Beauty Killed the Beast

"Where the fuck is Ronnie?" Derek's frustration was evident in his tone of voice.

Gwen sighed. "Everyone's looking. We'll find him, don't worry."

This was the biggest show they had to date. Ronnie's disappearance was putting everyone on edge. It was too late to cancel and send the fans home.

Ronnie's hotel room was the last place he could be. Jacky had tried earlier, but it was locked, and no one had the key.

"Ronnie?" Gwen knocked on the door but found the door was open. She pushed it open more and crossed over threshold into the hallway. As she reached the end of the hallway, she saw Ronnie sitting at the end of the bed with his head in his hands. His fingers were tangled in his raven black hair and his hands were balled up into fists by his temples. "Ronnie?" She asked again, catching his attention.

His head jerked upwards and he took her in standing there. "Sorry... I just..." He had no explanation. His mind was turning with too many thoughts.

Gwen took a few more steps forward. "You know, there's a huge crowd out there waiting for you to play a show for them. You can't just sit here and let them down like that."

Ronnie shook his head, still looking down at the carpeted floor. "But they let me down."

She could see the pain in his eyes. His time away from music caused his fans to desert him. They thought of him as a changed person, and no longer wanted anything to do with him.

Suddenly, he looked up at her. "I have been having these dreams," He continued. "About you and me, and all of the things that happened to us before I went to prison."

Gwen was unsure of how to respond. She continued to stand there, watching him fight the demons that resided inside his mind.

He stood, fighting back. "I'm ready." He looked straight into her eyes, and in that moment, she could no longer see the pain. She saw passion, drive, and she knew that these dreams from the past were fueling his fight. He fought his way to the top. Now he had to fight to stay there.

He walked past her and out the door, and Gwen quickly followed behind. Ronnie wasn't acting like himself, and that worried her. There was something wrong with him, but she couldn't quite place her finger on what it was. Was it the fans? Or something else inside his mind that was driving him towards insanity?