Mirrors on the Outside
Chapter 9
~Tony's POV~
Watching Jaime try to explain away his morning wood and escape the room without Laura noticing very well may have been the funniest thing I've ever seen. He just kept stuttering and starting to get up and move the blanket, but as soon as she'd look, he'd settle right back into the couch.
I decide to rescue him from his misery.
"Hey Laura!" I exclaim, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Ew, Jaime. Go get a shower, you smell awful, like you've been in the woods or something." I giggle a little as he shoots me a cross between a glare and a grateful smile.
Once he leaves the room, I release Laura who smiles up at me.
"Rehearsals today, right Tone? And then the first show tomorrow."
I nod in agreement as she bites her lip, appearing to become anxious already. I shake my head a little, not upset with her, but exasperated at the whole situation she's lived through. I place my fingers under her chin as I sit down on the couch, still above her, forcing her to look me in the eyes.
"Sweetie, what's wrong? Honestly."
She sighs heavily. "Honestly, I'm really scared of fucking this up. I literally have NOTHING else. Nothing. Not a single person I can trust, or a home, or anything without you guys. I just......I just want to be good enough for once in my life." She admits, breaking down into tears.
I sigh as well. I just don't see how to convince her that she's not broken, or worthless like she's been led to believe. Laura means so much to me, to all of us. And I just know that our fans will love her as well.
"You are good enough. For goodness' sakes, you're 17 and have a fucking college degree! As a musician, a band you respect found you singing in a tree and begged you to come on tour with them. I'm sorry, but I don't see how that could be considered a failure in any way."
"Well when you put it like that, without mentioning any of my flaws, yeah it sounds pretty great."
Exasperated, I say, "Flaws. Here's a piece of paper. Make a list of your so-called-flaws. Right now. Vic, Mike, Tony! Get in here."
She looks at me with surprise, but complies to my request. Vic and Mike stumble in.
"What the hell Tony? What's so urgent?" Mike asks, aggravated.
I roll my eyes. "Grab paper. Make a list of all the amazing things we already know about Laura."
Mike hesitates at first, but does what I ask when Vic shoots him a look. Jaime comes in, with wet hair.
"What's up, Turtle?"
I scowl at the nickname. "Grab a piece of paper and list on it all the things that you think are wonderful about Laura."
"Only one piece of paper?"
I smirk at Laura, who shakes her head and continues her list of flaws. After a few minutes of silence, Laura stands up and hands me her sheet, with a list of almost 30 flaws that she thinks of herself. I shake my head, almost in disappointment but mostly in frustration.
"Guys, give your lists to me."
They all hand them to me. Even I'm surprised by how much they had. I spread them all out, side-by-side.
"Alright Laura. You have 30 things about you that you think are flaws? Well I went through and crossed out all the ones that aren't flaws in the first place, which leaves us with 20. Now, I'm gonna use the guys' lists and counter your remaining ones with things they said were positive about you."
She huffs and crosses her arms across her chest. "Tony, this isn't about me. I don't want to be causing drama, okay?"
Surprisingly, Mike's the one to step in. "You clearly need this, so stop fighting it. We're not singling you out, and it's not a burden. We all need reminders like this from time to time."
After that, Laura keeps quiet until I'm done.
"Well, they cancelled out all of your flaws, and had a combined 50 compliments left over. If that, from three people you barely know isn't enough, then I don't know what will be." I look over, and she has tears in her eyes.
"GROUP HUG!" Jaime calls out, and we do just that. Laura's going to get better. It's going to take time and support, but I'll be damned if I don't help save this girl.
"Okay, guys. I get it, I'm short!" Laura calls out, from the middle of our circle. Vic giggles and ruffles her hair, stepping back at the same time as Mike and I. Jaime holds on a little longer, which is odd, but I decide to let it go.
"Don't we need to be practicing soon or something?" Laura inquires.
We glance at the time, about 11 am. "Yeah, you're right. Fiiiiiiiiine." I say, pouting.
