Recovery [ON HOLD]

Chapter Five: Meets and Greets

POV from Ben

I swallowed hard and sat down. Jordyn sat beside me. For once, they put me on the end of the line. Sam sat in the front of the line, then Cameron, then James, then Danny, then me. I smiled at Jordyn and she flashed me a smile back. It was fake. I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach and looked away. She was pissed. I should have asked to reschedule the photo shoot and the signing. It's her fucking birthday. I already fucked up on the breakfast. Some boyfriend I was. Instantly, there was a gigantic line, all waiting to see us. I smiled and opened my sharpie. I felt Jordyn lean against me slightly, her eyes on some of the girls who barely wore anything. I sensed her anxiety as I put my arm around her. 

"Don't worry." I whispered. "You're much prettier." 

She made a face and pulled my arm off her. "Heads up, Ben." She winked. I chuckled and looked up at the fan who stood in front of me. A poster was shoved to me from Danny. Danny grinned at me and moved on to the next poster. 

"Hi, Ben." squeaked the girl as I scribbled my autograph on her poster. 

"Hi." I smiled up at her. She giggled and grabbed her poster before running off to God knows where. 

I signed some posters and took some pictures. Finally, there was a few people left and my sharpie was running out of ink. I hummed happily as I saw there was only about five more people left. There was three females and two males. The boys looked like they knew each other and they were paying attention to the girl behind them, the last girl in line. They also were lugging a guitar case with them.

 When we reached the three, one of the guys pulled the girl up and let her in front of them. She blushed like crazy and rubbed at her face drastically. She handed Sam a little box and then handed Cam a box as well. They were little taco boxes that you get at Taco Bell. She continued down the line, handing James a box, and Danny a box. When she reached me, she had two boxes left. Confused I cocked my head slightly. She blushed and handed me a box and then held out a box for Jordyn. 

Jordyn perked up and took the box from her.

"Thanks." Jordyn grinned, her smile wide. The girl smiled back and opened her mouth. Before she could say anything, she choked on something and blushed, turning on her heel and walking away. 

"Hold on there!" I called, standing up and climbing over the rickety table with some effort. She glanced up at me, tears in her eyes. I felt something in my stomach that didn't make me feel good at all. I hated to see girls cry. "Where are you going?" 

She covered her mouth and started sobbing louder. I pulled her into a hug and rested my head on hers. Her shaking sobs made me so confused. Was she mad at me? What did I do? The guys looked up and looked at me strangely. I pulled her back to the table and grabbed her my chair. I sat her in front of my place and helped her sit. I found some paper towels and handed her a roll. She wiped her nose and fixed her makeup. She smiled at me and it broke my heart. 

"What's your name?" I asked. Cam, Sam, and James moved their chairs up to make a small circle. I leaned across the table, my elbows resting on the plastic. 

"R-Rue." She sighed, her mouth quivering. 

"That's a cool name." James grinned, his arm resting on her shoulder. The boys from earlier smiled and nudged each other. 

"Why are you crying, Rue?" Danny asked, his hands clasped in front of him. I was surprised at how nice he was being. Usually Danny's not that sociable. 

"I don't-I don't know." She muttered, looking away, picking at her nails. 

"Rue, tell him." said one of the boys. Rue played with the hem of her sweater. 

"Tell us the whole story." Sam said, his smile wide. "We have time." 

I glanced at Jordyn, but she was sifting through the box. She was reading something that was in it and she covered her mouth. I was about to ask her about it, but she stood up, tears in her eyes. She walked over to Rue and gave her a big huge. She whispered something in her ear and Rue burst into tears again. 

Jordyn smiled weakly and kissed her cheek. Then she gave me a look. 

"I'm going to the bathroom." She said. Without seeing a reaction from me, she walked away. My attention now returned to Rue who was blowing her nose. 

"What's going on?" I asked softly, my hand reaching out to touch her hand. 

She flinched a little and then smiled at me. 

"I-ah-I guess it starts in school. I get bullied a lot. I hurt myself. I cut. I made myself a promise that I'd wait to see your band before I did something stupid. Now...I have nothing left to do." She wiped the tears from her face. "I have nothing left that I want to do with my life. So...goodbye." she grinned at me and the others before standing and leaving. I was about to run out after her, but I felt a hand on me. 

"Don't do that." sighed one of the boys. "You'll make matters worse. I'm her older brother. Jaxin." 

"Jaxin, I'm going to give you my number, okay?" I asked, looking for a reaction. He nodded. "You're to call me if she tries anything. Right?" Jaxin nodded and handed me his phone. I typed in my number and saved it then turned to the guitar. "What's that all about?" I nodded to the case. He smiled. 

"This is Rue's. She loves guitar. She was inspired to learn it because of you and Cam. She didn't want you to sign it because she would think you guys would think weirdly of her. But I convinced her to. So could you?" 

"We all will." I said, nodding to the table. I started by writing her a small note. Rue, you're a beautiful and brilliant young woman. You're so strong for holding on as long as you have. Promise you'll stay forever. ~Ben

I handed the acoustic down to the others. They all wrote notes. The other boy smiled. 

"Thanks a lot you guys." he said, nodding to Jaxin. Jaxin took the guitar back and put it in the case. 

"Remember, don't hesitate to call." I grinned, patting his back. Jaxin nodded and walked away with the other boy. I frowned after them. I worried about Rue. But on top of everything else, where was Jordyn