Rock On!: A Parb Story

Chapter 7: The Roommate

Poppy's POV

Well, it looked like I was staying at Barb's place for the long while ahead. Might as well get comfy, I thought, laying out my stuff on the floor.

I put my clothes near Barb's dresser, put my pillow and blanket on the cot, and the guitars and the rest of my stuff I put on an nearby empty tabletop.

I looked at my new setup, it was a bit big for a room, but it would do. I then veered over to the mirror, looking at myself. I was still clad in my rocker gear from the night, guess I should get used to it if I was gonna live here for a while.

Maybe Barb can give me some extra lessons on rock now and then, I thought to myself, that might help me out when dealing with other Rockers.

It took about a half hour, but eventually Barb came back with some food and other stuff.

"Hey, you're back!" I said, gladly.

"Yeah," Barb said, carrying her bags clumsily, "took a little longer because I was also shopping for some new clothes for you, too."

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," I said, helping her with both bags.

"Don't worry about it, I get a 75% discount on everything as Queen, so it cost barely anything," she said, handing me the clothes bag.

I took it and looked inside. There were a bunch of Rocker outfits for me inside. They were actually pretty cool, they had all these cool patterns on them and they all came with cool accessories. There was one dress that stood out though: a dark-purplish outfit with a flame pattern on the bottom and a custom buckle.

"You like them?" she asked, setting her stuff down.

"They're awesome!" I said, holding them up, "I can't thank you enough for this!"

"Anything for you, Popsqueak," she said with a dazed look.

"Uh...Barb, you there?" I asked, trying to snap her out of it.

"Huh. Oh yeah, sorry. It happens," she said, turning back to the groceries.

"Oookayyyyy...," I said, turning away to distract myself from that little hiccup. I wasn't sure what was going on in her head, but I didn't want to force her into telling. I'd play it smart and wait/ride it out.

The food was actually pretty nice. It was a Shrimp Casserole with a delicious Parm layer. It was eating the sweet food of an angel in Heaven. While we dined, we talked about the whole scenario with my dethroning and what to do now.

"You think part of the reason they rebelled is because of how often we've been hanging out?" Barb asked, interested to know the details.

"I guess," I told her, twiddling my fork in my hand, "I mean I knew people would be a bit hesitant about it after the whole World Tour shindig, just never thought they would go this far."

"I mean, this is so bogus!" She said, slamming her knife into the table, "I mean, I thought we were cool with being friends with different tribes."

"I guess not everyone's gotten the message," I said looking down, "I guess some people just don't want certain things to change, no matter how much it might help."

"Well, how long do you think you might have to stay here?"

"I don't know. I don't think I can go back anyhow. They don't really seem to like the idea of me spending time with a Hard Rock Troll like you. I just don't get it! We should be able to be friends with whoever we choose! They can't just take that from us."

Barb went over to my side of the table, putting her hand on my shoulder, looking at me in the eye.

"Well, you're my friend. My best friend, and you can stay here for as long as you need. And I promise I will help you with this when we can. I'll even vouch for you if you want."

"Thanks, Barb," I said, "I would like that a lot."

After that nice talk, we got dressed for bed. Barb wore a cool leopard print pajama outfit, while I wore a black t-shirt and red pajama pants.

As we both got under the covers, we both started to go to sleep.

"Barb?" I asked, nudging her a bit.

"Yeah?" She asked, tired a bit.

"Thanks for letting me stay tonight."

"No probs. Goodnight, Poppy."

"Goodnight," I said as I rolled over, drifting off to sleep.