requested by and dedicated to rock-n-roll-soul

~ Youth Gone Wild  ~

"Mom, I'm 18! Why can't I just go out once? I can make my own decisions!"

"You can't while you're still living under my roof!"

"That's not fair! First it was that I'd have my freedom when I turned 16, then 18, and now I can't have it until I move out?"

"Yes! Maybe if you were smart enough to make good choices, I could trust you with your own freedom. But you're not! The fact that you're still messing around with that Tommy boy just shows it!"

"It's not like we're a thing, and there's nothing wrong with him, Mom! You're just being judgemental, you've never even been around him for more than ten minutes."

"I don't need to, nor do I want to. I know his type. Rocker-- he'll have you doing drugs with him in no time."

"That's not true. You are so narrow-minded, I can't even believe this! Nor the fact that this is all coming from you, who had me when you were 19!"

"Oh, you are so-- get out. Just leave, get out of my sight! Now! And don't fucking come back until you can get your act together!"

"Then I guess I'm not coming back!" I stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind me so hard that I could hear the window panes rattling as I stalked off.

How dare she? Why did she have to judge my friend without even getting to know him? Tommy was a lot of fun and very sweet-- he could be a little reckless, but that didn't make him a bad person.

Well, I had chosen the wrong day to get on my mother's bad side. I realized that when a drop of rain landed on my nose, leading to a pelting storm with me still out on the street. Now what?

Would I be allowed to come back home? Did I even want to? The answer to that was a sour not really. But if it kept on like this I might not have a choice. Then again, I might be willing to trade a smidge of my health for my freedom.

It started to rain even harder. I didn't think it was possible for rain to actually hurt, but the stinging all over my body proved me wrong. Now I had to find shelter-- wandering the streets at night wasn't a good idea anyway.

A shop's light was shining dimly over a spot that seemed to be getting no rain, thanks to a small section of the roof right above it. I scurried under it, pushing my wet hair away from my face and wringing the end of my shirt. I was grateful I wasn't wearing jeans, or I wouldn't have been able to move my legs.

I sat on the ground, which was a bit wet, but it wasn't like that mattered. Where was I supposed to go now? The rain was so heavy I couldn't see further than five feet in front of me. It looked like I was going to have to wait out the storm.

I sat there for what was probably only ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Just when I was thinking that I might as well try to fall asleep, a person splashed through the puddles toward me.

"Hey, do you mind scooting over a little? I kinda wanna sit."

I looked up. "Tommy?"

His usually poofy hair was soaked and flat against his head. He didn't looked too bothered about being out and about in the storm, though. As I studied his face, he blinked twice and leaned a little closer.

"(Y/N)? What are you doing here?" He sat down once I'd moved a little.

I groaned. "My mom kicked me out."

"Permanently?"

"I don't actually know. I doubt it, but I don't know if I want to go back."

"Man, she'd let you go back if you wanted to. She always forgives you."

"I guess so. Anyway, why are you out here?"

"Everyone's out for the weekend, and I forgot my key. So I can't get in my house. That and I couldn't see shit so I got kinda lost on the way back from the record shop."

"Gosh, Tommy, you're so... never mind. Did you get anything new?"

"Nah, I had no money and, as you can see, no jacket. No place to put it if I wanted to steal."

"Quit stealing," I said, flicking him on the head.

"I'm broke, (Y/N), I gotta do what I gotta do." I couldn't even tell if he was kidding.

"Sure, Tommy. You tell yourself whatever you need to."

"I will. So, now what? Are we really going to stay out here all night?"

"Well, not necessarily. I just planned on staying until the storm is over."

"Oh, right. Good idea." He crossed his arms and pushed himself against the wall. "Are you tired?"

"A little," I admitted. "I don't know how that's possible, since I still feel really disgruntled about so many things."

"Okay, first of all, don't tell me you're disgruntled. I don't know what that means." I laughed as he continued, "and second, c'mon, be happy. You still got me."

"Don't even remind me. Tommy Lee, you are a curse in human form."

"Thanks," he said, tilting his head back and grinning. "Seriously, though. I'm tired. Wake me up if someone comes and tries to kill you."

He fell asleep before I could even think of a response. Great. Suddenly, I noticed him start to lean away from me, and before he could hit the wet ground I grabbed his arm. He gave a little groan as I yanked him up and let him down against me. This way he wouldn't have to sleep with his head in the water.

"Marry me," he said before going right back to sleep. I smiled to myself and shook my head.

Eventually, I got tired as well, but there was no sign of a stop in the rain. So I scooted an inch away from Tommy so I could lean against him-- now we were both supporting each other. And I fell asleep.

***

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes the next morning was that it was still raining. But it wasn't raining as hard, so I could clearly see all around me. I was a little far from home, proving just how long I'd been out the night before.

The second thing I noticed was the head on top of mine. The hair had dried over the night and regained a good measure of its fluffiness factor. And the owner of it was sleeping with his arms around my shoulders, breathing peacefully.

I didn't really feel like getting up and facing the day yet, nor did I want to get out of Tommy's embrace. So I stayed like that, snuggling a little closer to him. I wasn't sure if he woke up at that, because he moved the smallest bit and rubbed his cheek against the top of my head. That was it though, so I figured he was still asleep. Man, I loved that goofball.

Somehow, I drifted back to sleep, and when I woke up again the sun was high and it was obviously after noon. There was a light sprinkling of rain falling, and combined with the sun was casting a beautiful rainbow across the sky. I stared at it for a while, until a voice startlingly close to my ear spoke.

"That sure's a nice rainbow, isn't it?"

I jumped a little, turning my head to look at the one who'd spoken. "Jeez, Tommy, you scared the crap out of me. I thought were still sleeping."

