I know, it's taken me a long time to update. My grandmother just passed away and I was very close to her, so I've been dealing with that and not really in the mood to do anything but cry. But I'm trying to be strong and you guys are such awesome readers/reviewers, I figured you'd understand. :) So here's the next chapter…

Thanks for the patience and the love from the fabulous reviewers: Rue Dawn, Violet201, xsparklesthemagicalunicornx, Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto, VincesDirtyGirl, and littleone999.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Alex, Mickey, and Ronnie.

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 55: Fire and Gasoline

By: LoveInk

Mia watched Alex, Jesse, and Ronnie kick a soccer ball lazily back and forth. Jesse was kicking it half-heartedly while the other two were clearly showing off. For being pregnant, Alex was incredibly agile, jumping and kicking like a soccer star, and Ronnie was no different. Mia had to admit, she was impressed by the two of them. "You two were athletes in high school, huh?" she asked from her seat in a lawn chair.

"Oh yeah," Alex said, turning to kick the ball with her heel. "Ronnie was a cheerleader and I was a linebacker."

Ronnie chuckled as he nodded enthusiastically. "Alex also was a pretty sweet shortstop."

"Thanks Ron," she replied sarcastically. "You were a bitchin' diver."

"It's my narrow shoulders," he joked, standing straight to show that his shoulders were anything but narrow.

Mia scowled at both of them, slightly offended by their teasing. She'd meant them to take her comment as a compliment. "I was being serious. I don't see what's so funny about the question."

"Mi, we went to normal high school for like half a year before we went on tour," Alex explained with a shrug. "We didn't have a chance to be jocks."

"That's crazy! You said you graduated high school! You both did!"

"Well, yeah," Ronnie answered. "My Mom has her teaching degree. She homeschooled us while on tour. Why do you think we don't have very many friends? Our graduating class had all of three people in it. Me, her, and Fish."

Mia stared at both of them, her mouth agape. She couldn't even imagine such a lifestyle! No football games or proms! While Mia marveled over that idea, Jesse asked, "Did you ever try it?"

"Lex did. We had a hiatus or somethin' for a year while recording and her mom made her go back," explained Ronnie, throwing a teasing grin Alex's way.

"Don't remind me," Alex grumbled. She gave the ball a hard kick before turning towards Mia. "That's where I learned not to trust other girls. Stupid, fake bitches. They'd bully me. Teasing me and calling me names, making fun of Eddie. And if they weren't bullying me, they were trying to meet the band and get music contacts through me. I hated it."

It all made sense now. The way Alex had hated talking about her personal life, the way she was only friends with guys before Vince had brought her to their barbeque. "Huh. You make a lot more sense now, Lex," she said before going back to her magazine.

Alex snorted in response. If she had known that was all it took, she'd have explained that to Mia much earlier. Her green eyes followed the path of the ball as Ronnie juggled it before she caught his gaze. His hazel eyes glanced at something behind her, his head nodding just the smallest bit, indicating for her to turn around.

She turned slowly and had to cover her mouth to stop from gasping. Through the window, she could see Leon and Michaela…making out. Alex turned back to Ronnie with wide eyes and he just chuckled in response. Jesse grinned triumphantly as though it was all his doing. "Win," he said softly, pumping a fist in the air.

"What?" Mia questioned, looking between the trio. They'd gone back to their little game and looked the same as ever, just kicking the ball passively between them as if nothing had happened.

"Nothing," Alex said flippantly.

Mia studied them more closely, waiting for one of them to betray whatever joke they'd been sharing. And then Alex did it. She looked over her shoulder towards the window. Mia got up to glance at whatever her friend had been checking on and gasped. "You have got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed.

"Mia, shush!" Alex hissed at her, waving at her to get down.

"I shouldn't be surprised. They're like fire and gasoline, put them together and something's bound to ignite."

"Let's hope it doesn't blow up in their faces," Ronnie murmured under his breath.

Leon felt her hands snake under his shirt. A voice in his head told him to stop her before she did something she'd regret, but he found he couldn't. He wanted her more than he wanted to admit. Tangling his hands into her hair, he kissed her more forcefully, as if he could convey his feelings through the kiss. She responded with a soft moan that just about drove him crazy.

And then she was off him. Jumping back as if she'd been burnt. "I'm sorry," Michaela apologized quickly, wiping at her mouth. She was slowly backing away from him, a look of guilt bleeding into her eyes. "I can't…"

"Michaela don't," he said, reaching out for her. She just shook her head in response and darted out the door.

He winced as the front door slammed shut behind her. Frustration filled him. Why had she kissed him like that? Why did she want to go reminding him of things that would never be again? Growling, he kicked the cabinet before storming out into the backyard.

He hated her. Hated her for teasing him like that. For kissing him when he'd just begun to let her go. All the feelings he'd been pushing away came rushing back like a tidal wave. "Bitch," he muttered to no one in particular. He lit up a cigarette and took a long drag, trying to calm down.

"She's fire," Jesse stated as he took a seat next to Leon.

Leon looked at him like he was crazy. "What?"

"Mia brought it up. She said you and Mickey were like gasoline and fire. She's fire," he explained easily. "She has all this passion and these big hopes and dreams that burn brightly and when she met you they just ignited and grew even bigger because you're gasoline. But then they grew too big and you didn't have enough gas to feed it anymore because a puddle of gas grows slower than the quickly igniting fire. It makes sense. All couples are like that if you think about it."

He rubbed at his temples, trying to make sense of what his friend was saying. "Jess, are you trying to make a point?"

Jesse shrugged a shoulder in response. "Dunno. Just thought it was interesting."

"You're trying to tell me I'll grow to fit her needs and then we'll get back together and live happily ever after," Leon said on a sigh as he shook his head. "Ain't gonna happen. Her "fire", or whatever, will only get bigger, Jess. How am I supposed to keep up with it? Eventually it'll just consume everything and then where will we be? Miserable, that's where."

"I don't think that's true," he replied, lighting a cigarette of his own. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Jesse cleared his throat and said, "I saw Essie."

Leon's eyes snapped to him, widening slightly. "What?"

"Yeah, man. Before I woke up, she came to me and was talking to me," Jesse explained, waving his hands around. "She looked good, man. Happy. Said she watches us like a fuckin' soap opera or something. She was always into that shit, remember?"

He nodded in confirmation. "Ess and her fuckin' telenovelas." (Spanish soap operas)

"Yeah, well, that's what we are to her in heaven or something," Jesse continued with a small smile. "Anyways, she told me to tell you to stop being selfish and get your head out of your ass before you lose her forever. Of course, it was Ess so every other word was 'fuck,' but…oh yeah! And she loves you and misses you."

Leon swallowed back the lump in his throat as he thought of Essie. "Dumbass," he said, his voice coming out low and gruff as he fought back tears. It was something he'd called his sister so much, it was no longer an insult between them. "It ain't going to work, Jess. Whether you saw her or not, it doesn't matter. She's not here, in case you haven't noticed. There's nothing she can do about it."

Jesse hated when Leon said things like that. He usually got on his case about it, saying Essie was always with them whether his thick head wanted to believe it or not. This time, he didn't have the heart to get angry with Leon. He could tell his friend was really hurting. "Whatever, Lee," he said on a sigh. "I can't force anything on you, but I did see her, and she did say that. And we both know Essie was rarely wrong. So you do what you gotta do but at the end of the day, you gotta follow your heart instead of your stubborn ass head."

With that, he put out his cigarette and clapped him on the shoulder before heading back inside leaving Leon with his thoughts.

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Again, thanks for being patient with me. I really appreciate it. :)

~Love Ink