Sequel: Again. ›
Status: Updated when I can
Everything Changed
Strangers.
Ronnie's PoV
"My hair was perfect." I sighed. "Now it looks like shit."
"You don't seem like the girl to complain about your hair." Ben laughed.
"I'm not. But I had it fish tailed, and now it looks like sex hair." I said slightly annoyed.
"Probably because you just had sex love." He told me.
"It's your fault." I pouted.
"I'm pretty sure it takes two people to have sex." He smirked. "Besides you weren't complaining 20 minutes ago."
"Do you have a brush?" I asked ignoring what he had just said. He nodded and went to find one. He came back about a minute later and handed one to me. "Thank you." I said and walked into the bathroom to fix my hair.
After about ten minutes I got it back to looking the way it was. Satisfied I left the bathroom to return the brush to Ben. I found him sitting in his bunk with my phone in his hands.
"Find anything interesting?" I asked sitting next to him.
"You don't take selfies." He stated. "And I'm now following you on twitter."
"You do realize you're kind of stalkerish right?"
"No. Just curious." He sighed. "I wanna know your story Ronnie." I looked at him.
"I don't tell my story to a guy I slept with. Especially when I'm sober."
"There has to be a reason you act the way you do. You've slept with a bunch of guys, that's easy to tell. You're a drinker. And you know how to party. But you're young and definitely beautiful. So what are you doing?" He asked.
"You're one to talk. I mean you sleep with someone and party every night." I scoffed. "Why do you do it?"
"I do it merely because I can. I'm in a band. It's rock and roll. It's what I do." He shrugged. "Jackson texted you by the way. You have a job interview at 4. He also said not to screw it up."
"You can tell him to stuff it up his ass because I'm not going." I snapped.
"Jobless huh?" He asked as he typed on my phone, most likely answer Jackson.
"Have been my whole life." I admitted. "Jackson pays the bills, buys food and whatever else we need and gives me money so I can go out."
"So you're using him?"
"He's too nice to do anything about it. In a way it's sympathy. We were in a group home for 'troubled' teens when we met. When he turned 18 he turned his life around for the better. When I turned 18 I didn't even try. He's taken care of me ever since." I explained.
"Troubled teen?" Ben raised his eyebrows. "I could see that.
"It's funny though because growing up, I never would have thought I'd be 'troubled.' It goes to show how things can change." I laughed dryly. "Sorry. I shouldn't be telling you this. It doesn't matter."
"Hey," Ben said pulling me into a side hug. "I asked. So I wanted to know."
"Why though? I'm just that girl from the bar who you had sex with. You didn't even ask my name when we met, but now you wanna hear my life story? That makes no sense." I told him.
"I don't understand it either. All I know is that you're different. You're a mystery. You make me wonder. You leave me wanting more." He said. "Like last night. I was worried I'd never see you again, and I would never get to figure you out. So when I found out you left your phone here I was glad."
"Either way. I don't go around telling my life to strangers." I sighed playing with my hands.
"We aren't strangers. I know that you have a tattoo on your hip that's the shape of a dolphin. But it's really small." He said poking the spot on my hip where it was.
"What's my last name?" I asked. He didn't say anything. "Exactly. Strangers."
"Then lets get to know each other." He offered.
"And how do we do that?" I asked.
"We drink." He said. He got out of the bunk and went to the refrigerator returning with an unopened bottle of whiskey.
"How is this going to make us stop bring strangers? We'll end up drunk and not remember anything." I told him.
"Who said anything about getting drunk? We just need something to loosen up a little."
"Fine." I agreed. He smirked.
"You want first sip?"
"I need first sip."I said and he opened the bottle before handing it to me. I lifted it to my mouth and drank. It burned my throat. "Why don't we have a chaser?" I asked annoyed.
"Is the burn really too much for you?" He asked. I shook my head.
"No. I've just never drank without one."
"You'll get used to it." He said as he took the bottle from me. "You wanna start?"