"I just woke up. Well, that was a good night."

I didn't answer for a moment, realizing his arms were still around me. We stayed like that for a moment until Tommy seemed to come to the same realization.

"Oh." He let go and moved an inch away. "Sorry. That must've happened while I was asleep."

"I didn't mind," I said. Of course I didn't. Not in the least.

"Well, now what?" He asked after a minute. "What are you gonna do? My parents should be back by now-- do you wanna come stay with me?"

I gave a heavy sigh and shrugged. "Can I? I don't really wanna go back to my mom's just yet."

"Sure, you know my parents love you. Come on." He jumped to his feet and held out a hand. I took it and pulled myself up, brushing a hand across my pants. I ran my other hand through my cold hair, trying to make it look presentable.

"You look fine," Tommy said, reading my mind. "You always do. Now come on."

We made it to his house a while later, taking our time on the walk back. Neither of us really wanted to hurry, mostly because our wet clothes limited our mobility. We did make it eventually, and his parents were happy to see both of us.

"(Y/N), long time no see!" His mother pulled me in for a hug. "Oh, you're wet! Were you out in the storm?"

"Just last night," I said, hugging her back. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. But how are you? Do you need anything?"

"Actually, mom," Tommy said, "can (Y/N) stay with us for a bit? Ya know... her mom..."

"Ah," Mrs. Lee said. She knew how my mom was-- she was like a second mother to me, and more than once I'd ended up here crying because of something my mother had said or done. "Of course you can, sweetheart. Stay as long as you need to."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Lee. Let me know if I can ever help you with anything."

"Help me control this boy," she said, smacking Tommy's shoulder. He laughed and shook it off, grabbing my hand and starting to pull me to his room.

"Thanks, mom, you're the best!" He yelled when we were at his door.

"Thank you!" I called. I saw her smile at us before Tommy yanked me inside his room and threw himself down on the bed.

He jumped up a second later, remembering his clothes were still wet and dirty from having slept on the ground. Luckily, no sign of it was left on the bed.

"We should shower... Here, you can borrow something of mine. You know where everything is. Or you could ask my sister..."

He pretty much bounced out of the room with a towel and change of clothes in hand to the bathroom to shower. I ended up borrowing some of his things, and when he came back I went to shower as well.

"You can have my bed," Tommy said when I came back, "and I'll sleep on the floor."

"What? No."

"What, you wanna share it?" He grinned at me and wiggled his eyebrows.

"You are so-- never mind. We'll take turns, since I know we'll never come to any other agreement."

"If you're sure," he said, sitting down on the bed. "What do you want to do now?"

"Tell me about some of these, I said, gesturing to the posters on the wall. He'd already told me all about them, of course, but I liked hearing him talk about them. He was definitely aware of the first fact, but he didn't seem to mind repeating himself, because he launched into a talk about the bamd on the nearest poster.

When he was done, it was nighttime again, and we were both ready to go to sleep.

"You take the bed tonight, since it's your first night away from home... or, second. Same thing," he said.

I didn't have the energy to argue, so I agreed. "Thanks, Tommy. You're the best friend I could ever have asked for."

"Wow," he said. "I can't believe I just got friend-zoned."

We both laughed. "Shut up."

"Make me."

"Maybe I will."

"And just how are you gonna do that?" His voice was low and quiet as he moved a little closer.

I tilted my head to the side a little and thought about it for a moment. It was an obvious answer. I took his shirt in both my hands and pulled him in real close, ending with a kiss on his lips.

"That works," he said a minute later, grinning like a child who had just received candy. "No, I still kinda feel like talking..."

I laughed and shook my head before shoving him off the bed and settling myself in under the covers. He started to protest, but I cut him off with a simple "good night, Tommy."

I awoke the second the smell of food hit me. Tommy was already gone-- why hadn't he woken me up?

I slowly made my way to the kitchen, rubbing my eyes and smoothing back my hair. I made it just as Tommy was finishing a sentence, his back turned to me.

"--I think today's the day I ask (Y/N) if she'll be my girlfriend. Do you think she'll say yes?"

Mrs. Lee caught sight of me and asked, "why don't you turn around and find out?"

He did, and he looked a little surprised when he saw me standing there. He swiftly moved toward me, ending up standing right front of me. "Hey, (Y/N). I thought you were still sleeping."

I shook my head and gave him an expectant look.

"Right, I just wanted to ask you: will you be my girlfriend?"

I looked at Mrs. Lee, and she grinned and raised her eyebrows. I turned back to Tommy and said, "of course I will!"

"Really? You mean it?"

"Yeah, Tommy, I mean it. Hey, at least your mom already knows me," I joked.

"Smart," he laughed. "And true. You approve, right, Mom?"

"Of course I approve of (Y/N) for you. I almost don't approve of you for (Y/N)," she replied, pouring some juice into a glass.

"Okay, that hurt. So, you hungry?" Tommy looked at me with a cheerful smile.

"You're not allowed to say no," Mrs. Lee said, shaking a spoon at me. I laughed and nodded before helping her set the table, the process of which Tommy was more than happy to just stand by and watch. His mom made him promise to wash the dishes after breakfast though, so it was alright.

Everything was alright.

***

i don't know how long the term 'friend-zoned' has been around and i know that 'make me' thing is cliché, but whatever YOLO

before i go, a moment to appreciate Tommy's beautiful hair? like um GOALS??? mine is terrible, why can't it look like that... then again i wouldn't rock it as well lmao
okay, it's past 2 a.m. and i'm barely tired so i'm gonna keep writing in the hopes that i get some more of these done. also, my app is really acting up, so i can't look at some books and a bunch of comments won't load. it'll act right soon, i hope. anyway, until next time!