Chapter Text
Intro:
Daisy Jones.
When Jeanne LaFevre brought home a new man to introduce to Daisy, like the many who came before him, she assumed he wouldn’t last long. You can imagine Daisy’s surprise when her mother came home after an evening out and announced that not only was she marrying Antonio Rojas, but that they would be moving in with him. And worst of all, she was going to have a step-brother.
Daisy didn’t really struggle with the thought of moving out of her childhood home. Being ignored by her mother was nothing new, and she knew that although her home address might change, their mother-daughter dynamic would certainly stay the same. Her mother and father always had as little to do with her as possible, so adding more people onto the list of those who could care less about Daisy Jones shouldn’t have really phased her at this point. It’s just how things were. Being ignored by a new stepfather and brother would be an interesting twist, though.
Growing up, the most affection Daisy received from her father, Frank Jones, was a birthday check in the mail every year that had more zeros in it than she could count at the time. Surprisingly, that’s the better relationship she has between either of her parents. At least his absence was consistent.
Jeanne LaFevre, however, was a different story. Daisy never understood why her mother always treated her like she was either invisible, an inconvenience, or worse: competition. At least if her dad wasn’t present at all, she didn’t have to see the sheer look of disappointment, disapproval, or embarrassment on both of her parents faces like she had to with Jeanne every day of her life.
Even the sound of Daisy’s voice when she sang along to her records in her room seemed to send her mother into a fit of rage. Every time Jeanne would yell at her to be quiet, Daisy would turn the volume higher and sing louder. She might’ve only been 8 years old at the time, but Daisy was smarter than her mother would ever give her credit for and Daisy knew how to press the woman’s buttons.
She really hoped whoever the poor soul was who was about to have Jeanne LaFevre as their stepmother had a good therapist on speed dial. Daisy also hoped the kid didn’t have a good relationship with his father because she knew her mother was about to ruin it.
Warren Rojas.
Antonio Rojas and Warren had a different relationship a year ago as opposed to now. They never argued, Antonio was always supportive, and he always encouraged Warren to achieve anything he set his mind to. Antonio didn’t miss a single birthday, school play, or little league game. When Warren decided to get into drumming, his father hired an instructor and that’s when Warren really fell in love with music. He learned a new appreciation for every song. And his father was nothing less than supportive. More than that, he was proud.
Everything was perfect in Warrens life until the fateful evening when his mother unexpectedly passed away. On September 28th, 1959 after a drunk driver collided head on with her vehicle, Warren’s entire world was turned upside down. As if losing his mom wasn’t bad enough, the grief that followed had nearly consumed his father, causing him to become distant with Warren. Warren felt like he’d lost both his parents that day.
It’s funny, you don’t realize how big of an impact someone has on your life until they’re not here anymore. In the months following his mother’s passing, he realized how much he took her for granted. His mother was the glue that held the family together and, without her, his relationship with his father seemed to crumble. He was just 10 years old and would have given every toy, game, vacation, or experience he’d had in life so far just to have her back. The reality was that she wasn’t coming back, though. And life would never be the same.
Anger was the only emotion Warren was capable of feeling the night Antonio came home and told him that he had not only met someone months ago, but that he was getting married. He was hurt that his father had seemingly moved on so quickly and hid it from him this entire time. It had only been a year since his mother had passed and Warren didn’t understand why his father had even thought about being with someone else. Let alone marrying someone else.
The first time Warren met Jeanne, he thought she wasn’t so bad. She didn’t seem to like nor dislike him. If anything, she barely even acknowledged his presence at all. His father was obviously smitten with her, though, so Warren did his best to put forth his best manners. That was, until Antonio informed him that Jeanne and her daughter would be moving in.
“I don’t want a fucking sister,” he protested. It was bad enough he would have to now see his father with another woman who wasn’t his mother, but now he had to put up with her kid as well? And if this woman’s daughter was anything like her, Warren knew his life was going to be hell.
