Your Eyes Shine Like The Stars At Night

It had been one week since Jack took me to the carnival. He’d been closely monitoring me, making sure I didn’t sneak away and purge. I didn’t like being watched like a child, but I was acting like one, so I was kind of asking for it. I knew he cared, and he just wanted the best for me. Every mealtime, he’d make sure I’d eat, and if I didn’t, he’d call me out on it, and force me to eat.

The two of us were sitting on a white bench on the sidewalk outside the venue. The entrance was on the other side of the building, so no one was around. It was just Jack and I.

“So, can I ask you a serious question?” he asked hesitantly.

“Jack Barakat? Being serious?” I teased, pretending to be shocked.

He sighed and laughed. “Yes, I, Jack Barakat, am being serious for once.”

I laughed. “Okay, shoot.”

“When did you start… you know…” he trailed off, hoping I’d fill in the blanks.

I took a deep breath. “It started four years ago, when I was seventeen. I was convinced I was fat, and I got to the point where I didn’t even look at myself in the mirror anymore. In the beginning, I only did it a little, then it got worse and worse. My older brother Lucas started noticing that I barely ever ate, and he pieced everything together pretty quickly. We’re really close. My parents never figured it out, though. At least, not until my sister Sandra told them. She and I don’t really talk anymore. She got sick of me not listening to her when she tried to help, and now she’s a big hotshot lawyer with a straight-laced husband, living the American Dream in her fucking mansion and white picket fence,” I answered, still bitter about my sister.

“Oh,” he said, looking down. “So why’d you do it? Like, was there a specific reason?”

“You’re gonna think I’m a total dumbass when I tell you, but I had this huge crush on a guy in my class. But he wouldn’t even look at me. Well, not until I got thinner. Then he cared. Now I realize how shallow that was of me to do that for a guy who wouldn’t even like me unless I was stick-thin. Honestly, now that I think about it, I don’t know why I liked him in the first place. He was so stupid. Like, I’ve never heard anyone say anything dumber than most of the shit he said. But I guess now he’s working at McDonald’s, so…” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “But then the whole disorder just escalated from there.”

Jack nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry about your sister,” he said, swapping subjects.

I shrugged. “I’m better off without her.”

“Well, you shouldn’t say that. She is family, you know.”

“Blood only runs so deep. She sure as hell let me know that,” I laughed bitterly.

“But blood is thicker than water. That loser you liked is out of the picture, so maybe you should consider contacting Sandra.”

“We’ll see. But I highly doubt it.”

“So, back to why you started – well, stopped – eating. It was all for a boy’s attention?” he inquired, changing the subject yet again.

“At first. But like I said, it just got worse and worse, until I had really convinced myself that I was fat and ugly. I stopped looking in the mirror altogether because I knew all I’d see was everything I hated. I was everything I didn’t want to be, and my reflection was proof. I was so self-conscious and I had the lowest self-esteem.”

>JACK’S POV<

When she said that, a light bulb flickered on in my head. Maybe I couldn’t help her with her eating disorder, but I could boost her self-esteem.

“Well, no girlfriend of mine will be self-conscious!” I said cheekily, trying to lighten the mood. I kissed her temple and smiled as she giggled. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer so that her head rested on my shoulder. “You have a cute smile. You should smile more.”

Her cheeks brightened to a rosy shade of pink, and she tried to hide a small smile. “I do smile,” she objected.

“Not nearly enough.”

“I think I smile the perfect amount.”

“Nope, you don’t,” I shook my head. “But trust me, I’ve got something planned that will make you smile a lot.”

-------

I, Jack Barakat, was an open book. Nothing was secretive, nothing was worth being kept in the closet. Everything to know about me was out in the open for the world to see. I had always been the loud, outspoken, goofy kid. I was the kid who looked like a skunk, and, while on tour, probably smelled like one, too. I was the kid that could easily turn any totally normal, rational thought into a “that’s what she said” joke without missing a beat. Spontaneity was the only thing that was expected from me. What I had planned for our next performance was so unlike me, though, that when I told Alex, Rian and Zack what I had up my sleeve, they were shocked. It was mushy, it was gooey, and it certainly didn’t scream “Jack Barakat”. It was so out of left field for me that even my three best friends in the world hadn’t seen it coming. And I was ecstatic to see what the result would be.

-------

“ALL TIME LOW! ALL TIME LOW! ALL TIME LOW!” the crowd chanted, jumping up and down. After putting our earpieces in, Alex, Zack, Rian and I rushed the stage, one by one, causing the cheers to grow louder.

“Did you guys have fun with The Catastrophe?” Alex screamed into the microphone. “Fuck yeah! Are you gonna have fun with us?” Once again, the crowd roared. “Fuck yeah!” he repeated.

There was more mindless, perverted stage banter, mostly between Alex and I. Sometimes Zack would toss in a witty comment, but he was usually pretty quiet. We eventually started our first song, listening as the fans sang every word back to us.

We were nearing the end of our set with only one song left to play. “So, alright guys, settle down for a sec,” Alex said, waving his hand in the air. Of course the crowd didn’t settle down, but they were still hanging on to every word he said. “We’ve got something pretty special planned for tonight’s show, so you should all feel pretty important. BUT, we’re gonna do our last song before we get to that. How’s that sound?”

