were visible and my hips jutted out against the elastic of my boyshorts. When had I gotten so disgustingly thin? Turning to face the mirror again I noticed my once naturally curvy figure looked emaciated and unnatural.
I quickly threw on the Misfits shirt but swapped my shorts for grey sweatpants and swept my hair back in a lose bun. As I made my way down the stairs I could hear voices from the kitchen, suddenly remembering what Johnny said about Brian’s band staying with him.
“Well hello there sleeping beauty!” Brian grinned as I entered the kitchen.
“Hey Brian,” I smiled slightly as he engulfed me in a bear hug.
“How you doing, kid?” he asked quietly so only I could hear.
“I’m gonna be okay,” I reassured myself as much as him.
“Good to hear,” he smiled as he released me from his iron grip.
It was then that I noticed the two other guys in the room. One was pale with shaggy black hair and clutched a cup of coffee in his hand while the other had shorter dark hair and was perched on the counter, his Converse clad feet dangling over the tile floor. Both were obviously in a band, they just had that air about them.
“Ruby this is Gerard and Frank. Guys this is Johnny’s little sister Ruby.”
I waved, “Hi.”
“Always good to meet another Misfits fan,” smiled the taller of the two, Gerard.
“Yeah,” agreed Frank.
I suddenly felt self conscious under his hazel gaze and nervously tucked some of my hideous pink bangs behind my ear. Social situations were usually my thing, I mean I went to parties for a living for fuck sake, so why did I feel so tongue tied around two guys I’d never met before?
“So you guys are in a band?” I asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“Yeah, My Chemical Romance,” Gerard answered.
“Oh! I’ve heard your stuff, it’s great. Bullets wasn’t out of my stereo for the longest time. And 3 Cheers was awesome.”
I cringed inwardly at my rambling and wished the ground would swallow me up, suddenly feeling like a little fan girl.
Realising that this was a totally one-sided conversation I’d managed to get myself into I cringed again, what was he supposed to ask me? ‘So you drink copious amounts of alcohol and don’t get up till noon everyday?’
“Thanks,” Gerard smiled graciously.
There was an awkward silence as we all stood, not looking at each other.
“So we were about to watch a movie. Wanna join us?” Brian asked.
“Sure,” I replied.
I followed him into the living room and settled down for what could possibly be the most uncomfortable evening of my life.