"Not really. But I'm going to have to." I sighed, "I'm an orphan. My parents died when I was six. Meaning my older brother and I had to go to an orphanage. He was nine." I paused and Ben held the bottle out to me, which I gratefully took and drank. "You would think that two adorable kids, and trust me, we were adorable, would get adopted. But no one wanted the both of us. So I grew up in an orphanage."
"What about the group home?" Ben asked. I sighed.
"My brother is three years older than me. When he turned 18 he left the orphanage without a second thought. Leaving me behind. I was 15. I was upset. Being a teenager I acted out. I started to drink, smoke, party, have sex, sneak out, everything and anything. The orphanage caught on and sent me to a group home for troubled teens since they 'couldn't handle me anymore'." I held out my hand for the bottle. "I don't see the point of sending me there. I was just around a bunch of people who were doing the same stuff I was. You have a few who can make their lives better, like Jackson. But for the most part none of us change because we don't want to." I explained.
"So how'd you end up living with Jackson?"
"He was always the one who took care of me. Whether I was drunk. Crying over how and why my brother left. He was always there. He became my brother. When I turned 18 he decided I was going to live with him. Ever since he's been trying to get me 'back on my feet' and trying to get me to get a job." I told him.
"Then why don't you get one?" He asked. Typing on my phone again.
"I didn't even graduate high school. And the jobs that Jackson signs me up for are secretary things for big name CEOs. Can you see me being a secretary?" I ranted.
"Actually I could. Sleeping with your probably married boss. But you'd get nothing done." He said, continuing to do things on my phone.
"I'm glad you think so highly of me." I said sarcastically. "What are you doing on my phone?" I asked.
"I think sleeping with your boss is hot. In its own way, as long as he isn't in his 40s or 50s. That'd be creepy." He said ignoring my question. I went to grab my phone but he held it out of my reach.
"I came here to get my phone back and you take it again." I sighed.
"I'm talking to people." He shrugged.
"It's my phone. Who could you possibly be talking to on my phone?!"
"Jackson. He's actually nice. And I'm texting Danny."
"Why can't you use your own phone to do that?" I questioned.
"Because my phone is still in the back lounge and you were talking. It would be rude to get up." He told me.
"So you use my phone." I rolled my eyes. "How polite."
"I told them it was me." He said holding up his hands. I just shook my head.
"You realize that we had a whole conversation without flirting?" I asked suddenly.
"It is possible love." He laughed.
"Not with you. It's just weird."
"Would you rather I flirted with you all the time?" He asked.
"No. But you have to say something sexual, flirt, or show off how big your ego is every now and then." I told him. "What do you do in your band?"
"Play guitar. I also sing a little." He said. "Danny is the lead singer, Cameron plays guitar too, Sam is the bassist, and James plays drums. Or drooms as he calls them."
"You guys popular?"
"You really know nothing about us do you?" He laughed. I shook my head. "I guess you'll have to really pay attention to the show tonight."
"Speaking of your show what time is it now?" I asked.
"Around 3." He answered.
"So what are we going to do for the next two hours? You have sound check at 5." I reminded him. He raised his eyebrows.
"Round three?" He offered. I smacked him.
"Am I really so good you want to go again?" He shrugged.
"You up for it?" I stared at him for a minute.
"You're really lucky you're hot." I said and he smirked. Climbing on top of me and kissing me.
"Jesus Christ Ben. You two are going at it again?" Danny said staring at the two of us.
"We were going to. Then you interrupted." Ben said getting off of me.
"Sound check is in 10 minutes." Danny said walking out of the bus.
"Soundcheck is at 5!" Ben yelled.
"Check your phone!" Danny said poking his head back in. Ben went into the back lounge and check his phone.
"He's right. You want to come?" Ben asked looking at me.
"What else am I going to do?" I asked and got up. "What exactly do you do at soundcheck?"
"Play a couple songs to make sure everything is working. It's not that exciting." He told me. "Although, you've never seen us play. So you might have fun." He put his arm around my shoulder.
