Beauty & the Beast

Ronnie and Becca walked around the mall, carrying a few bags. Some from F.Y.E and some from Body Shop and Wet Seal. It had been a while since Ronnie treated herself to new clothes so she figured why not? After all, she managed to spend very little despite how much she got. Today must have been a good day for her because she hadn't had any episodes or signs of one. No numb fingers, no dizziness, nothing. She was really enjoying herself...until she saw them.

Matt, Brian, Zacky, Jimmy, and Johnny. The five guys that continuously make her feel like shit. Ronnie desperately wanted to run so they couldn't see her but she and Becca were too busy buying frozen yogurt from Tutti Frutti. Ronnie grabbed her flavor and tried to quickly grab all of her toppings without being seen. She failed.

The guys saw her but didn't harass her. Instead, they decided to go talk to her. They waited until Ronnie wandered off a little bit before they approached her. As they walked over, Brian couldn't help but notice what Ronnie was wearing. She looked really good, she was built like a Victoria's Secret model. He never really noticed how long her hair was either. It reached her lower back and today it was done in messy waves.

Ronnie got a little bit uncomfortable when she noticed them all walking towards her but she remained calm. She was prepared for anything they would throw at her. Except for this...

"So Ronnie, what really happened yesterday?" The guy she knew as Matt asked. That really through her off guard. Ronnie ran a hand through her hair, stumbling over her words in her own head. She waved her hand as if to say 'I don't know' and let it drop to her side.

"I have an irregular heartbeat. Why?" She couldn't understand why they were so curious about what was wrong with her when they were the ones that spent four years destroying her. Brian looked over her figure, taking in her appearance. She was small and petite, with tan skin and dark brown hair with a burgundy tint. Her eyes were bright blue, her lips full and pink. And she had the cutest nose Brian had ever seen.

"Well, based on what you're eating, it couldn't be an eating disorder." Jimmy said softly, his lisp showing through a little. Ronnie licked over her lips and lowered her gaze. She felt embarrassed, everybody thought she had an eating disordered. That was just another thing wrong about her body that she needed to add to the list.

"I'm Matt, this is Brian, Zacky, Jimmy, and Johnny." Matt gestured to everybody in the group and Ronnie nodded her head.

"I know who you are, trust me. You've only tortured me everyday for my entire high school career." Her voice held a little bit of venom and the guys looked around at each other awkwardly. Had they really done that much to her? Becca finished up making her frozen yogurt and payed for hers. She turned around and saw the guys and Ronnie. It made her angry. How dare they go anywhere near her! She walked over and stood beside Ronnie protectively.

"Excuse me, what are you doing here?" Becca demanded. Ronnie turned to her friend and shook her head.

"Becca, it's okay. I'm fine. They're actually not doing anything...for once." Becca huffed and grabbed Ronnie's hand, pulling her away. She was partially mad at Ronnie for not walking away. Becca didn't want her to fall to the charms of Brian Haner.

"What are you doing?" Ronnie asked, snatching her hand away from her friend. Becca sighed and turned to face Ronnie.

"Don't you get it?! They're just trying to get you to loosen up around them and then they're going to continue to do the same thing they've been doing!" Becca practically shouted which made Ronnie feel a bit uncomfortable. Maybe that's what they were doing but Ronnie was willing to give it a chance. It wouldn't be so bad to have more friends.

"It's a chance I'm willing to take. It would be nice to have more than two friends, Becca! Not that you guys aren't great but I look at everyone who has a large group of friends and I want that. I need as much support as I can get. And yes, maybe I won't get it from them but I'd rather try and fail than not try at all and never know."

Becca licked over her lips, nodding her head. She felt betrayed, unappreciated, thoroughly pissed.

"You know what Ronnie, go ahead, let them destroy you. Talk to me when you earn a bit more self respect!" Becca spat. She turned on her heel and walked away. Ronnie stood there for a minute trying to understand what had just happened. Why was Becca being so negative about this? She could understand some of it because of how they treated her but their behavior just prior was completely different. Ronnie wanted to find out more.

With a sigh, Ronnie decided to leave. She would talk to Becca on Monday after the weekend. Maybe the two of them just needed a break from each other. After all, they had spent pretty much every waking minute together since the fifth grade.

♏♏♏

"So, what do you think of Ronnie? Pretty hot, huh?" Zacky was asking anyone that was listening. All of the guys looked at each other before nodding.

"Pretty hot? Try sexy." Johnny added, adjusting the strap on his bass. Brian agreed. She was pretty damn sexy. But he felt bad for her, he didn't know about her heart condition. If he had, maybe he wouldn't have bullied her all these years.

"Yeah but who knew about her problem?" Brian asked as he set aside his guitar. The room was silent and the air was thick with guilt. It's amazing how mean and stupid people can be. None of them stopped to think that something might be physically or emotionally wrong with her and they secretly wanted to take it back.

"Hey, we should make her part of the group." Matt suggested, which earned a few skeptical looks. How could they be sure that she would even want to be apart of the group? Especially when the guys' girlfriends don't like her. They were highly threatened by her just because of her looks.

"Well, it is worth a shot." Jimmy said. Everyone agreed and then got back to band practice.