Recipe For Disaster

At school that week, life went on as usual. Ronnie and Alex continued to hang out occasionally, but Ronnie had taken to disappearing at lunch time. At first, Alex tried to shrug it off - it really wasn’t his business, he wasn’t her father or anything. But, after a couple weeks of it happening, he was beginning to grow curious - and slightly annoyed. He was starting to feel like he never saw her at school.

“Hey, Ronnie?” he asked one day in their second period English class.

“Hey, Alex?”

“Where do you go all the time at lunch?” asked Alex, trying to sound casual.

She shrugged. “Oh, just with some friends I’ve made. Why?”

Alex shrugged too. “Just wondering.”

Ronnie smiled and returned to writing her paper.

This would have satisfied most people, but Alex got the distinct feeling that something was being hidden from him. He wanted desperately to find out what it was, but he didn’t want to be annoying and nag Ronnie about it. She didn’t strike him as the type that liked to be smothered.

A short while later, the bell rang, and Ronnie gathered her things together and stood up. “Well I’ll see you later, Alex,” Ronnie said and smiled, ruffled his hair, and exited the classroom.

Sighing in frustration, Alex picked up his binder and walked to his locker. He had a third period spare, so for lunch he usually went home. The entire time, he couldn’t stop wondering what it was that Ronnie was up to. He knew they hadn’t been friends for a very long, but he felt like he never got to talk to her anymore - he missed it. Ronnie wasn’t another one of the mindless idiots who usually threw themselves after him - she was real, had things to say. Making his decision, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted, Hey, do you want to hang out tomorrow? :]

He tossed his phone beside him on his bed and picked up his acoustic guitar, strumming random chords and making a melody out of them. After goofing around for a little while, he looked at the clock and saw that it was time for him to head back to school for his last class. Alex picked up his phone and walked out of the house.

He slid his phone open to see that Ronnie had replied to his message. Sure! What do you want to do?

Alex put his thumbs to work. I don’t know… We can figure it out tomorrow. I’ll swing by your place whenever I wake up?

Sounds good, see you then! (L)

In a slightly better mood, Alex proceeded to their school and sat through his fourth period history class, not paying much attention.

One thing was for certain, though - he was going to get to the bottom of what was going on with Ronnie, no matter what it took.

------- x -------

The next morning, Alex rolled out of bed at nine thirty - surprisingly early, by his standards. After getting dressed, he walked the five-minute distance to Ronnie’s house and knocked on the front door.

The door opened to reveal Ronnie’s mother with a warm smile on her face. “Hi, Alex,” she greeted and opened the door wider. “Come on in.”

Alex stepped into the house and was hit with the smell of bacon and eggs. “I’m just making breakfast,” Beth needlessly said as she walked towards the kitchen. “Would you like some?”

“That would be great,” said Alex.

“If you’re looking for Ronnie, she’s in her room - I’ll call the two of you when the food is ready.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Alex ventured to Ronnie’s room and lightly knocked on the door. When Ronnie didn’t answer, he figured she was still sleeping. Alex quietly opened the door and walked over to the sleeping girl. Smirking, he lightly jumped horizontally across the bed so he was sprawled out on top of her.

“Wakey wakey!” he said cheerfully. Ronnie groaned.

“Fuck off,” she mumbled and put her pillow over her head. “It’s too early for this, asshole.”

“Have a late night last night, did we?” Alex asked.

“Mhm. I want sleep.”

“Too bad, your mom’s making breakfast.” Alex re-positioned himself so he was sitting beside her.

With an exasperated sigh, Ronnie sat up slowly and yawned. “I’m not quite sure why I bother talking to you,” she said grumpily. “Ploughing into me, leaving me to sleep in a field, waking me up before ten o’clock in the morning…” She grinned slightly. “You’re walking on thin ice, Gaskarth.”

“Because I’m perfect, that’s why,” replied Alex smugly. Ronnie rolled her eyes, threw the covers off herself, and stood up.

Alex nearly fell off the bed when she did this. Ronnie was wearing a tight-fitting tank top and a pair of booty shorts, but they fit her body so well that it made himself start to think unforgivable thoughts.

“…ALEX!” she shouted, waving her hand. He had zoned out. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, raising her eyebrows in curiosity.

Alex mentally shook himself. “Sorry, what?”

“I was asking if you knew what my mom is making.”

“Oh - um, bacon and eggs and shit.”

“Okay.” Ronnie studied herself in the mirror, and Alex almost slipped out that she definitely didn’t need to be worrying about what she looked like.

“I’m, uh, going to go see how breakfast is coming along,” he said, and rushed out of the room.

“What the fuck was that about?” Ronnie asked aloud, and proceeded to throw her hair up into a ponytail. She shook her head and ventured into the kitchen.

“Oh, good,” said Beth upon seeing her daughter enter the room. “You two can take a seat, breakfast is ready.”

The three of them ate without much conversation, just small talk. After she was finished, Ronnie stood up with her plate. “Do you mind if I go take a quick shower, Alex?” she asked. “Then we can figure out what we’re doing.”

He nodded. “Sure.”

Ronnie rinsed her plate, put it in the sink, and stalked off to her bedroom.

“Do you need any help cleaning up?” asked Alex politely, taking his plate to the sink as well.

“Oh no, dear, it’s alright,” said Beth. She looked stressed out.

“Um… forgive me for asking, but is everything okay?”

Beth hesitated. “I’ve just been having some suspicions with Ronnie.”

“Do you mind if I ask what they are?”

She sighed. “Actually, now that I think about it, I’m hoping you might be able to help,” said Beth.

“Sure, what’s the problem?”

“I think she’s into drugs again.”

Alex almost wet himself; his face turned pale and his mouth turned into a thin line. “Drugs? Again?”

She nodded. “When she was fourteen, she got caught. And as far as I know, she hasn’t touched them since, until recently.”

“How long has this been doing on?”

“For a few weeks, I suppose,” said Beth. She looked quite concerned.

He nodded, seeming incapable of words. “I’ll - I’ll… yeah, I’ll try to talk to her.”

“Thank you, Alex,” whispered Beth.

“Do you mind if I go wait for her in her room?” he asked after a moment.

“Go ahead.”

Alex knew he had to hurry; he rushed to Ronnie’s room and began his search. It appeared that Ronnie hadn’t gone to very great lengths to try to hide it; when the opened her night table drawer (the first place he tried looking, actually), he found it - a zip-lock bag containing the grass-like substance. There was even a lighter. Alex scooped them up and pocketed them; he sat on the bed waiting, shoulders tense.

About ten minutes later, he heard footsteps from down the hall. Alex stood up and crossed the room so he was standing by the door.

A towel-clad Ronnie opened the door, and Alex almost had to remind himself to focus. He snapped out of it. She jumped slightly.

“Shit, you scared me for a second,” she said and smiled slightly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get dressed…” she walked past him and stopped at her dresser. When he didn’t leave, she looked up.

“Is something wrong?” asked Ronnie, noticing the expression on Alex’s face.

“Yes, actually.” His mouth had become dry.

Ronnie adapted an inquisitive look.

Alex slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out the bag. Ronnie’s eyes widened.

“How about explaining this to me, Ronnie?”