"Why do you do that?" I asked. He winked, not saying anything. I rolled my eyes. This was going to be interesting.
"My hair was perfect." I sighed. "Now it looks like shit."
"You don't seem like the girl to complain about your hair." Ben laughed.
"I'm not. But I had it fish tailed, and now it looks like sex hair." I said slightly annoyed.
"Probably because you just had sex love." He told me.
"It's your fault." I pouted.
"I'm pretty sure it takes two people to have sex." He smirked. "Besides you weren't complaining 20 minutes ago."
"Do you have a brush?" I asked ignoring what he had just said. He nodded and went to find one. He came back about a minute later and handed one to me. "Thank you." I said and walked into the bathroom to fix my hair.
After about ten minutes I got it back to looking the way it was. Satisfied I left the bathroom to return the brush to Ben. I found him sitting in his bunk with my phone in his hands.
"Find anything interesting?" I asked sitting next to him.
"You don't take selfies." He stated. "And I'm now following you on twitter."
"You do realize you're kind of stalkerish right?"
"No. Just curious." He sighed. "I wanna know your story Ronnie." I looked at him.
"I don't tell my story to a guy I slept with. Especially when I'm sober."
"There has to be a reason you act the way you do. You've slept with a bunch of guys, that's easy to tell. You're a drinker. And you know how to party. But you're young and definitely beautiful. So what are you doing?" He asked.
"You're one to talk. I mean you sleep with someone and party every night." I scoffed. "Why do you do it?"
"I do it merely because I can. I'm in a band. It's rock and roll. It's what I do." He shrugged. "Jackson texted you by the way. You have a job interview at 4. He also said not to screw it up."
"You can tell him to stuff it up his ass because I'm not going." I snapped.
"Jobless huh?" He asked as he typed on my phone, most likely answer Jackson.
"Have been my whole life." I admitted. "Jackson pays the bills, buys food and whatever else we need and gives me money so I can go out."
"So you're using him?"
"He's too nice to do anything about it. In a way it's sympathy. We were in a group home for 'troubled' teens when we met. When he turned 18 he turned his life around for the better. When I turned 18 I didn't even try. He's taken care of me ever since." I explained.
"Troubled teen?" Ben raised his eyebrows. "I could see that.
"It's funny though because growing up, I never would have thought I'd be 'troubled.' It goes to show how things can change." I laughed dryly. "Sorry. I shouldn't be telling you this. It doesn't matter."
"Hey," Ben said pulling me into a side hug. "I asked. So I wanted to know."
"Why though? I'm just that girl from the bar who you had sex with. You didn't even ask my name when we met, but now you wanna hear my life story? That makes no sense." I told him.
"I don't understand it either. All I know is that you're different. You're a mystery. You make me wonder. You leave me wanting more." He said. "Like last night. I was worried I'd never see you again, and I would never get to figure you out. So when I found out you left your phone here I was glad."
"Either way. I don't go around telling my life to strangers." I sighed playing with my hands.
"We aren't strangers. I know that you have a tattoo on your hip that's the shape of a dolphin. But it's really small." He said poking the spot on my hip where it was.
"What's my last name?" I asked. He didn't say anything. "Exactly. Strangers."
"Then lets get to know each other." He offered.
"And how do we do that?" I asked.
"We drink." He said. He got out of the bunk and went to the refrigerator returning with an unopened bottle of whiskey.
"How is this going to make us stop bring strangers? We'll end up drunk and not remember anything." I told him.
"Who said anything about getting drunk? We just need something to loosen up a little."
"Fine." I agreed. He smirked.
"You want first sip?"
"I need first sip."I said and he opened the bottle before handing it to me. I lifted it to my mouth and drank. It burned my throat. "Why don't we have a chaser?" I asked annoyed.
"Is the burn really too much for you?" He asked. I shook my head.
"No. I've just never drank without one."
"You'll get used to it." He said as he took the bottle from me. "You wanna start?"
