Hiding Behind False Eyes (A Ben Bruce Love Story.... Kind of.)

Chapter Five- You Smile When You Hear My Songs

They progressed through the song, making a horrible racket, while I leaned against the kitchen counter and laughed my ass off. Sam moaned from the couch, covering his ears. Soon it came to the part where Ben usually took over the mic. I stood up. “I’m singing this!” I exclaimed, and took the spoon Ben was using as a microphone. I took a deep breath.

One step too late, and I never told you

That I can’t take another disappointment

Breathing and grasping all leads to another messy ending

Breathing and grasping all leads to another messy ending

I realized halfway through that everyone had stopped playing their "instruments." When I finished, James stared at me. “That’s it; you’re coming on stage with us. We’ll have to show you to Danny tomorrow. You’re a lot better than the shit Ben does,” he said, and Ben slugged him on the shoulder. James grinned.

“Call your mom and tell her you’ll be gone for the next four months. Don’t bother to pack anything. We’ve got a shit ton of money that we usually just spend on booze, and it’ll be nice to spend it on something else for a change,” said Cam.

I froze. “Wait- you’re serious?”

“Completely. The fans will love you, too.”

“You must be REALLY drunk,” I said. “Time for bed.”

“She seems to think that when we’re drunk, our judgement is impaired,” said Ben to Cam and James, shaking his head in confusion. The two boys lay down on the carpet in the living room and passed out within seconds.

Seeing nowhere else to go, I lay down on the couch beside Sam, resting my head on his shoulder. Within a second, Ben was standing over me. “No,” he said, then picked me up and set me on my feet. “First of all, you need pajamas. Second of all, you’re not sleeping with him.”

“I can sleep in my clothes, Ben,” I said with a smile.

“Or you could sleep in mine,” he said, and then took off the hoodie he was wearing. I tried not to stare at his beautiful, tattooed, bare chest as I put on the hoodie. He zipped it up slowly, and met my eyes when he had zipped it all the way. Ben’s eyes darted briefly down to my lips, and he slid his hands slowly, almost uncertainly, around my waist. I looked up at him and put my arms around his neck, andhe leaned down and gently kissed me. Ben pulled away, letting me go, and I giggled as he dragged Sam, who had now passed out from the alcohol, off of the couch. He pulled me down on top of him and looked into my eyes.

“Thanks for making this into such a great day,” I whispered. “It was lots of fun. I’ll blame you for the hangover I’ll have in the morning, though.” I smiled down at Ben, and then gave him another gentle kiss.

“Happy birthday, Rain. Goodnight,” Ben said quietly as I lay my head on his chest.

“Goodnight, Ben,” I said, snuggling into him.

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The first thing I saw when I woke up was Ben looking down at me. I smiled at him and sat up just as Lyss and Danny walked into the kitchen. James was awake and ran straight over to Danny.

“Danny, you have to listen to Rain sing, we think we should bring her on tour and”-

“SHUT UP JAMES YOU LITTLE CUNT, I’m hungry and this hangover hurts like a bitch!” complained Danny. James wasn’t bothered by this. “Happens all the time,” he whispered. “Get some food in him and he’s a new man.”

I helped Alyssa make pancakes. Sam and Cameron woke up promptly after we had started cooking the first one. James poured syrup straight into his mouth and stuffed a whole pancake in, then took a swig of rum. Sam still didn’t feel well enough to eat. Ben ate almost like a civilised person, while Danny ate four pancakes before starting to feel better.

“Good pancakes?” I asked.

“They’re shit, but they do the trick,” he said. I shrugged; fair enough. Alyssa and I in no way resembled cooks.

“What’s the hell is on the counter?” Danny asked, looking at the cake from last night. He obviously didn’t remember.

“That’s what you gave me for my birthday,” I said. “Baked grass, sock water, flour, eggs and liquor.”

“Sock water?” Danny asked, looking at me as if I was insane. He laughed. “I do some fucked up shit when I’m drunk.”

“It's essence of sock, actually,” corrected James with a childlike grin.

When the boys had eaten and had received angry calls from their tour manager, James tried Danny again.

“Danny, you need to listen to Rain sing.”

“She’s coming on tour with us whether you like it or not, so you may as well take a listen,” said Ben.

“Fine then. Try me,” said Danny.

I didn’t feel too intimidated, which was probably something to do with the fact that Ben had grabbed my hand and was standing beside me. I sang all of Ben’s part from Not the American Average, and was met with silence.

“Well, shit. Welcome to the tour, love,” Danny said finally. I could barely contain my excitement, and I turned to give Ben a long hug. This meant we would be together for the next three months.

“Now where the hell are my pants?” Danny asked, looking down at himself.

“Outside somewhere,” I said.

“Damn it, not again,” said Danny, before standing up to go find them.

The others slowly cleared out of the room to try and get ready for the day. They would have to go back to their bus eventually, but at least I would be going with them.

I was left alone with Ben. He grabbed me around the waist from behind and I turned my head to smile up at him. I stood there in his arms, and I felt that with him by my side, everything would be okay.

“You and me, for the next three months,” said Ben, smiling down at me. “I’m going to enjoy every minute. Having you on stage will change everything.”