The Reputation Trap

0.1

Tomorrow is my first day of Senior year year, in a new school. My mom gets a frickin' job ever single frickin' year and we always end up moving. It's a real pain to move a lot but I'm used to it. Since we move a lot, I try not to get into big relationships like dating or having a best friend. I haven't had a best friend since I was in 3rd grade.

I actually had lots of boyfriends because it just happens. In my middle school and my early high school years, I dated guys. But they always end up dumping me. So, I've been avoiding commitment a lot now.

"Ramona. Remember! Get dressed up because we have guests coming!" My mom said to me as I put my dirty dishes in the dish washer. I groan and turn to look at her. She was at the table, reading a magazine.

"Who exactly is coming over?" I asked, crossing my arms. She puts down the magazine and looks at me.

"Friends. My best friend from high school is coming and bringing her family along too!" She squeals. She sounded so excited, but I wasn't.

I've always been a loner. The "lone wolf". And I always hated it when my mom invited people over, especially of it's one of her "girlfriends". It always made me feel like she's bragging to me that she has friends.

"What should I wear?" I asked.

"Something like a skirt and a tank. And maybe straighten your hair." She replies, reading her magazine. My mom doesn't really care about what I wear. She only cares about people but not me.

"Whatever." I muttered, throwing the dish towel in the sink. I walk upstairs and look in my closet, finding something to wear. I chose a short denim vest and a white tank top, with a black short skirt and black combat boots. I let my long blonde wavy hair cover my shoulders. Then, I put on black eyeliner and mascara, with a bit of lip gloss and eye shadow.

I heard the door bell ring downstairs. I quickly get out of the bathroom and head downstairs. I was about to open the door when my mom cut right in front of me and opened the door. I backed up a bit to let mom open the door fully.

"Stormie!" My mom squealed. Who the hell is Stormie?

"Diana!" Stormie said. They both hugged each other real tight. They pulled away and mom and I let the rest come in. Stormie came in with her husband and her kids. A tall teenager with blonde hair came in, along with a girl that looked like my height with blonde hair also came in. Then 2 guys who had brown hair came in. They all waved at me when they came in and I shyly waved back. They all sat down on the couches as mom and I stood.

"Oh, Diana! It's so great to see you again!" Stormie squealed. My mom nodded. I looked at the others and they were all looking at me.

"So what are your names?" My mom asked.

"I'm Riker." The tall blonde said.

"Rydel." The girl added. I looked over at the brown haired ones.

"I'm Rocky and this is our youngest brother, Ryland." Rocky said, introducing himself and Ryland.

"I have another one but he's on his way. He's at the gas station." Stormie said. Mom and I nodded. There was a silence

"So what's your name?" Rydel asked me, breaking the silence. All eyes were on me. I hesitated.

"I'm Ramona." I spoke loud enough so everyone could hear.

"Ramona," Riker repeated. "I like it". I smiled and look down at the floor, blushing.

"So dinner is ready! Do you guys wanna eat yet or do you wanna get to know each other better?" My mom asked us.

"I wanna get to know Ramona!" Rydel said. I chuckled.

"That's fine with me." My mom said. Stormie, her husband and my mom walked to the kitchen and started talking there. Everyone looked at me. I sat down next to Rydel.

"You're new here... Right?" Rocky asked. I nodded.

"We live right next door." Riker said. I nodded again.

"You don't talk much do you?" Rydel asked. I shrugged.

"I get kinda shy. I'm not that big of a social person." I replied.

"That's alright. I don't have that much friends. Hey... Do you wanna be friends with us?" Rydel asked. I shrugged and said, "Sure".

"So what do you guys do?" I asked.

"I'm a DJ." Ryland said. I nodded.

"That's cool." I replied.

"We're in a band. It's called R5. It's with me, Rydel, Rocky, our other brother who's not here right now and our good friend Ellington Ratliff." Riker said. My eyes widen.

"Oh my gosh! That's awesome! I really need to get out more!" I joked. They all laughed.

"Do you guys wanna eat now?" I asked. They all nodded and we all stood up and walked to the kitchen. We grabbed plates and took our food and went to the living room to eat there.

"Damn! This chicken is good!" Rocky exclaimed with food in his mouth. We all laughed. Then the door bell rang. I got up but Riker softly pushed me down.

"I'll get it." He said. He walked over to the door and opened it. A tall, muscular guy came in. He had long, blonde, not too shaggy hair and he was wearing sunglasses and had a toothpick in his mouth. He was wearing a black denim jacket and ripped blue jeans with converse high tops. He looked around.

"Hey! You're here!" Riker exclaimed. The guy looked at me and stared at me. He took off his sunglasses and put them on top of his head. He had hazel eyes.

"Ramona, this is Ross. He's the youngest in R5 but he's not the youngest in the family." Riker explained.

"Hi." I said softly. Ross nodded at me.

"Hey." He said. I turned around and sat down on the couch and Ross ended up sitting next to me. He smelled like a mixture of cologne and smoke, which smelled disgusting. I grabbed Rydel's hand and took her upstairs to my room and locked the door.

"What's up?" She asked. I sighed.

"This might be a stupid question but does Ross smoke?" I asked. She slowly nodded.

"He's had a rough past. He's a bad boy so be careful what you do around him. He's dangerous. He drinks, a lot. And dates a girl every week basically. Trust me. Ross can be cool and fun but be can also be a real jerk. He can bully you and torture you. So please, be careful around him." Rydel explained. I slowly nodded.

Ross' POV

I watched as Ramona and Rydel walk up the stairs. I chew on my toothpick.

"Ramona's cute." Rocky said. I chuckled.

"Whatever." I said, spitting out my toothpick. Riker sighed.

"Where did you actually go? We all know you didn't go to the gas station." Riker asked. I groaned.

"I went to go buy some more beers." I replied. Ryland sighs.

"Really, Ross?" Ryland asked. I nodded.

"Yup." I said.

"Ross! Stop with all of the drinking and partying and smoking! I'm sick of it!" Riker said. I chuckled.

"Good for you." I replied. Riker sighed.

"And don't mess with Ramona." He added. I looked at Riker and gave him a look like he was crazy.

"What the hell do you mean?" I spat.

"You know what I mean! Don't hurt her!" Rocky said. I half laughed.

"That's gonna be hard. See, she's small and very innocent. Those kind of people get on my nerves." I replied.

"Well, then stay away from her!" Riker yelled.

"I'll try but I'm gonna fail".