Not Expecting to Collide (COMPLETE) - ABP Fanfiction

Chapter 52 - Pretend

Of course, with Rainy, Birdie and Noah returning, the cameras were there to capture the interaction between siblings. Surprisingly though, everyone got along. There were no longer arguments and disagreements like there used to be. Even Bam and Matt ceased their squabbling. It seemed the Brown siblings were becoming the team that Billy had always wanted them to be. Ironic that all it took was his absence.
Matt had settled down significantly since Amber breezed into his life. Amber had brought a calmness to Matt, the likes of which Bam had never seen before in his big brother. Bam liked Amber, and more than that, he respected her. She was an amazing influence to have around his sisters. She had taken Rainy under her wing and treated Birdie like an equal; like a woman. She was never condescending or patronizing. She had a gentle patience, which Bam supposed she would need to put up with Matt. She had become a constant and welcome presence in Browntown.

Gabe jokingly called Bam 'The Lord of Browntown'. Bam disagreed with such a title. It was too close of a reminder of how his dad ran things like an authoritarian. He preferred to think of Browntown as being led by a tribunal, where every family member was equal and treated with respect and dignity.

Every 'real' family member that is. Bambi was still around whenever the cameras were present. She never spoke to him off camera since the day she had withered under his stare at the edge of the tree line. She never said anything to him that was unscripted. When the cameras weren't rolling she didn't make eye contact with him. He started to get a niggling feeling of guilt in the bottom of his gut where Bambi was concerned. He knew he had been especially harsh with her the day on the beach. It wasn't her fault that she had been called in from Seattle. He knew that Amber had struck up a friendship, although he couldn't imagine why. Amber was all substance and Bambi was all void. However, Bambi was a human being who didn't deserve the full burden of his wrath. He wanted to blame her for everything but he knew he shouldered much of the responsibility for the current status of his relationship, or lack thereof, with October.

With that in mind, he found himself seeking her out one day when filming had broken for lunch.

She was sitting away from the group chatting with Bear on the same fallen log where he had comforted October when her grandmother died. When he approached, the smile fell from her face.
"Can we talk for a minute?" Bam asked, trying to be the least gruff as he possibly could. Bambi's eyes darted to Bear. "I'll leave you alone." She said quietly and made to walk around Bam.
"No." Bam replied. "I want to talk you, Bambi."
Bambi's eyes widened a little and her eyebrows shot up. She didn't look at him. "Alone." He added firmly. Bear stood and bumped Bam's shoulder as he passed by him. "Be nice." He hissed under his breath.
Bam waited until Bear was out of earshot before he spoke again. "Mind if I sit?" He asked. She nodded, still without looking at him. Bam took a seat and Bambi moved a little further away. He took a deep breath as he searched for the right words to say. "I owe you an apology." He stated matter-of-factly.
Bambi straightened her shoulders and remained stoic. She focused on a tree off in the distance as he continued.
"That day on the beach, I was very angry and I took it out on you and I'm sorry." There, he had said his piece and exhaled loudly. He sat for a moment, wondering if she was going to say anything. When the silence stretched longer than was comfortable, he shifted to stand up.
"I'm quitting the show." She said softly. Bam's head snapped around as he sat back down beside her. "What?" He openly gaped at her.
For the first time in weeks, her eyes rose to meet his. "I'm going to quit the show." She repeated.
Bam's surprise was evident on his face. "Why?" He asked. Why he was questioning her, he didn't know. This is what he'd been hoping for.
She sighed. "I'm not even am actress. I went to the talent agency with my roommate and they offered me this. I thought it might be fun and pay for next year's tuition. I never wanted to be an actress. This isn't acting. It's pretending to be something I'm not. It's manipulating the truth for someone else's entertainment."
That is the most she had ever said to him outside of filming. Her voice was different. "I know you don't like me."
Bam opened his mouth to protest but she silenced him with her hand on his forearm. "No, don't tell me I'm wrong just to be polite. I can tell you internally cringe every time I touch you." Then, noticing she had put her hand on him, she picked it up as if she'd been burned. She turned away from him. "You make me feel like a whore." She said quietly.
"Wow." Bam said flatly. "That's got to be the most creative insult I've ever gotten." And surprisingly, he could relate.
"I'll take that as a compliment. You've probably gotten quite a few insults with that temper of yours."
Bam looked at her sharply, then noticed her lips actually turned up into a smirk.
For the first time ever, Bam saw a real person when he looked at her. "What's changed your mind so suddenly?" He asked.
She shrugged. "I've met somebody and he doesn't want me pretending anymore. He doesn't like me touching you, just like your photographer friend."
Bam gaped at her again. "How'd you know?"
She rolled her eyes. "Bam I'm not an idiot." She chided. "I just play one on TV. I don't know whether to be insulted that you could think I was actually that vapid or proud that I was that good of an actress that you believed it."
Bam chuckled. "Are you laughing at me?" Bam chuckled louder. "No." He  shook his head. "I'm laughing at the ridiculousness of our combined situation."
Bambi smiled slightly.  "Thank you."
Bam stopped laughing. "For what?"
"For apologizing." She replied. "I also owe you an apology."
Bam frowned. "For what?" He said again. 
"She left because of me. I'm sorry." Bam looked at the ground. "It wasn't all you. I didn't fight hard enough to keep her."
"Are you going after her?"
Bam toed the dirt with his shoe. "I don't know. What if it's too late?" He asked.
Just then, Myra called out a five minute warning and everyone around camp started to scramble. Bam stood up and waited as Bambi did the same. "Well good luck getting out of your contract. I've been over all the small print on mine with a fine toothed comb. I can't get out of it unless I die." He grumbled. "Well once your contract expires, go get that girl. You can tell her you dumped me." She said with a giggle.
Bam's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea!"
"What is?"
"We need to break up." He said. "On camera, with a big fight." He added.
Bambi looked at him uncertainly.
"How good of an actress are you?" He asked.
"Well I had you believing I was a total bimbo." She replied.
Bam laughed. "Do you think I could pull off a fake fight?"
Bambi nodded. "You did a pretty good job of channeling your anger towards me the other day."
Bam winced at the reminder. "It's okay." She smiled. "Just use that anger for something constructive this time." They spent the rest of the walk back to camp planning an on screen fight to end their on screen relationship. Just before they stepped out of the trees. Bam turned to her and said quietly. "I'm glad we had this talk and cleared the air, Bambi." She nodded. "By the way, my name isn't really Bambi. It's just something the producers thought would work for the show."
Bam stared at her dumbfounded. "What is your real name?"
She smiled sweetly and held her hand out. "I'm Rosanna. Nice to meet you."
Bam grinned. "Nice to meet you too." He said as he shook her hand. "Now come on. We have a break up to stage."