Watching Jaime try to explain away his morning wood and escape the room without Laura noticing very well may have been the funniest thing I've ever seen. He just kept stuttering and starting to get up and move the blanket, but as soon as she'd look, he'd settle right back into the couch.
I decide to rescue him from his misery.
"Hey Laura!" I exclaim, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Ew, Jaime. Go get a shower, you smell awful, like you've been in the woods or something." I giggle a little as he shoots me a cross between a glare and a grateful smile.
Once he leaves the room, I release Laura who smiles up at me.
"Rehearsals today, right Tone? And then the first show tomorrow."
I nod in agreement as she bites her lip, appearing to become anxious already. I shake my head a little, not upset with her, but exasperated at the whole situation she's lived through. I place my fingers under her chin as I sit down on the couch, still above her, forcing her to look me in the eyes.
"Sweetie, what's wrong? Honestly."
She sighs heavily. "Honestly, I'm really scared of fucking this up. I literally have NOTHING else. Nothing. Not a single person I can trust, or a home, or anything without you guys. I just......I just want to be good enough for once in my life." She admits, breaking down into tears.
I sigh as well. I just don't see how to convince her that she's not broken, or worthless like she's been led to believe. Laura means so much to me, to all of us. And I just know that our fans will love her as well.
"You are good enough. For goodness' sakes, you're 17 and have a fucking college degree! As a musician, a band you respect found you singing in a tree and begged you to come on tour with them. I'm sorry, but I don't see how that could be considered a failure in any way."
"Well when you put it like that, without mentioning any of my flaws, yeah it sounds pretty great."
Exasperated, I say, "Flaws. Here's a piece of paper. Make a list of your so-called-flaws. Right now. Vic, Mike, Tony! Get in here."
She looks at me with surprise, but complies to my request. Vic and Mike stumble in.
"What the hell Tony? What's so urgent?" Mike asks, aggravated.
I roll my eyes. "Grab paper. Make a list of all the amazing things we already know about Laura."
Mike hesitates at first, but does what I ask when Vic shoots him a look. Jaime comes in, with wet hair.
"What's up, Turtle?"
I scowl at the nickname. "Grab a piece of paper and list on it all the things that you think are wonderful about Laura."
"Only one piece of paper?"
I smirk at Laura, who shakes her head and continues her list of flaws. After a few minutes of silence, Laura stands up and hands me her sheet, with a list of almost 30 flaws that she thinks of herself. I shake my head, almost in disappointment but mostly in frustration.
"Guys, give your lists to me."
They all hand them to me. Even I'm surprised by how much they had. I spread them all out, side-by-side.
"Alright Laura. You have 30 things about you that you think are flaws? Well I went through and crossed out all the ones that aren't flaws in the first place, which leaves us with 20. Now, I'm gonna use the guys' lists and counter your remaining ones with things they said were positive about you."
She huffs and crosses her arms across her chest. "Tony, this isn't about me. I don't want to be causing drama, okay?"
Surprisingly, Mike's the one to step in. "You clearly need this, so stop fighting it. We're not singling you out, and it's not a burden. We all need reminders like this from time to time."
After that, Laura keeps quiet until I'm done.
"Well, they cancelled out all of your flaws, and had a combined 50 compliments left over. If that, from three people you barely know isn't enough, then I don't know what will be." I look over, and she has tears in her eyes.
"GROUP HUG!" Jaime calls out, and we do just that. Laura's going to get better. It's going to take time and support, but I'll be damned if I don't help save this girl.
"Okay, guys. I get it, I'm short!" Laura calls out, from the middle of our circle. Vic giggles and ruffles her hair, stepping back at the same time as Mike and I. Jaime holds on a little longer, which is odd, but I decide to let it go.
"Don't we need to be practicing soon or something?" Laura inquires.
We glance at the time, about 11 am. "Yeah, you're right. Fiiiiiiiiine." I say, pouting.
8/18/13