It Was Always You 》Rodrick Heffley fanfic

19

The boys slowly shift to cleaning up breakfast and talking among themselves. I lean across the island and watch them in their own little world.

Mom: Any news on coming home?

Me: I came over to Ben's to wait for him to be done.

Mom: k be home soon

Me: no problem

"Hun," I say towards Rodrick and all three turn, "My mom wants us home soon." He hands the dish he was drying to Chris, "Aight, I'll grab my shit." I flash a little half smile towards the other two and softly say, "Sorry." They say it's alright. I bring the last few things to them. "Where's Rodrick?" I ask the other two. They shrug and I take that as a cue to head back to Ben's room. I walk in as Rodrick is taking off his shirt. "Shit sorry!" I exclaim as I quickly shut my eyes and walk out of the room. I hear laughter from the other room as my face grows warm. I make my way back to the kitchen as red as a beet. I point my finger menacingly at them, "Don't." They continue laughing as Rodrick rounds the corner. His face is dusted pink as he awkwardly smiles. "Go grab your stuff." I make my way over and grab my bag next to the door. I exit the door frame as I hear cheering coming from them. I rush back to the kitchen, "What's going on?" With a wide grin Rodrick says, "They are bringing back the talent show!" I look at them confused. Ben chimes in, "We went viral last year!" They huddle in a hushed tone that is a total shift from the previous seconds. They dramatically turn to me and Rodrick smiles sweetly, "We would like to know if you would want to be an honorary member of Loded Diper. Like help us with various shit." I laugh slightly, "Like a super groupie?" He shakes his head no, "Like some electric guitar and vocal back-ups." I excitedly grin and say, "Yes of course! I'd love to help you guys!" They do a small cheer, "Alright, practice tonight to discuss." I think for a second, "Are we playing or brainstorming?" They look at eachother confused. "You know what, let's figure it out later. I need to get home."

It takes a bit for us to walk home, but it doesn't seem to bother us. He tells me about last year's talent show and Greg recording his mom dancing. I burst out laughing, "I saw that video when it came out." He turns shocked, "Yeah, and the one of your brother and his friend crappily lip syncing to TiK ToK. At least I think it's his friend?" He points his finger at me with a slight smile, "Short chubby kid with a bowl cut?" I nod yes. "Yeah that's Rowley." I laugh a bit harder, "Rowley? That's an unfortunate name." He agrees as we walk up towards our houses. He pulls me into a hug and softly says, "Thank you Cass." I go to question it, but he pulls away. "I'll see you later." I smile softly, "See ya." We both turn back to our houses and I step in.

By the time practice rolled around the boys and I brainstormed the songs we could do and tried some of the older ones. We all sat down slowly baking in the garage. There was a mix of sighs and pencils scratching as they tried to come up with something. I pulled up the notes on my phone and went through the various lyrics I've written, and none seem to fit the vibe of what we need. The week seems to go like this until it hits the night before Rodrick and I leave for the weekend.

"Wait okay," I say breaking the silence, "Let me see what you all have written." They hesitantly turn their notebooks around and I snap a photo. Chris makes a face and asks, "What are you doing." I stand triumphantly and say, "If we can't seem to make it work let's pull a Loser on them." They look at eachother. "Loser by Beck?" They don't know what I'm talking about so I play the song. "It literally seems like nothing, but it works." They listen as I softly sing along. We just need a solid chorus, and a nonsense plot that follows the vibe. They look at me and Ben starts to laugh, "That is the weirdest idea." I look playfully offended. "Obviously Plainview doesn't know good music so why don't we bring something different." They think for a minute, "Lets try it." I cheer for a second then plop back down next to Rodrick. I lean over and drop my head on his shoulder. Ben gags and we all start to laugh. I check my phone and the time. "Shit I gotta go, I need to get up early." Wide-eyed Rodrick says, "Fuck packing forgot about that." I facepalm. "Tell me at least you did laundry the other day." He shakes his head no. I sigh heavily. "Alrighty come on let's go get you packed dumbass."

Ben and Chris hang out with us for a bit longer and I chill in his room. I absentmindedly scroll on my phones as the bed bounces. I look up as he yawns with a stretch, his shirt lifting ever so slightly. He looks down and smiles sweetly. "What are you doin'?" I show him the meme on my phone and he laughs. He picks through the clean laundry and he grabs his Löded Diper shirt. "Oh I'm bringing mine, you should bring yours!" I say excitedly. "He raises his eyebrow and slightly smirks, "You wanna match?" I stumble over my words, "I mean we don't have to, but like free band publicity and-" He busts out laughing, "You are cute when flustered Cassie." I grab one of his pillows from behind me and chuck it at him, "Shut up!" He returns it with a solid throw, "Its on."  

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W.C. 1005