Broken Barbie

Chapter 2

I approached the boy cautiously, not sure whether this was a good idea or not. Everyone had told me to stay away. He's a pusher. He's been to juvie. He brings a knife to school. He's a rapist. He's a pedo. Everyone told me these things about him, but I wanted to know for myself. If anyone understood how much teenagers loved jumping to false conclusions, it would be me. Was he really as bad as everyone said he was? Or did they judge him based on his tough exterior and interest in dark clothing? I doubt someone who I caught reading A Midsummer's Dream in their free time could be too bad. I was startled when he noticed me approaching him, lowering his lit cigarette. "What do you want, Barbie Doll?" 

I was about to close the door in a panic when he grabbed my hand, stopping me and pulling me out of the bus. His action was gentle, but the sudden change in direction almost made me fall flat on my face. He caught me and stood me up straight, his hands on my shoulders as he stared into my soul. 

I didn't know if I should be panicking or rambling, so I just stood still without a word. "You okay? I didn't mean to pull you that hard." he asked, concerned. I nodded, afraid of opening my dumb mouth and saying something stupid. He smiled softly before shaking his head, moving his hands away and taking a step back. "So… Gemini, huh?" he said, trying to start a conversation. I could tell that he was just as nervous as I was. "Yeah. Scorpio kind of just gave me that name." I said, smiling awkwardly and fiddling with the lint in my pockets. 

"Cool. I always told you that you had a good voice." he said, a hint of an "I told you so" smirk glimmering through his tense exterior. I chuckled. "Yeah. You did." I said, not knowing whether I should run back into the bus or stay planted in one spot. He looked down and took my hand in his, coming close to me. "I miss you." he said, his fingers intertwined with mine. I gently leaned my forehead against his, relishing in the warmth that radiated off of him. "I miss you too." I said, letting my guard down. His eyes looked down at my lips and I knew that I should pull away. I let go of his hand and suddenly backed away. My back slammed against the bus behind me and my legs were caught unaware. My balance failed me and my ass landed on the concrete below. "Ow." I said, a dull pain growing on my lower back.

"Are you okay?" he asked, immediately stooping down to check on me. I blushed at his proximity and scrambled to the side, trying to get as far away from him as possible. "I-I'm fine! Haha! I should just probably get back to work." I stuttered, trying to get back on the bus. He stopped me again and I tried to avoid his eyes. "Really? Three years and you're still running away from me? What did I even do?" he asked, a sad look in his eyes. That pang of guilt in my chest came back, hitting me harder this time. 

"You didn't do anything. I'm just not ready to -"

"You just said that you missed me. Well, I'm right here! You don't have to miss me anymore."

"This isn't about you!" I shouted over him. He backed away and I felt more guilt eating at my stomach. This wasn't how I planned on meeting him again. "Okay. I'm sorry. I guess I was just surprised to see you here. You used to only sing for me." he said, smiling weakly at the memory. 

He had no idea what he did to me. How he made me feel. What he could do if I hadn't spent years working on my self-control. My knees felt weak when he smiled. My heart skipped a beat whenever I looked into his eyes. I had stayed away all this time by sheer force of will, and he was breaking it just by existing in my air space. But I tried to act cool and remain calm. "Yeah. I started taking music classes and I met the others. Speaking of, I was surprised to see you doing backup vocals." 

"Well, we all start somewhere. Logan was the lead singer before I met everyone, so I just went along with it."

"I guess that's how it goes."

"... Yep…"

The conversation died just as soon as it started and I stood in place, gazing at the floor. That's when a shorter boy approached Leo, clinging onto his arm. "Hey babe! Who's this?" he asked. My heart broke at that moment. I never expected him to wait for me, but seeing real live proof that I could never have him again was…

"Oh! This is Gemini. He sings with The Zodiacs. We were just talking about songwriting." Leo says, covering up the awkward encounter. 

"Oh my gosh! I didn't even notice! You look so different in person. My name is Andrew. I'm a huge fan of yours." he says, letting go of Leo and holding out his hand. I go into work mode and a smile spreads across my face. "It's nice to meet you, Andrew. I'm always happy to meet a fan." I say, the practiced line sounding genuine. 

"Hey! While I'm here, can I get your autograph?" he asks. I pull out a marker from my pocket. "Of course! Here." I take his forearm and sign the inside, not having a piece of paper handy. Andrew squeals happily and I notice something about him. Neat, blonde hair, blue eyes, small stature and bubbly. He reminds me of myself, which makes me glare at Leo discreetly. "Eeee! It was so great meeting you! Now come on, Leo. You promised me a drink." he says, pulling him away down the street. I sighed as I climbed back into the bus, getting back to work.

________________

The next morning I woke up to see Scorpio sleeping in the seat across from me. He had a hickey on his neck that made me giggle, knowing that the makeup artist for our next gig would hate him. I got up and searched the bus for the other two, finding Capricorn snuggled up with an empty beer bottle in the back but not finding Taurus anywhere. I went up to the front and found Jack, our driver, already preparing to leave. "Hey Jack, have you seen Taur?" I asked. 

"Yeah. He was here a minute ago, but he asked me to wait while he went and did something real quick. He probably had to piss." he said. 

"Thanks. I got worried when I couldn't find him. We've left without him one too many times." I said. Jack laughed as we both remembered seeing Taurus running after the bus in nothing but his underwear with his pants in his hand just last month. As if on cue, Taurus jumped into the bus, his eyes lit up with excitement. 

"Someone woke up on the right side of the bed. What's got you all excited?" I asked the disheveled looking ginger. 

"I just got us another gig for after New Year's!" he said, his chest puffed as he marched onto the bus. "Really? Mind sharing with the class?" I asked, curious as to what he had signed us all up for.

"We're going to go on tour with The Lions' Den!"