Open Your Heart (Ben Bruce Fan Fic)

Let's Change

AN: This is dedicated to @I_Love_Dino_Cupcakes for requesting this story.

Song: Don't You Ever Forget About Me by Sleeping With Sirens

Lila

“Lila! Did you die?” my best friend, Ben, asked waving his hand in front of my face. His gesture caused me to snap out of my daze and look at him. I had been deep in thought, but Ben didn’t seem to care.

“Sorry. What?” I apologized. My mind wasn’t really on what he was talking about. I was thinking about how in less than two months, Ben was leaving for tour with his band Asking Alexandria and I’d be going to University and how everything was going to change. I didn’t take change too well and I didn’t know how I felt about being apart from my best friend. We had been best friends since the middle of freshman year.

~Flashback~

I let out a breath as I walked into my new school. I had just moved to North Yorkshire from London, so I knew absolutely no one. I was nervous to put it lightly. My mum kept telling me that I should just be myself and I’d make friends, but we all know that doesn’t work. I pulled at my Skid Row t-shirt hoping I could at least find someone with good musical taste to be friends with.

A could sense a few people looking at me and whispering. I guess compared to all the other girls, I really didn’t fit in. My long brown hair was puffy and, unlike the other girls, my makeup wasn’t caked on. The other girls all seemed to be wearing short shorts or mini skirts and tank tops while I was wearing skinny jeans, a t-shirt, and combat boots. I hadn’t really fit in at my old school, either so I was kind of used to it.

“You new here?” someone questioned, slinging their arm around my shoulders. I looked up to see a guy with long black hair, a bit of eyeliner around his light eyes and snakebite piercings. He was wearing a black t-shirt and skinny jeans.

“Yeah,” I replied timidly. I wasn’t very outgoing and this guy’s overly friendliness kind f freaked me out. At my old school, I had only had one friend because I was too shy to talk to anyone.

“Well, you’re hot and you have good taste in music, so we should be friends,” he told me, causing me to blush. I wasn’t a fan of attention and I wasn’t even that good looking. “Or more than that,” he added, winking, which caused my blush to deepen.

“Um, I don’t think so,” I replied as politely as I could. I really had no desire to have this guy hit on me and I knew if I just sat back and took it, he’d just continue.

“Ooo, hard to get. I like ‘em feisty,” the guy next to him, who I assumed was his friend, said with a devilish grin. This guy had messy brown hair, a lip ring, and slightly stretched earlobes. He was wearing a black t-shirt with some lettering on it that I couldn’t read because of the weird angle the first guy had me in and jeans.

Somehow, it only took them a few moments to get me backed up against a wall and surround me. While I was freaking out on the inside, I knew there wasn’t much they could do with all these people around, so I attempted remained calm. I could feel my heartbeat racing and my hands getting clammy, but I tried to ignore it. I needed to remain in control of my emotions to get out of the predicament. “You know, we could hook up during lunch if you want,” the second guy offered.

“Get away from me,” I spat, trying to push pass them. God, they were more horny at eight AM then anyone else I had ever met. Who can think about hooking up at this hour? It took a moment of fighting them to realize they were a lot stronger than me and the fight to get away was useless.

So, I did the only thing left to do. I punch the second guy square in the nose with all my strength.

~End Flashback~

Yep, I met Ben my first day of high school in North Yorkshire after punching him. We both ended up getting suspended, but he apologized for being such a dick to me and asked if we could be friends. I don’t think he meant best friends, but that’s what we were. He was one of the few people I knew I could trust.

“Are you ok today? You keep zoning out,” he interrupted my thoughts. He gave me a funny look as if I had lost my mind before handing me a notebook. “How does that sound?” he asked. When I looked down I could see underneath so math equations he had written lyrics. It was typical Ben not to pay attention in class. The notebook read “Just stand up and scream.The tainted clock is counting down.You gave in to me. Would you say the nights are far too long now?”

“I like it,” I complimented even though my mind was still on the fact that after June, I wouldn’t be able to read his new lyrics because we wouldn’t be able to see each other anymore.

“Thanks,” he replied, taking the notebook back from me and scribbling some more stuff down. “So, what were you thinking about anyway?” he asked after he put his pencil down. 

I shifted on his bed, pulling my legs up to my chest and resting my chin on my knees. “I’m just thinking how everything’s gonna change soon,” I admitted with a sigh. Ben was always telling me how I needed to be more open to change and shit like that.

“Lila, you can still call me whenever you aren’t too busy being smart at University,” he teased, causing me to stick my tongue out at him childishly. I guess I was kind of smart. I was graduating in the top ten percent of our class, so Ben liked to tease me about how smart I was even though I considered it a good thing.

“I know. I’m just gonna miss you. That’s all. Promise me you won’t forget about me when you’re a big rockstar,” I responded, holding out my pinky finger like a little kid. To be honest, besides our friendship, I also had always liked him as more than a friend as cliche as it sounds. I was realizing that I didn’t have much time left if I wanted to confess my feelings for him and knowing me, I wouldn’t. I would let him get away because I was to shy to just be honest, even if he was my best friend. I just didn't want to grow the fuck up and come to terms with my feelings.

“I promise,” he chuckled, linking his finger with mine.It would be more than just missing him. I was going to miss all the fun things we did together and the rest of Asking Alexandria. As shitty as it was, I didn’t want to let high school go.