Judging by the loud screams, the fans thought it sounded just fine.

The song ended, marking the end of our set. Alex continued discussing the subject he was telling the fans about before the song. “Like I said before, we’ve got something pretty awesome up our sleeves. Jack, please explain.”

I stepped up to the microphone, adjusting it so it was in front of my mouth. “Alright, so here’s what’s gonna happen: I’m gonna bring someone out here, and you’re all going to do whatever I tell you to do. Got it?” The audience clapped and whistled. “Great! Now, this person doesn’t know what’s going on, so it’ll be a big shock. Scarlett? Can you come out here?”

>SCARLETT’S POV<

My bandmates and I were watching ATL’s set from the side stage, each of us wrapping our arms around each other’s shoulders in a line. We were sweaty, smelly, and exhausted, but it was the best thing ever, feeling the adrenaline pumping after playing a show.

Jack was saying something about how the audience needed to do what he told them to do, and, since it was Jack Barakat, I was expecting him to say something perverted and sexual. I was kind of zoning in and out of his speech, trying to pay attention to what Seth was telling me.

“God, it was so cool! I can’t believe you missed it-“ Seth exclaimed before I returned my attention to Jack.

“-gonna bring someone out here-“ Jack told the fans.

“-this kid fucking fell flat on his face!” Seth.

“-doesn’t know what’s going on-“ Jack.

“I felt bad, but hey, the kid was way too small to be moshing-“ Seth.

“it’ll be a big shock-“

“should’ve known better-“

“Scarlett?” Wait! Did he say my name?

“What’d you think?” Seth asked. At this point, I had no idea what either of them were talking about, since I’d been relaying my attention back and forth between them.

“Can you come out here?” I looked at Seth, who finally realized that I wasn’t listening when I slowly stepped forward towards the stage. Seth wasn’t listening to Jack, and neither was Darren or Josh, otherwise they probably would have told me Jack was talking about me earlier.

I came out of the shadows between the sidestage and the actual stage, seeing Jack’s huge smiling face staring back at me from the other end. I walked out, a grin on my lips directed at the fans, and waved at them as they shouted.

Jack looked back at the crowd, talking into the microphone. “Obviously, this is Scarlett Waters, from The Catastrophe, which you just saw. And as most of you probably know by now, she’s my beautiful girlfriend.” Lots of “awws” came from the female fans as I blushed at his comment. “Well, she’s been going through a rough patch lately, so you’re all going to help me boost her self-esteem. Sound good?”

I just stood there, not having any idea of what was going on. What did this kid have in mind?

“First, Scarlett, come over here.” I did as I was told, crossing the stage to stand beside him. “I’ve got a list of ten things that I love about Scarlett, and you guys are going to tell me if you agree.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He had literally written out a list.

“One,” he started, “She always knows how to make something awkward,” he joked. “Two, she’s short and fun-size, like the mini packs of M&M’s,” he laughed, causing me to crack up. “Three, her nose is actually bigger than mine. But that’s okay, because it’s a cute nose.” At this point, I couldn’t even breathe, due to the fact that I was laughing so hard. “Four, whenever she gets bored, she starts singing to herself, and she’s not that good, so it’s always funny.” I smiled and blushed.

Okay, these were just going to be stupid things to make me laugh. Which, they did. “Five, her hair is smooth and pretty. It always looks good. Six, I love how no matter how small of a compliment you give her, she’ll always blush, and it’s adorable. Seven, she has the most kissable lips.” The more he said, the sweeter he got. The compliments weren’t just jokes anymore; he was being serious. And I was blushing the darkest shade of red I’d ever blushed. He stopped, pausing to look at me before he continued. “See? I told you she’d blush!” I smiled; I couldn’t believe how sweet he was being. Jack was the last person I’d expect this from, but I loved every second of it. “Now, fans, it’s your turn. Isn’t her blush the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?”

The crowd whistled in response. “So you agree? And with everything else I’ve said about her so far?” The audience seemed to agree, causing my cheeks to get hotter.

He laughed at me, proceeding with the list. “Eight, I’ve never seen anyone with a more gorgeous smile than Scarlett. Nine, her eyes are stunning. They change color depending on how much sunlight hits them. Hazel at sunrise; gold at sunset.” I felt like I was about to melt. Literally, just melt. Like ice in the sun. “And finally,” he finished, “number ten. Every time I look at her, I realize how lucky I am because I’ve been living my dreams of being in a touring band for years, and I used to always think I couldn’t be happier. But then I found Scarlett, and I figured out how wrong I was. Scarlett is the only thing that makes me happier than fulfilling my dreams because she is the girl of my dreams. She’s the only one for me.”

I gasped in disbelief. The only one for him?

Not caring that we were with his three best friends on a stage in front of thousands of people, I pulled his face into mine with both hands, kissing him with as much passion as I could muster. He smiled into it, holding my waist as I locked my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. I ignored the fact that I could hear Alex pretending to gag behind me, I ignored the fact that I could hear teenage girls screaming behind me for stealing their band crush, and I ignored the fact that the male fans were cheering us on like we were making out drunk at a frat party. All that mattered was that Jack and I were in this moment, together.