Hey guys! Here's a oneshot that should give some important insight into Ronnie as a character! First chapter goes up tomorrow!
First Day of School
I stepped out of the car and immediately smelled cheap cologne, sweat, and wet paint. People shuffled about, some excited, most sluggish and lethargic. I knew the feeling.
Wando High. Population: almost 4,000. Approximate ratio of people I hate to people I actually like: 1000:1. Not including those I would actually hang out with given the chance? 4000:1.
A lonely school. But I was used to being alone, so it worked out well. It gave me more time to focus on grades.
"Hey, Warrior!"
I internally groaned and kept walking. Maybe then she'd think I didn't hear her. The click of heels right behind me had me rolling my eyes. Persistent.
"Ben."
There was no escape. I turned. "Hey, Amanda." Monotonous. Flat. Hoping she'd get the message.
But instead she grinned as if I'd just handed her a large check. "How was your summer? Mine was... lonely." A wink. "I wish you'd been there."
"I was busy." I resumed walking.
"Doing what?" She linked an arm through mine. I pulled it away. She didn't seem to care. "Spending time on your island?"
Making out with my girlfriend. "Yeah. My brother came for a visit."
"You have a brother?" Wide grey eyes with too much mascara stared at me in shock. "How did I not know this?"
"I don't tell people. He goes to a school in Florida."
She tucked a strand of ash blond hair behind her ear. Bit her lip. Pretended to be shy and embarrassed. I knew better. "He's certainly lucky if he's as handsome as you are."
"That's not saying much about his brother," a voice called. I looked over my shoulder to see Ronnie walking towards us. She was wearing a hidden smile. "Hey, Ben."
I waved, waiting for her to join us. Amanda glared at her. "That is not true, Ronald! Ben is very handsome!"
"It's Ronnie. And how can you even see past all that shit you put on your eyes?"
She stuck up her nose. "At least I can afford makeup."
"Too bad you can't afford to buy a personality along with it."
Amanda pursed her lips. "Whatever. Come on, Ben. Let's go."
"I'm gonna stay and talk to Ronnie."
She looked at me like I'd just grown a second head. Shocked and horrified. "Why? It's such a creep!"
"But she's a creep with a personality," I quipped, draping an arm around Ronnie's shoulder.
"I can give you a better time!" She stepped closer, sticking out her chest with a smile that was trying too hard.
Ronnie beat me to the punch.
"As good a time as his girlfriend can give him?" When she didn't reply, Ronnie continued. "That's what he's been up to all summer, by the way. She's gorgeous, too, and has the best ass ever."
"When?" Amanda demanded, turning on me.
"Earlier this summer."
"Yeah, they're madly in love," Ronnie added. "They're already talking marriage. Children. Picket fence and a dog. The works."
Amanda's lower lip trembled and she ran off. I knew her well enough to be able to tell she was faking it for attention.
"So you're cool with Tory?" I asked as we started for the steps.
"No, I still don't like her. I just hate that whore a helluva lot more. And you have to admit, the look on her face was hilarious."
I rolled my eyes. Typical Ronnie. I had to admit, though, it was nice to see her here. I'd been worried that she wouldn't show up, that she'd be too drunk or stoned to come. I glanced over at her as we walked through the doors. Her dark purple hair was down and brushed, with her signature look: a short braid that went from the top of her ear to her shoulder. She was wearing the usual band t-shirt and baggy jeans. This one was Pierce the Veil. She had good taste in music.
When she realized I was staring at her, she looked at me, and I was relieved to see that her eyes were clear. She's getting better.
"What're you looking at, Blue?"
"You look good today," I said. We took our spot by the stairwell.
"My, my, Ben. You're spoken for, remember?"
I laughed. "You know what I mean."
She opened her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. "What do you have first?"
"Latin two."
Ronnie made a face. "Ew. I have Algebra three. When's your study hall?"
"Third hour."
"Thank God. I was worried I'd be alone in that class. It's so difficult. To this day, I have never passed it."
"I watched a movie last year instead of taking the final for it."
"So did I. Oops."
We exchanged a smile and I relaxed against the wall. Ronnie was fun when she wasn't under the influence of anything. Depending on her mood, she was either an angry or solemn drunk. There was only one time when I'd seen her as a sad drunk, and that was on her birthday. She'd confessed her past to me then, and I ended up spending the night, just holding her as she sobbed into my chest. That was when I began to understand her, and realized how much she trusted me.
Of course, the following morning, she made me swear to never tell a soul or I'd die shortly thereafter. I wouldn't have told, even if she hadn't threatened me. Some secrets were better left in the ground. Especially a dark secret that reveals an awful childhood that made my early years seem like a walk in the park on a cloudless sunny day, and made my parents look like saints.
She never seemed to be enjoying herself at any time, other than when she was clean. She got really depressed when she was high.
"The only reason I'm here is because my uncle threatened me with a nanny again." Her uncle was a wealthy businessman, and traveled abroad year round. He was her only surviving relative that wasn't legally insane or in prison. Ronnie had been placed in- and run away from- the foster system while he was located, and she swore that she'd kill herself if she had to go back. It was apparently pretty brutal.
"But you're here, and that's a start."
She sighed. "Why are you always trying to 'fix' me? I don't get it."
"Because I don't want you to get hurt any more. You know how I feel about you."
"Right, I forgot. I'm like your baby sister." An eyeroll. "Even though I'm technically five days older than you are. Which reminds me, I need to see a picture of your brother. The suspense is mauling me alive."
Her direct sarcasm was also a relief to hear.
I pulled the only existing current picture of us up. Hi had insisted on getting one of the two of us standing side by side and wearing the exact same thing. And then he sent it to me. I just hadn't bothered to delete it yet. "This is him."
She arched her eyebrows. "Wow. I feel like I have double vision. He's an ugly brute, huh?"
"Very funny."
"I always wondered what you'd look like with shorter hair. But you're a bit buffer than he is."
The warning bell rung. I slid the iPhone back into my pocket. "I'd better get to class. Baney will skin me if I'm late."
"Whatever. See you in third, Ben."
"See you, Ron." I turned and headed up the stairs, glancing over my shoulder to make sure she didn't ditch school. When she went in the direction of the math wing, I let out a relieved breath that I didn't know I'd been holding in.
So what do you think of Ronnie? (Sorry, I know I sound obsessed, but she's my first original character- well, the first character I've developed on my own; she's not technically original because her name was mentioned in the books.)
On another note: do you guys agree that since Ben's not at Bolton anymore, girls are going to find him attractive? That's what I did with Amanda- not that I'm saying all girls who'd ever like Ben are sluts, she's just a bit more open with what she thinks of him.
