Just Go With It

BAM’S POV...

As Bam stomped across the landing from Amelia’s room to his own, he knew he had overreacted. Of course Amelia could go out to dinner with Knoxville if she wanted, he was a nice guy. And Bam had acted like an idiot at the bar. He had no idea why he’d kissed that girl. Maybe he had wanted to make Amelia jealous, but it had obviously backfired, sending her running straight to Knoxville.

Bam slammed his door shut, and kicked an abandoned skateboard so hard that it flew into the wall, leaving a dent. Why did he always have to be a dick? He wanted Amelia so badly, but she was unlike any of the girls he’d ever been with in the past. This was one of the reasons why he wanted her so much. She lit up the room whenever she entered, and she had already won the hearts of all his friends. It was a shame that he had no idea how to win her over.

He had tried it on with her so many times, but she just laughed him off and she never wanted to talk about his feeling for her. If he ignored her, she ignored him back. It seemed futile. He had never seen her as happy as when she was with Knoxville, which really bothered him, and the jealousy had messed up the time he had planned to spend with his old friend.

After his outburst the other night, Bam gave Amelia a wide berth for a while. He knew he was being childish, but it was driving him insane to be around her without being able to hold her. The one kiss they had shared by the pool had been amazing and he could not stop thinking about it. After splitting up with Jenn he thought he might have had a chance, especially after getting so close to her on the island that night. But as usual he had messed things up by trying to kiss her. He wasn’t used to rejection and was not handling the situation well at all.

“Dunn, I don’t know what to do.” He sighed one morning, turning to his best friend for what he hoped would be good advice.

“Stop acting like a jerk for a start.”

Bam sighed, and punched Dunn on the arm.

“I’m being serious dude, if you like her you need to man the fuck up and stop acting like a spoilt kid.”

“Dude, do you want me to kick your ass?” Bam mumbled.

He knew his friend was right, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear the harsh truth. Trust Dunn to say it like it was. Amelia had just been offered an interview in New York, and Bam had been the only one not to congratulate her.

“I’m just telling it like it is.” Dunn said solemnly.

“How can I get her to like me?”

Dunn shrugged, giving his friend up as a lost cause.

“Fuck this shit I’m out of here.” Bam sighed, grabbing the keys to his Hummer.

If there was one thing that would take his mind off women it was booze. Booze and more women. Dunn mumbled something, before he and Novak followed close behind.

The three friends spent the day drinking. As Dunn and Novak flirted with several girls, Bam found himself hunched over the bar with a cigarette, unwilling or unable to join them. He couldn’t take his mind off Amelia, and what he would give to be spending the day with her rather than sitting here in this stinking, smoky bar. After stubbing out the remains of his cigarettes, he quickly drained his glass of beer.

The more Bam drank, the more depressed he felt, and he knew things would end badly if he let himself spiral downwards any further. He had seen what had happened to his older friends, and he would be damned if he was going to turn into a fat, broke, alcoholic. He was only twenty three, with the rest of his life ahead of him. With a sudden surge of confidence, he gathered up his friends, and decided to head back to the castle. All he had to do was persuade Amelia to go to New York with him. Spending a few days together without the others could be the perfect way for him to get closer to her and prove himself.

Bam, Dunn and Novak returned to the castle in high spirits, especially after an interesting phone call from Knoxville about some ideas for the next Jackass film. They piled into the kitchen where Amelia was washing the dishes. Like a gentleman, Dunn hurried over to give her a hand, while Bam pulled up a seat with Novak, continuing their crude conversation. He glanced over at Amelia, wondering when to approach her, when all of a sudden the dish she was holding smashed to the floor.

MEANWHILE AMELIA’s POV...

Over the next week or so, Bam moped around the castle, more miserable than ever, which Amelia suspected was down to their argument. She did not feel inclined to apologise to him, as she had had enough of his childlike tantrums. Regardless of her conversation with Johnny, she had made her mind up to move out of the castle. It was the only way she would be able to get on with her life without being mentally tormented by Bam. She was keeping in regular contact with Johnny via texts and phone calls, but no amount of persuasion on his part could get her to change her mind. She suspected it may have been a different matter if he was around in person. Johnny Knoxville was a very persuasive man.

One morning she was sitting in her room browsing the internet for flats to rent in the West Chester area, when her phone started ringing. She glanced at the caller id, hoping it would be Johnny, only to be disappointed that it was her MTV manager back in LA.

“Hi Amelia, everything okay your end?” he asked, in a friendly tone.

“Hi Pete. Yes thanks, its going great.” She lied, finding it odd to be receiving a courtesy call.

“That’s fantastic. I’ve got you another possible job for when the filming for this season of Viva La Bam is finished.”

“Oh! Really!?” she exclaimed, unable to hide her surprise.

“Yeah, it’s a big deal. There’ll be a lot of travelling involved, but its big money and it could be a big break for you.”

Amelia didn’t know what to say. “Wow, thanks. What is it?”

“I can’t say too much at the moment, but get yourself up to New York tomorrow. The producers want to meet you at the MTV headquarters.”

“Tomorrow!? Okay.” She laughed, incredulous, jotting down the details on to a piece of paper.

