The second Ronnie landed in Montana, it immediately looked like a shitshow. He had heard all of the other's destinations and even wondered what new sights he would see in his new town but his hopes were quickly given up. Montana reminded him so much of what Pretty Late looked like. It was almost as if he was being played as he wondered if they just flew around for an hour just to tell him that the government was going to take his ass back home. He knew already that this was going to be the longest six months of his life.
His foster parents were cool, typical mom and dad, no kids of their own or even in the house which they say happens every once in awhile. Brooke was really gentle and seemed to tiptoe around the subject of fostering and tried to give Ronnie everything he wanted, but Jesse laid down the rules that since their house was on some land, he would need some help on maintaining it. Ronnie wondered if this was some sort of payback for always making fun of Gord and his farm. It was cool, he guessed, I mean, he was supposed to be keeping a low profile, right?
As of school, he was the hot commodity the second he stepped onto the grounds, the town was small so hearing a new kid coming by was exciting news for them, even if they were from the foster system. He mainly kept to himself until a duo came up to him and made it obvious that they wanted him to be their friend, Max and Sheila. Ronnie kept to them because out of all of the kids around campus, they were the ones who didn't pry into his shit, it also helped because Sheila had fourth period with him and Max had fifth.
They were the ones who told him about a party going on this weekend, normally, Ronnie would say hell yeah, I'll bring the drugs but giving his strict surveillance from Horatio, he said I'll think about it. So that night, he spent it loading up the truck with firewood with Jesse.
"Arian" Jesse called to him.
Oh, yeah, he goes by that name now. Horatio didn't want some people looking up their names and immediately finding out who they actually were.
Ronnie took a couple of seconds to remember that before he turned to the elder man, "Yeah?"
Jesse shoved his hands in his jacket before he said, "You know, I heard some kids talking about a party that's going on tonight. I know that being new here is tough and the first week is never the easiest but I think it be best if you go out to that party"
Ronnie registered that in his mind before he said, "Wait a minute, you want me to go to a party?"
Jesse nodded, "Yeah, mingle! I would say don't drink but lets face it, you're a teenager, that's what you do at this age. I'm sure Brooke would love to see you go out as well"
"Didn't you say to help with the land and all?" Ronnie asked.
"Nah, the real help comes when winter is around the corner" Jesse told him.
Ronnie shifted, "I don't know if this is some sort of test or not"
"I guess you'll never know unless you go to the party" Jesse shrugged.
Ronnie couldn't help but smile at the old man and agreed to his proposal. After nearly starving to death for two months, a party sounded like just what he needed.
So that's where he ended up going that night, probably the only kid in town who got parental acceptance to come out tonight. He slowly strolled up to the house that could've been a place that Chuck would crash at. Ronnie passed by some people he recognized in class and gave them a nod as he went inside. The music was loud and all the lights were on as people stood or danced in a noticeably empty house with very few furniture. He wasn't even finished checking out the scene when Sheila jumped in his face with Max trailed behind her.
"About time you got here!" Sheila yelled out.
"It's only 10:30" Ronnie told her.
"Don't mind her, she's practically the first one to every party" Max chimed in.
"Leave's more time for drinking!" Sheila shouted as she staggered, "Here! I got you some beer"
Ronnie peered into the cup as he noticed that it was half full, he chuckled and raised the cup and said, "Thanks"
Sheila let out a whoop before she drank the other one that was in her hand as Max seemed half annoyed but also half amused with all that was going on.
"If you want some refreshments, they're over by the kitchen" Max pointed to the room on the left.
Ronnie made a motion and pointed to Sheila before Max rolled his eyes and said, "I've been keeping an eye on her since we were in 2nd grade, trust me, she's safe with me"
"Oh, please! I broke my arm when I stayed over at your house"
Ronnie smirked as he pushed his way over to the booze, hoping to get on some sort of level tonight. He barely made his way through when a girl walked past him and picked up a pitcher and poured herself some spiked punch. Ronnie intentionally stood close to her and moved his arm to the other side of her and grabbed himself a beer. His pick-up move didn't necessarily work as the girl jumped and spilled punch all over her hand and sleeve.
"Oh, shit!" Ronnie cursed, "I'm sorry"
"It's fine" the girl said as she looked around for a dish towel. Ronnie immediately found one and handed it to her. She gave him a shy smile before she started to pat herself down. Ronnie looked at the girl more closely as he couldn't help but feel like he's seen her somewhere before, he was pretty sure he didn't have any classes with her, he definitely would've remembered a face like that.
"Hey, um, you look strangely familiar" Ronnie told her, "Is that kind of weird to ask since I'm a foster kid"
She let out a laugh as she shook her head, "No, considering how I'm your neighbor"
It suddenly dawned on him how he noticed her as she was climbing into her car while he was driving to school. Ronnie nodded before he said, "Right! I should've known that"
"It's no big deal" she glanced back up to him, "I'm Megan"
Ronnie opened his mouth to say his name before he stopped and corrected himself, "Arian"
"Arian?" Megan repeated, "You don't get that a lot"
Ronnie shrugged, "I guess that's why I'm named it"
Megan laughed as Ronnie smiled down to her, "Hey, so since we live so close to each other, why not we be carpool buddies?"
Something flashed in Megan's eyes before she said, "Oh, no! You see, I have a younger brother and I usually drop him off along the way. I wouldn't want to put you through that"
Ronnie was about to make another move before Megan pointed off to the side and said, "My friends are waiting for me, I hope to see you around, Arian"
"Looking forward to it" Ronnie smiled down to her before she quickly disappeared in the crowd as Max slowly walked up to him.
"Fat chance"
"What?"
"You got a fat chance" Max repeated as he nodded towards Megan, "She's hot, I'll give you that, but she doesn't even let anyone take her out on a date, that girl has got the highest standards in all of Montana"
Ronnie turned and looked to Megan who was smiling from ear to ear with a friend before he smirked, "We'll see about that… I like a good challenge"