"Not really. But I'm going to have to." I sighed, "I'm an orphan. My parents died when I was six. Meaning my older brother and I had to go to an orphanage. He was nine." I paused and Ben held the bottle out to me, which I gratefully took and drank. "You would think that two adorable kids, and trust me, we were adorable, would get adopted. But no one wanted the both of us. So I grew up in an orphanage."
"What about the group home?" Ben asked. I sighed.
"My brother is three years older than me. When he turned 18 he left the orphanage without a second thought. Leaving me behind. I was 15. I was upset. Being a teenager I acted out. I started to drink, smoke, party, have sex, sneak out, everything and anything. The orphanage caught on and sent me to a group home for troubled teens since they 'couldn't handle me anymore'." I held out my hand for the bottle. "I don't see the point of sending me there. I was just around a bunch of people who were doing the same stuff I was. You have a few who can make their lives better, like Jackson. But for the most part none of us change because we don't want to." I explained.
"So how'd you end up living with Jackson?"
"He was always the one who took care of me. Whether I was drunk. Crying over how and why my brother left. He was always there. He became my brother. When I turned 18 he decided I was going to live with him. Ever since he's been trying to get me 'back on my feet' and trying to get me to get a job." I told him.
"Then why don't you get one?" He asked. Typing on my phone again.
"I didn't even graduate high school. And the jobs that Jackson signs me up for are secretary things for big name CEOs. Can you see me being a secretary?" I ranted.
"Actually I could. Sleeping with your probably married boss. But you'd get nothing done." He said, continuing to do things on my phone.
"I'm glad you think so highly of me." I said sarcastically. "What are you doing on my phone?" I asked.
"I think sleeping with your boss is hot. In its own way, as long as he isn't in his 40s or 50s. That'd be creepy." He said ignoring my question. I went to grab my phone but he held it out of my reach.
"I came here to get my phone back and you take it again." I sighed.
"I'm talking to people." He shrugged.
"It's my phone. Who could you possibly be talking to on my phone?!"
"Jackson. He's actually nice. And I'm texting Danny."
"Why can't you use your own phone to do that?" I questioned.
"Because my phone is still in the back lounge and you were talking. It would be rude to get up." He told me.
"So you use my phone." I rolled my eyes. "How polite."
"I told them it was me." He said holding up his hands. I just shook my head.
"You realize that we had a whole conversation without flirting?" I asked suddenly.
"It is possible love." He laughed.
"Not with you. It's just weird."
"Would you rather I flirted with you all the time?" He asked.
"No. But you have to say something sexual, flirt, or show off how big your ego is every now and then." I told him. "What do you do in your band?"
"Play guitar. I also sing a little." He said. "Danny is the lead singer, Cameron plays guitar too, Sam is the bassist, and James plays drums. Or drooms as he calls them."
"You guys popular?"
"You really know nothing about us do you?" He laughed. I shook my head. "I guess you'll have to really pay attention to the show tonight."
"Speaking of your show what time is it now?" I asked.
"Around 3." He answered.
"So what are we going to do for the next two hours? You have sound check at 5." I reminded him. He raised his eyebrows.
"Round three?" He offered. I smacked him.
"Am I really so good you want to go again?" He shrugged.
"You up for it?" I stared at him for a minute.
"You're really lucky you're hot." I said and he smirked. Climbing on top of me and kissing me.
"Jesus Christ Ben. You two are going at it again?" Danny said staring at the two of us.
"We were going to. Then you interrupted." Ben said getting off of me.
"Sound check is in 10 minutes." Danny said walking out of the bus.
"Soundcheck is at 5!" Ben yelled.
"Check your phone!" Danny said poking his head back in. Ben went into the back lounge and check his phone.
"He's right. You want to come?" Ben asked looking at me.
"What else am I going to do?" I asked and got up. "What exactly do you do at soundcheck?"
"Play a couple songs to make sure everything is working. It's not that exciting." He told me. "Although, you've never seen us play. So you might have fun." He put his arm around my shoulder.
"Why do you do that?" I asked. He winked, not saying anything. I rolled my eyes. This was going to be interesting.