She hung up the phone, and felt a mixture of apprehension and nerves wash over her. If things went well tomorrow, maybe she would have to leave Bam anyway.

Pushing all thoughts of leaving to the back of her mind, she went downstairs to share her news with everyone. The guys were over the moon for her.

“Don’t worry Amelia.” Smiled Dunn. “You’ll get the job, whatever it may be.”

“What if I don’t like the sound of it?” she chuckled, receiving hugs from everyone apart from Bam.

“Oh I’m sure you will.” Dunn grinned.

That afternoon Amelia packed a few days worth of clothes and essentials into a small suitcase, and put it into her car so she was all ready to go the next morning. The guys had tried to persuade her to let them join her on her trip, but she really needed some space, and turned them down as politely as she could. Bam still had not said a word to her, which convinced her even further that moving out was the best thing to do.

That evening was a quiet affair. April and Phil had gone out to dinner, while Bam, Dunn and Novak had been missing for most of the day. This left Amelia and Rake to babysit Dico and Raab.

“At least you get paid for this.” Grumbled Rake, as the two idiots engaged in a sword fight over the dining table.

“Not enough.” She laughed.

Later on, while Amelia was washing the dishes, she heard Bam and company return. Dunn spotted her in the kitchen, and went to give her a hand. Novak and Bam followed him into the room, but sat down at the table and continued their conversation about a girl they had met in the bar.

“She had the biggest pair I have ever seen!” Novak was saying, enthusiastically. Bam laughed, oblivious as was now usual, to Amelia’s presence.

“Nah I’ve had bigger.” Bam argued.

“Yeah right, you wish.” Novak sniggered.

Bam glanced over at Amelia and caught her eye.

It was as if Amelia had lost control of her body. The plate she had been holding slipped from her hand, smashing into pieces on the floor. The kitchen went quiet. Dunn, Novak and Bam stared at her, waiting to see what she was going to do.

Avoiding eye contact with anyone, Amelia walked as calmly as possible out of the room and into the front yard, unaware that tears were now streaming down her cheek. Hastily, she unlocked her car and jumped in. She had no idea where she intended to go; she just knew that she had to get away from the castle.

Giving herself a few seconds to form a plan, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her mascara had started to run, leaving a black smudge below each of her eyes. She rubbed the marks away as best she could, and turned on the engine. Amelia knew she was being ridiculous and over reacting, but she was just so fed up of Bam’s immaturity.

“Amelia, what are you doing!?” Bam’s head appeared at the window. Those were the first words he had spoken to her since Johnny had left. It was like hearing his voice for the first time.

“I’m moving out.” She told him, calmly. “I’ll stay at the airport hotel tonight.”

“What!? Don’t be so ri-goddamn-diculous! Get out of the car.” He yelled, swinging the door open.

“No Bam, it’s obvious my being here isn’t working. We need some space.” Amelia felt her blood pressure rising.

“Are you being serious? You can’t just leave!” he continued to yell, pulling at his hair in frustration.

“Why not? You can’t even stand to speak to me!”

“Because I can’t stand not being able to have you, I can’t trust myself around you.”

“Fuck off and leave me alone Bam!” she shouted, surprising even herself. The anger was rising in her chest.

“Stop being so ridiculous Amelia!” He grabbed her keys from the ignition and stormed off.

“Stop being so childish Bam!” she shouted, unbuckling her seat belt and hurrying after him. “I need my keys to get to the airport you idiot!” She ran after him as he climbed the stairs, and she managed to grab hold of his shirt as he got halfway.

“No you don’t, I’m coming to New York with you.” He paused, releasing his shirt from her grasp.

“No you’re not!”

By now they were heading into Bam’s room, but Amelia didn’t care. Her priority was to get the keys from Bam and to get out of the castle. She followed him into the room and stormed towards him. He threw the keys away and grabbed her wrists to prevent her from hitting him.

Without warning, Bam started to kiss her roughly on the lips in a bid to stop her screaming, and Amelia found herself kissing him back. She had lost it. From that moment on, whatever happened was out of her control. This kiss was different to the first. It was harder and had a sense of urgency. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. She ran her fingers through his hair, surprised by how soft his curls felt. His beard rubbed against her mouth, driving her insane. She had wanted this for so long, and now it was happening she couldn’t believe she hadn’t given in sooner. He pushed her backwards on to the bed, continuing to kiss her. After what seemed like a life time, Bam pulled away.

“Please don’t leave me Amelia.” He said, looking at her seriously. “Stay here in the castle.”

“But Bam, I can’t cope with this tension between us.” She sighed, pulling herself up into a sitting position.

“Then give me a chance to show you how much you mean to me.” He pleaded, placing a rough hand on her cheek.

She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She wanted to believe him so much.

“I don’t know if I can trust you.” She admitted.

“I won’t let you down.” He took her face gently in his hands, and kissed her delicately, but passionately.

She had no inclination to resist, and kissed him back until they fell back on to the bed, exhausted.

When she was sure that Bam was sound asleep, Amelia untangled herself from his arms and tiptoed out of his room and into her own. She had completely forgotten that her car keys were still in his possession.