“Warren! Watch your tone,” Antonio warned. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before continuing. “Come on, son. I think you’ll really like Daisy when you meet her. She’s not that much younger than you. I’m sure you’ll have more in common than you think.” Antonio’s tone was stern, but encouraging. Warren didn’t want to hear any of it. He ran to his room, slammed the door, and spent the rest of the night hitting his drums as hard as he could in an attempt to piss his father off.
November 19, 1960.
Daisy couldn’t believe that not only had her mother forgotten her 8th birthday (big surprise), but she now had to go meet Antonio’s son. Throwing a fit about it would only get her grounded, though, so she chose to keep her mouth shut and climbed into the backseat of her mothers’ car.
Daisy’s first impression of Warren Rojas was that he had the curliest hair she had ever seen. He was a tall, scrawny kid who seemed just as awkward about this situation as she was, which was surprisingly comforting.
“Warren, why don’t you take Daisy upstairs and show her where her room will be?” Antonio instructed Warren as he and Jeanne walked out into the backyard. “Uhh okay. This way, Daisy.” Warren started heading up the stairs and Daisy followed behind.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Warren proceeded to show her where her room, the bathrooms, and his room was. They were outside of Warren’s room when she noticed the drum set. “Nice skins. Do you play?” She noticed his eyes light up at the mention of his drum kit. “Yeah, I just started a few months ago. I’m not very good yet, but I’m going to be the best drummer the world has ever seen when I’m older.” Daisy smiled and nodded. “Do you play any instruments?” Warren asked. “I can play the piano, but I really like singing. Mostly because it makes my mom mad, but I think I’m good at it too.” Warren smirked at Daisy’s rebellious attitude.
Daisy walked into Warren’s room, looking around and admiring all of the band posters he had posted on his walls. okay, maybe this kid is cooler than I thought he’d be, she thought to herself. “You have great taste in music. How old are you?” She was sure her mother had told her, but Daisy rarely listened to anything she said. “I’m ten. What about you?” Warren walked over to his drum kit and sat down on the bench. Daisy hesitated before answering. “Um, I turned 8 years old today.”
The words hung in the air for a moment before either kid said anything. “Wait, so today’s your birthday? Did your mom throw you a party or anything?” By the look that flashed across Daisy’s face, Warren knew the answer before she even spoke. “Oh, uh, no. I think she forgot. It’s cool, though. Birthday parties are lame, anyways.” Daisy tried her best to shrug it off, but Warren could tell it bothered her.
Warren thought to himself for a moment, and then, without another word, he got up from his drum set and walked over to his dresser. He opened the lid of a small box that was sitting on top of it and pulled out a gold bracelet that had two birthstones on it: one topaz and one emerald to signify his and his mothers birthdays. He walked over to Daisy and handed her the bracelet. “Well, seeing as you’re going to be my new little sister, I’d like for you to have this. It was my mother’s. Her birthday was also in November, which is kind of cool if you think about it. The topaz birthstone represents her, well, now your birthday. And the emerald one represents mine. Anyways, I think you should have it. And I’m sure my mom would be happy I gave it to you. It means we will always have each others backs.”
Daisy was in disbelief. It was the nicest, most thoughtful gift anyone had ever given her. She picked up the bracelet from Warren’s hand and held it up to the light. The stones seemed to twinkle when the light hit them and the gold was twisted to make it look like it was braided. It was gorgeous. “Warren, I don’t really know what to say. No one’s ever been this nice to me before.” Warren took the bracelet and asked Daisy to hold out her wrist. He gently placed the bracelet across her wrist, clasping it shut. Daisy looked down at the beautiful gift and whispered the words “thank you” while holding back tears.
“Happy birthday, Daisy. I mean…happy birthday, little sister.”
After that, the two were inseparable the rest of the evening. When it was time for bed, for the first time in her life, Daisy felt like maybe having a brother, someone she could always depend on, wouldn’t be so bad.