Take Care {Prince Royce Fan Fiction}

6. The Story

"Walked into the room, you know you made my eyes burn."

-Lana Del Rey, "Blue Jeans"

-///Royce///-

        Even after our little not-so-pleasant car ride home, I was still curious. I wanted to know what made Aralon the way she was. I mean, you can't just be born that cold hearted. There has to be a story behind it, and I wanted to know that story pretty bad.

        The little bell on the door jingled as I came in. I was growing used to the sound. I listened to the song that was playing and smiled to myself. It was mine.

        I saw Aralon behind the counter. She seemed to be alone but she didn't pay me any attention once I came in.

"Y si eres gorda o flaca todo eso no me importa a mi.", I sang along with myself as I stepped inside.

        That was made her look up. She sighed. "The usual?"

"The usual."

        She gave me an unamused look before getting to work.

"So, today's my last day here.", I said.

"Is it?", she said absentmindedly.

"Yep. So, I believe you have a story for me."

"Really? Do I know?", she asked.

        I nodded. "You do."

        She handed me the sub and leaned against the counter. "So, tell me, what exactly is this story supposed to be about?"

"You."

"And why do I owe you this story?"

"Because you didn't give me gas money."

"I offered to." She sighed. "But fair point." She looked at her watch. "Today's a slow day anyway. What do you wanna know, Royce?"

"Why are you the way you are?", I questioned. "What was it? The whole modeling thing?"

        She seemed to be in deep thought for a minute. "I think maybe that was part of it. I think there's norr to it than that. I dunno. I hated it anyway."

"What? Modeling?"

She nodded.

"Then why'd you do it? If you hated it so much, why were you so pissy with me for 'ruining your career'?"

"'Cause I needed it." She leaned in a little closer. "Imma let you in on a little something, Royce. Doña Francesca, the lady who runs this place, she's my world. If anything ever happened to her, I'd go crazy."

        That made sense. She did seem to curb her attitude around her. I nodded to show I was listening.

"Well, she has cancer." She said bluntly. She was miserable so, you know what I did? I took up modeling to help pay the bills. I hated it, man. I had to change everything about me. The way I acted, my accent...everything. But I did it 'cause people told me I had a pretty face and i guess I convinced myself into believing 'em."

        Damn. I didn't wanna sound horrible or anything but she actually had a heart. "Wow.", I said pathetically. Don't judge a book by its cover.

        She stared at her nails as she tapped them rythymically on the counter. "That's not really an excuse though. Don't feel bad for me. There's more to me than that."

        I thought that explained her behavior pretty well but the tone in her voice said she didn't feel like it was enough. "What do you mean?", I asked her.