Devil Inside (Ben Bruce)

15

Lily's POV:

The tour was nearing its end, and Ben, being Ben, told me that he wanted me to tag along with them for the last few days of it. In other words, he couldn't wait until the end to see me, so it's better to get things in early than wait even longer. Besides, I think that he had plans. 

So I was flying out to some state on the East Coast that I'd never been to before today. I was drawing a chaotic image of a cat, cow, and the Milky Way. I know I don't usually do this stuff, but lately I'm growing frustrated with my artwork. I have this energy that just doesn't want to draw only Ben anymore. And while my mind is okay with it, they're coming out more interesting than ever. It's as though someone took my pencil and just put me on autopilot. Heck, I'm even using color. And I haven't used color since I colored the hair on Rachel's drawing two years ago. 

But no, today I was drawing the most random combination based off of some weird electropop group I found on MySpace. 

(A/N: anyone? Eh? Eh? Do you see it? Eh? Eh?)

I put my regular pencil down and found the box of colored pencils that I've been keeping with me for the flight. I began to color the image with a rainbow of different shades. 

Once off of the flight, this time Ben himself greeted me in the airport. His face lit up as soon as he saw me. This time, I'd brought an actual suitcase, which meant we'd have to stop at the bandwagon before we did anything else. In spite of this, as soon as I was close enough, Ben hugged me tightly. "I missed you so much," He confessed.

"Eh mrrrm ya tu," I tried to say, but my words were muffed into his chest. 

"What?" He asked, letting me go.

"I missed you too."

"Come on." He motioned for me to follow him. " I really need a smoke."

I followed him quickly as we left the airport. Once outside, he immediately stopped to light a cigarette. He drew a long one and then put the cigarette down by his side. "Much better."

I only chuckled as I started walking with him. "So how have things been going on tour?" I asked.

He shrugged. "You know, I think that my ankles are growing red from always being grabbed at at these small venues. There's no barrier, so they're all against the stage." He smiled dreamily. "But, my fucking God, I wouldn't trade this life for the world. I love this so much." He looked at me, drawing a smoke before asking, "How about you?"

I tucked my hair behind my ear so that I could see him. "You know, the usual. Working my ass off at the diner, drawing until the wee hours of the morning."

Ben laughed loudly. "The wee hours of the morning?"

"Yes," I tried to sound confident, but all I could feel was a heat rising to my cheeks.

"It was cute," Ben assured me. "Why are you still working there if you could move and go to art school?"

"I have unfinished business. I'll be leaving by the end of the year though. I have my heart set on this apartment in Vegas." 

"How mysterious," Ben noted, drawing a smoke after he did so. He handed his cigarette to me. 

"Why are you giving me this?" I asked, taking it. 

"You can use it for a minute." He put his hands in his pockets.

"I didn't know people shared these." I drew a smoke anyways. The end of the cigarette was already damp from Ben using it, but nonetheless it still worked. I gave it back to him.