Hers 2 (Ruby Rose)

19| Kind

I KEPT TELLING myself to stop reading those comments, to focus on the positive ones instead. There were a lot of those, yet I still found myself searching for the negative ones. It was like I wanted myself to feel bad, and to doubt myself and my relationship with Ruby. It was like I was versing myself, like I wanted myself to lose.

As I waited patiently for Ruby to hop off the plane, I opened up Instagram once again to see how many more followers she gained. Of course, she gained a few more thousand since I last checked a few days ago, yet she had not posted anything new.

I automatically smiled to myself when I looked at the picture of us at the Grand Canyons, and I knew there would be new comments.

Before I could scroll down to read them, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I flinched, lowering my phone and quickly turning around. Ruby looked surprised by my reaction, but wore a perfect, dazzling smile.

"Hello," she said causally, as if I hadn't been dying over the distance that was put between us for a short amount of time.

I threw my arms around her and jumped, wrapping my legs around her. She quickly grabbed around my waist and let out a short laugh, nuzzling her face into the crook of my neck.

"I missed you so much," I said, voice muffled by her shoulder.

"I missed you more." She said.

Over her shoulder, I noticed a young girl walk over with her family following behind her. She held her phone in her hand. I quickly unwrapped my legs from her waist and Ruby lowered me before turning around to see who I was looking at.

The girl gave a big smile but she looked nervous, her shoulders raised up to her ears, and she looked directly at Ruby.

"Hi, are you Ruby Rose?" She asked, her voice small.

"Yes, I am..." Ruby replied, removing her arms from around me and stepping towards the girl.

"Could I please have a photo with you?"

"Of course," Ruby said in her most friendly tone of voice I had ever heard.

"I'll take it for you," I said, quickly stepping in to take the phone from the girl. She mumbled a thank you before moving back to pose next to Ruby.

I took multiple, noticing how Ruby held the girl tight in every photo, hugging her from the side. The girl looked ecstatic in the pictures, and I couldn't help but find the whole thing adorable.

Ruby spent the next five minutes chatting with the girl, who she learnt was fifteen years old and had dreams of becoming a model as well. I could have watched the way Ruby conversed with her for hours, but the girl's family eventually told her that they had to leave.

After a final goodbye between the two, we watched her walk away.

"Okay, I can't believe that just happened." I said, turning to Ruby after the family had disappeared into the crowd.

"Yeah, that was a first for me. I feel kinda weird now." Ruby said, letting out a shiver.

"She really looks up to you," I said.

"I guess," Ruby shrugged, "I never imagined anyone would ever do that. I'm not exactly someone who anyone should look up to, you know?" She chuckled.

"I think it's amazing, and I know you will continue to inspire more and more people." I said, entwining my fingers through hers, then bringing her hand up and kissing the back of it.

"I hope she likes the photos," I mumbled, feeling my stomach twist into a knot at the thought of having messed up when taking the photos. What if it was a bad angle? Or the photos were blurry? I had been shaking, after all.

"Of course she will," Ruby said, noticing that I was lost in my thought, "and I reckon she liked you as well."

"She barley looked at me." I replied, still giving her a smile even though I felt slightly disappointed that she barely acknowledged me.

"Ellis," she suddenly sounded serious, "you didn't read the comments, did you?"

I felt anxiety wash over me. Was it that obvious?

"No-" my voice was shaky as my throat felt like it had closed up all of the sudden, "I mean, I have, but I don't care about them."

Ruby rolled her head back and sighed. "This is what I was worried about." She muttered.

"What?"

"That all of this would affect you somehow, and I don't just mean the comments. I'm worried you won't be able to handle any of this. Like the fact that I have to travel."

I frowned. "Why are you bringing that up?" I was so confused. What did I do wrong while she was away? I thought I handled myself pretty well. Yes, I missed her, but I didn't let it get in the way of her work.

"You called me every single night, when I was supposed to be going to sleep." She noticed the look on my face, that I was offended, and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired." She said, but she didn't sound sorry. She reached down to grab her luggage.

"That's no excuse to be a bitch," I blurted out, immediately regretting it. Great, now we were fighting. "I get that I'm clingy, but I wouldn't have to be if I trusted you to not-" I hesitated, swallowing, "to not hurt yourself again."

She scoffed, frowning. "You don't trust me? Seriously?" I knew she was trying hard to show that she was better, and that she would never do anything like that ever again.

I mentally slapped myself. I was making everything worse.

"I do, I do trust you." I said, my voice soft. "Okay, I promise that next time I'll give you space."

Ruby did not look satisfied by my reply, but let the conversation go anyway.

"Let's go, I'm tired." She muttered, starting to walk.

I wanted to cry, but I stayed strong. Was everything going downhill again?