Hers (Ruby Rose)

2| Los Angeles

^GEMMA^

THE FLIGHT TO LA was pure hell. I had taken the cheapest plane which meant that there was barely any room to move my legs and the woman sitting next to me was extremely rude to me the entire time, not to mention chewing her food with her mouth open and coughing without covering herself. There was also a toddler crying the whole six hour flight, meaning I could not get any sleep after waking up at eleven at night to get to the airport in time.

I drag my two black suitcases behind me with one of my gym bags resting on top. I had sold all my furniture in my apartment as I knew I would not need them no more. It felt like I was going to a sleepover, only this sleepover was in another state. And was permanent.

I searched for Gemma in the crowd until I caught sight of her familiar baby purple hair with slightly overgrown brown roots. I reached her first, wrapping my arms around her shoulders from behind making her squeal with delight.

She turned around in my grip and squeezed me until I could not breathe. It was something she always did.

"Oh my God, I'm so excited. Look at you," she smiled as she held my face and stared into my dark brown eyes.

I stared back into her giant orange tinted ones, smiling just as wide as her. Just standing next to her made me feel extremely boring. Her hair was a fun color while mine was a plain brown. She wore a light pink faux fur jacket while I just wore a black hoodie and exercise leggings.

"You put me to shame every time." I said after I examined her outfit.

"Oh, stop it you." She tightly tapped my arm before reaching down to grab one of my suitcase handles. "You ready to go?" She asked and I nodded. I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

I was not surprised to see that she had a black Range Rover, seeing as Gemma worked as a lawyer. But sitting in that plush black leather seat at the front made me feel dirt poor, even though I almost was.

I stared out the window the entire car ride to my new home, taking in the difference in scenery in LA compared to New York. For one, there were a lot more trees and it was way greener and quieter. It also had a fresh air sort of smell, while New York always had a scent, whether it was car gas or food from the food trucks.

"The city's back that way, so if you ever need to get there just catch an Uber or take my car. Uber is way cheaper than a taxi." Gemma said as she relaxed into her seat while she drove.

Soon enough, she pulled up into the garage of a five-storey high white and dark green cement building with small balconies, that had a lot of windows and looked very modern. Some lights were on, making me able to see the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and a glimpse of furniture.

"Alright! Welcome home!" Gemma chirped as she pulled the handbrake up and fiddled with her keys.

I had goosebumps the entire way up the building. The elevator was much more nicer than the one back at my old building, and the hallways were a clean white color. I followed Gemma towards a dark grey colored door with a faded out rectangular window on the side of it.

My heart raced and my arms went numb as I nervously waited for Gemma to unlock the door. It took her a while, but once she finally got the key in properly, the door was already opened but it was not by her. I wasn't ready for what was to come.

Ruby was nothing like I had been expecting. When Gemma had mentioned she was hot, I didn't think she meant this hot.

She had a slightly masculine edge to her, but her face was drop dead gorgeous. I found myself gaping at her, her presence making me feel insecure. I had never seen so many tattoos on a girl before. She had one on the side of her neck that I could tell were three small words that I could not read unless I got closer. Her arms were full of colorful tattoos, most of them which looked playful such as the green TMNT along her forearm. She wore a black cap backwards on her dark brown hair, and a dark grey graphic tee. Her deep green eyes that were framed by long eyelashes examined me from top to bottom for a second, but she did not smile.

"Ruby, this is Ellis." Gemma said, touching my shoulder.

"Hi." I said, hoping I didn't sound too nervous.

"Hey." She replied, and I detected some sort of accent but I could not figure out what exactly just yet.

"Okay," Gemma clapped her hands together, trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen upon us. "So now that that's done with, lets take your things to your room."

I nodded and turned around to grab my suitcase handle, Gemma grabbing my other one. Ruby stepped to the side as we dragged them along the faded brown wooden floorboards. Before we went any further, I looked up at the room. The kitchen, dining room and lounge room was all fitted comfortably in the large space. The kitchen which was closest to me had dark grey cabinets and counters, but the small island in the middle was a lighter shade. Pulled up against the island were two white leather stools.

The lounging area had a fluffy champagne rug under it, with two long white couches and a plasma TV against the fig-colored feature wall.

"This place is amazing," I gasped, taking it all in. I imagined settling down on that couch like it's my own, and using that kitchen to do whatever I want.

"It's alright, I guess." Gemma shrugged but smiled. "I mean, it's a bit small but-"

"Small?! Are you joking? It's huge!" Gemma chuckled at me before continuing to pull the suitcase along. Ruby peaked her head out the door for a second, making sure no one was there before proceeding to close the door and lock it.

Gemma led me down the hallway, introducing me to the bathroom with a combined shower and bathtub and a rose-gold crystal chandelier handing in the middle. She had informed me that the chandelier was not made from real crystals and they had bought it because it looked fancy, which did not matter one bit as it looked incredible.

"And here," she placed her hand on the doorknob, "is your room."

My room was smaller than I thought it would be, but that was due to the furniture that Gemma had placed in it. The theme of my room was white and rose-gold, two of my favorite colors. I didn't care that I had sold all my furniture anymore, because this made up for it. The double bed, the dresser, the vanity, even the lamps were enough to make me emotional. Gemma had even added an identical fluffy rug that was in the lounge.

"I love you so much." I turned to Gemma and wrapped my arms around her neck, feeling tears gather in my eyes.

"Ellis!" Gemma exclaimed, laughing at how emotional I was getting.

"You don't get it," I hiccuped, tears already dripping from my face, "I've never had anything this amazing in my entire life."

"It's not that amazing, I wish I had decorated more-"

"Shut up." I said as I pulled away from her, making her laugh again. "I feel like I'm on one of those house designer shows."

I wiped my tears away, using the mirror to my new vanity to check my appearance. I had the biggest under eye circles I had ever seen, and I suddenly wished I wore concealer to at least make myself look a bit more presentable, especially in front of Ruby. I didn't want her first impression of me as being a slob, which I was definitely not.

As Gemma helped me unpack my things and place them all in their new spots, we drew the conversation back to Ruby.

"Who is she exactly? Do you know anything about her?" I asked as I placed the picture frame of Poppy and I on the dresser.

"Well, my ex introduced me to her, you remember Bradley?" Gemma asked, stopping what she was doing for a second. I nod at her.

"Yeah, and then she found out I was looking for a roommate and signed up, and of course I picked her because I knew her more than the others signing up. Everything was great and all until Bradley and I broke up and he moved out, and now she barely talks to me. I don't know, she must be bipolar or something. And she can be a dick as well."

I looked at her with uncertainty, before she added, "but don't worry! We have each other now."

"Yeah." I said, nodding before returning to my bags. Gemma took all my toiletries into the bathroom for me, while I finished off putting my clothes away in the wardrobe and the dresser.