Disenchanted

I walked down the stairs in a mid-length, long sleeved, blank knit dress with a belt around my waist and a pair of plain flats on feet. The top half of my hair was pulled into a neat ponytail with the rest hanging free. I grabbed my phone, car keys and purse.
"Hey, do you want me to drive you to work?" Will popped up.
I gave him a smile but shook my head.
"You already drove me last night, I can handle tonight. Besides, I want you to have fun," I tried to convince him.
"But it won't be fun without you," he whined childishly.
"Yes, it will. I'll see you when I finish. You can take Alex's room if you want. He has a full sized bed already," I offered, walking out the door to my car.
"Okay. Well, have fun at work," Will wished.
"Thanks, I will," I said, climbing into my car.
He waved and I took off.

I hummed happily to myself as I drove in and parked. I had shown the guard my little pink slip that Chester had given me and he'd waved me in. I felt like I was part of something. Like I belonged somewhere.
I cut the engine and went to the elevator and waited patiently. The elevator dinged and I walked across the foyer and down the hall to the room where I had conducted my interview yesterday. I took a deep breath and entered. Chester was waiting for me and he gave me a big, warm smile.
"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked, putting his headphones around his neck.
"I'm pretty excited," I confessed.
"That is fantastic, now don't worry we haven't had a band suddenly sign up to talk to, so we're just going to take it easy tonight. Just talk to our audience. Basically the gist of it is to create a bond with our listeners. Something that makes them want to tune into," Chester explained as I came around to sit next to him.
"I can do that. People call me lovable all the time," I laughed.
Chester just grinned.
"Take it away then," he challenged.

I pulled on my headphones and flicked on my switch.
"Hey everyone! Do you remember me? I was the weird girl that was on last night, Bella. Anyway, dear ol' Chester here has given me a challenge, I have to make three new friends by the end of my shift! At first I was a bit scared but now, I'm just have my fingers crossed. So, to kick start the night, lets play a game of twenty questions!" I announced, excitedly, clapping my hands.
"Basically how it'll go is that you guys call up and you each get two questions, and I'll answer and ask you two questions! How does that sound?" I asked.
Instantly three lights flashed, signalling that three people were calling.
"Apparently you do, three of you are already interested," I chuckled.
I flicked a switch on line one and set the volume accordingly.
"Hi, it's Bella, what questions do you have for me?" I asked cheerfully.
"Hi, my name's Derek, what's your idea of a perfect date?"
"Hmm. This comes from personal experience. My perfect date was actually my first ever date. He took me ice skating before taking me out to a picnic, then he took me to a beach! A beach at night is the most romantic thing ever, Derek. Remember that for your special lady," I answered.
"Okay, I will. How do you like to be asked on a date?"
"I just like to be asked. I don't worry about anything fancy. I can't be bothered with that personally, unless you're asking her to marry you, just ask her," I answered.
"Oh, okay. So what questions do you have for me?"
"What kind of music do you like?" I asked.
"Mostly hard rock, metal kinda stuff with a bit of punk thrown in, no one at my school seems to like it..."
"So Metallica, Led Zepplin, Atreyu, Bullet For My Valentine and a bit of Sex Pistols and The Distillers?" I asked.
"Yes! Hell yes! I love The Distillers! You are awesome!"
I chuckled.
"Don't worry Derek, you're not alone. I'm a bit of a fan of all that stuff too. I grew up on it," I reassured him.
"Drats! Look, I have to go, my mom is calling for me. Thanks so much for answering my questions!"
"No worries at all Derek, feel free to call back at any time during eleven pm and three am, to talk. I particularly want to know how it goes with your special lady," I said.
"Oh, and tell Chester you have one friend already!"
"I will, thank you," I chuckled as he hung up.
I looked over at Chester and smirked triumphantly; he just laughed in response.

The whole night went along easily, every three people I would stop and play some music, I knew how tedious it was just to listen to someone speak for an hour and a half so I tried to break it up. Most people loved me and by the end of the night I had over twenty 'friends'.
"So how did that go?" I asked Chester.
"Well, I have to say, you did much better and got accepted much quicker and easier than I expected. Our last guy received hate mail for three weeks for 'taking over' the spot," Chester admitted.
My eyes widened.
"Well, I guess I got lucky," I shrugged.
"No. You've got a perfect personality for this kind of work, happy, bubbly, willing to talk to yourself," he teased slightly.
I laughed.
"You've got that right," I agreed to the last part.
"Well, this will be your role every night except Wednesdays and Fridays. Those nights we have a sort of 'DIY show' thing. It's really popular. Anyone can come in and host their own show for a half hour to an hour," Chester explained.
"That sounds awesome," I replied. "I'll have to tune in on those nights, see what goes on."
"I think you'd enjoy it. You can get some pretty obscure stuff sometimes," Chester said.
I laughed and quirked an eyebrow at him.
"And you think I'm into obscure kinda stuff, hey?" I teased.
"If you weren't then you wouldn't be here," Chester snorted.
I nodded at him.
"Touche," I agreed.
"Right, so, I just need you to sign these forms, give me your tax number etcetera, etcetera, bring them back as soon as you can," Chester informed me, giving me a punch of paperwork.
"Can do. Is there anything else?" I asked.
"Nope. You're free to go," he announced.
"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow," I called, cheerily.
Chester nodded and started to walk into his office.
"Oh, and Bella!" he called after me.
"Yeah?" I asked, turning back around.
"You did good tonight," he complimented and I beamed in response.

