I Can't Be Without You

"Josline...hey. Josline?" Something soft and fluffy connected with my face on Christmas morning. I opened my eyes to see my 6'4" brother and his 5'8" cousin accomplice standing over my bed with fluffy, white pillows.

"What?" I turne onto my other side, talking into my pillow.

"Breakfast!" both Airin and Keith chimed together.

"No." I said stubbornly. I was then attacked by pillows again. "Oy! Fuck off!" I said, throwing my own pillow at the two of them.

"Josline said a swear!" Keith sounded shocked.

"She always does." Airin said. "Mom made banana crepes. You GOTTA get up!" Airin said, trying to pull me out of my bed. "You get extra strawberries if you hurry up." I sat upright in my bed. Banana and strawberry crepes was something you could always bribe me with and it would work.

Breakfast was amazing, but then again, my mom's cooking usually was. I helped my mom with the dishes, and I was surprisingly quiet. I usually talked up a storm with my mom when we did dishes. "Josline?" I looked up from the plate I was drying. "What's wrong?" She asked me, putting another plate in the drying rack.

"Nothing." I started playing with the necklace around my neck. Josh had given it to me. It was my Christmas present from him. It was just something that you could easily pick up at a dollar store, but I still loved it.

"He'll be back. Don't worry." My mom said, turning back to the dishes.

"How did you..."

"Josline, I'm your mother. I know every thing." Mom said, putting more dishes in the drying rack.

"Prove it." I challenged. My mother placed one hand on her hip and gave me a 'you-did-not-say-that' look. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. Mom was silent for a few moments, before saying anything.

"Airin McClane Jaulby, get your hands out from under that tree!" My mom wasn't even looking at my brother.

"HOW THE FUCK DID YOU KNOW?" Airin yelled.

"Excuse me?" My mom turned around and stared at my brother.

"Sorry mom." Airin said sheepishly, sitting back down on the couch. "When do we get to open our presents?" Airin asked like a five year old child.

"When the Baxters get here." Mom said, going back to the dishes.

"But that could take FOREVER!" Airin flopped against the back of the couch, pouting.

"You either wait until they get here, or you don't get to open them at all." My mom said firmly. Airin looked at her with a shocked expression.

"Sorry mom." he said again.

There was a knock on the door about an hour after mom and I finished the dishes. I had changed into a pair of plain black jeans and a red sweater. Airin was still in his ninja turtle pajamas. I went to the door and opened it to reveal the faces of the Baxter family. "Hi Jazz! Hi Marque!" I said allowing them inside. They said hello and took off their boots and coats. Chris followed behind his children. "Hi Mr Baxter." I smiled happily at him. He muttered a small hello, and smiled slightly.

My mom greeted our guests and went to get my dad. Airin was in a deep conversation with Keith, but when Marque walked into the livinv room, Airin completely abandoned Keith to kiss Marque. I heard Jazz mutter a small "aw" next to me.

"Well, hello there." Marque said, turning a bright pink. Airin threw his arms around Marque in a hug, not letting go of him for a few seconds.

"They're so cute!" Jazz squealed. I shoved a finger in my ear to prevent it from bursting. Jazz tended to be loud when our brothers were being 'cute'.

"Ah, that they are." Keith said when he had walked over to the two of us. He looked at Jazz and smiled. "Why, hello there pretty lady." Keith smiled. Jazz turned a little pink.

"Hey Keith, I'd be careful. That's Matt Webbs girl right there!" I laughed. Jazz laughed a little bit aswell.

"Aw, damn. He always gets the pretty ones." Keith smiled and introduced himself properly to Jazz, and once Airin had let go of Marque, Keith introduced himself to Marque. All of the teenagers, and Keith (he was 20) sat in the living room while all the adults talked in the dining room/kitchen area.

"So you're Airin and Jaws' cousin?" Jazz asked Keith. "Mom or dad's side?" Keith put a finger over his mouth and thought for a few minutes.

"You know...I've never bothered to ask." Keith said.

"My side dear." My mom said, over-hearing our conversation. "Your dad was my brother." Mom smiled at Keith briefly and turned her head away, back to the conversation she was having with dad and Chris. Keith half frowned, half smiled. Keith's dad was murdered when Keith was 14, and he only knew his dad for about a year of his life.

"Thanks aunt Chloe." Keith said. He turned to Marque and Airin, who were curled up together on the couch. "So, how did you two start dating?" Keith loved asking people how they got together.

"Well...Jazz," Marque pointed at his sister, who was grinning sheepishly,"asked Jaws one day if Airin was gay, and well, he's not..."

"I'm gay-ish." Airin said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, gay-ish. So, Jazz kept trying to get us to hang out together for the LONGEST time. The four of us went on a road trip to Vancouver to see Matt, and then I really started to like Airin." Marque said.

"I basically liked Marque the first day I met him." Airin said. "I think it was a week after we got back from Vancouver when Marque 'proposed' to me." Airin laughed and Keith looked confused.

"Proposed?"

"Yeah, Marque bought one of those cheap 20 cent rings from the dollar store. We were all in the little recording room downstairs and Marque gets down on one knee infront of me, and I'm obviously confused, and he says 'will you be my boyfriend?'." Jazz went 'aw' again.

"Jazz, you were there when it happened!" Marque said.

"I know! But it's cute when I hear it over again!" She said, squirming around in her chair like a little girl. The rest of us laughed and I could see that Airin was wearing the little plastic ring he recieved in July. I smiled at the fact that Airin still wore it, even though it was a cheesy, but adorable way of asking some one out. I had to hand it to Marque, that was a clever way to ask my brother out. Airin wasn't one for romantics. He prefered simple little things. Marque's idea was quirky, and I think that made Airin love Marque more. They really were an ideal couple.