I drove back home, humming cheerily. I felt absolutely elated. I did good tonight. I was good at my job. I have a job. It just kept floating around my head and I could feel a slight tingling in my bones. I pulled into my driveway and saw that the party had subdued a bit, but was still going. I grabbed my paperwork and walked inside.
The Used was gone, most of The Academy Is... was gone, Ray and Gerard had left but everyone else was still drinking in the lounge room.
"Honey, I'm home!" I sang.
"BELLAAA!" screeched Sisky as he threw himself at me.
I let out a half garbled scream as he knocked me to the ground, my papers fluttering everywhere.
"Good to see you missed me," I joked.
"What're you talkin' about? I always missoo! Yous pend too much time with Misser Girly Pants over there! Why don'too visit me?" he whined/slurred, his hand gesturing to William.
"I think it's because he has awesome hair. Plus, if I ever need a change of pants I know where to look," I teased, looking over at Will.
"So that's where my pants keep disappearing to!" Will cried.
I just laughed. I had never actually worn a pair of Will's pants, but I like to joke with the boys.
I sat up and Sisky finally moved off of me. I saw that everyone was in a circle doing shots and I shook my head.
"What are you guys playing?" I asked.
"Never Have I Ever," slurred out Mikey.
"You guys are so lame," I laughed.
"Nuh uh, you're lame," Frank shot back.
"Whatever you say. Anyway, I'm tired and I'm off to bed, so night everyone. Drink happily," I wished, standing up.
"Stay for a shot or two!" William begged.
"Sorry, m'dear. But I have to be up early in the morning. Have a shot for me," I declined regretfully.
I would have like to join them but I had to pick up Alex in the morning and I couldn't do that hung over. I had responsibilities that the boys didn't.
"Alex will be fine until you pick him up. Just loosen up a little. You're always being responsible. You're always being a mom. Just... be twenty-six and take a damn shot," Bob grumbled, thrusting a shot in my direction.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Back... the fuck... up... You're... a fucking mom?!" Frank exclaimed in shock.
I looked at him and smiled.
"Yeah. Four years this year. He is the most amazing little boy," I said with a great smile stretching over my face.
"Whoa... You're like... a total MILF," Frank laughed.
I glared at him as Jamia slapped him.
"Thank you, Jamia," I said to her.
"Hey! She's a MILF, but there's only room for you in my heart. She's too fucking tall," Frank suckered to Jamia as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap.
She sniffed arrogantly, but I could tell by her eyes that she was only joking.
I chuckled to myself and gathered my papers.
"You work too hard. Have a break," William whined, this time he was holding out his shot for me.
"Will, I can't. Please understand," I begged him.
I made eye contact with him, I was trying to tell him that I would love to but I just simply couldn't.
"Just one, to help you sleep," he beseeched.
I sighed and walked over, reluctantly taking the shot. Everyone cheered and they all grabbed their shots and raised it.
"To Bob, for finally getting his opportunity," I said hesitantly.
"To Bob!" everyone chorused and together we all threw the shots down our throats.
It burned as it slid down my throat and left a bad taste in my mouth, causing me to splutter.
"Yuck! What the fuck was that?" I exclaimed.
Sisky grinned.
"Tequila," he answered.
"Ugh," I grumbled and shuddered.
I stood up and yawned.
"Well, thanks for the shot, but I really have to go to sleep now. I'll see everyone in the morning," I said, waving as I left the rest of them to their game.

I put all my papers on my dresser in my room and changed into pajamas before going to scrub my make up off. As I was going into the bathroom, I could hear slight snoring come from the toilet. I looked inside curiously and sighed, immediately wishing I hadn't.
Gerard was in there, his head resting on the seat and an arm around the base of the bowl. His hair looked matted and greasy and I could see a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. I also noticed a bit of puke on the corners of his mouth and sighed. I couldn't just leave him there, so I grabbed a wash cloth, dampened it and knelt in front of Gerard. I raised the cloth up to his face and paused before wiping gently at the corners of his mouth, much like I used to with Alex when he used to spit up. When I was done there I lightly moved up to his forehead and wiped the damp cloth over it, collecting away the sweat.
"Mmmm," Gerard mumbled softly.
"Gee," I murmured.
He grumbled again.
"Gee, wake up. It's time for bed," I said softly.
"No," he mumbled childishly.
"Gee, c'mon, I'll help you," I said, bring his arm over my shoulders and hefted him up.
"Noooo," he slurred.
I could tell he was beyond wasted as I tried to walk him to the spare bedroom.
"What're youuu doinn' to meee?" he slurred.
"Putting you to bed, you'll feel better in the morning," I promised him.
"I don't wanna wake up," he mumbled, with surprising clarity.
"I promise I'll help," I said to him.
His face turned to look at me. His eyes were red-rimmed and completely bloodshot and he had large purple bags under his eyes.
"You're too nice to me," he mumbled as I pulled us through the door.
"You say that now," I muttered.
That comment had struck me slightly as I remembered him yelling at me earlier.
"And you're pretty," he sighed out as I let him sink into the bed.
My cheeks flushed and I frowned, but didn't say anything. I tugged his shoes off, but hesitated at anything else. I wanted him to be comfortable, but I felt like this would be pushing boundaries.
"Gee, do you think you could shimmy out of your clothes? I'll put them through the wash for you, for tomorrow," I whispered.
I was met with the sound of covers rustling and then a set of smelly jeans and a sweaty shirt hit me. I wrinkled my nose slightly as an offensive odor hit my nose.
"Thank you..." Gerard sighed and moments later he was snoring slightly.
I shook my head and went downstairs to throw his clothes in the wash for him before heading to bed.