Your Eyes Shine Like The Stars At Night

“She’s the only one for me,” Seth said, mocking Jack on our bus. He made a kissy face at me, causing me to slap him.

“Shut up! I thought it was cute,” I pouted.

“Ew,” Josh said.

“Josh, you’re just jealous of Jack because he’s getting some and you’re not!” Darren accused.

“Um, Jack is NOT getting some,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. The three of them looked at me.

“Really? He does all that, and you guys haven’t done it yet?” Seth inquired in disbelief.

“No, and I don’t have to. Just because he complimented me doesn’t mean to have to have sex with him.”

“Did I hear sex?!” Alex yelled, walking onto our bus.

I rolled my eyes, grabbing my cell phone off the side table when I heard it ring. I lifted the “one moment” finger to the guys, walking off the bus.

“Scarlett? Is this a bad time?” Luke! That was his voice!

“Lucas! No, right now’s great,” I exclaimed.

“How’s tour?” he asked.

“Amazing,” I said dreamily.

“And I hear you have a boyfriend…” he said, coaxing me to elaborate.

“Yep, Jack from All Time Low. He’s so sweet,” I gushed.

“I’m happy for you, sis.”

“Thanks. How are things with you and Alison?” I questioned, referring to his girlfriend of a year.

“Things are great. I’m thinking about asking her to move in with me.”

“Really? Luke! That’s so cute! I’m so happy for you,” I replied sincerely.

“I’m really happy with her.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “But, the real reason I called is because, you guys are coming to Baltimore in two days, right?” Christmas was right around the corner, so we were coming home for the holidays. We would arrive back in Maryland on the twenty-third.

“Yep,” I nodded. “I’m going to have to come visit you!”

“Well, actually…” he said hesitantly.

“Actually what?” I demanded.

“Actually, Sandra wants to see you…”

“Hell no. I don’t want to see her. Or her stupid husband.”

“Come on! She invited Alison and I to Christmas dinner, as well as our parents, and she wanted you and Jack to come, too.”

“Me…and Jack? She wants to meet Jack?” I asked skeptically.

“Yes, believe it or not, she does care about you. She’s your sister,” he pointed out.

“Fine, I’ll see what I can do. But I have to go, call me later.”

“Alright, bye.” With that, I hung up, going back inside to see Josh, Darren, Seth and Alex arguing over what kind of cheese was better.

“String cheese, dude, all the way!” Alex yelled, being completely serious.

I rolled my eyes. “I hate to interrupt your incredibly thought-provoking, stimulating conversation, but Alex, do you know where Jack is? I need to talk to him.”

“Um, I think he’s back on my bus,” he nodded, jumping right back into their argument.

I exited the bus, walking to ATL’s bus, seeing Jack texting someone on the couch. He looked up from his cell phone and smiled. “Hi, Scarlett.”

“Hey, Jack. Can I talk to you for a sec?”

He nodded, and I sat down next to him, leaning against his thin frame. “What’s up?”

“Well, Christmas is coming up, and since we’re going to be in Baltimore in a few days, I’m going to go have dinner with my parents, my brother, his girlfriend, and apparently my sister and her husband.”

“Your sister too?” he inquired.

I nodded. “Lucas called me and said he and his girlfriend Alison were having Christmas dinner with Sandra, her husband, and their son.”

“That’ll be fun. Glad to hear you’re finally going to see your sister.”

“I’m not glad,” I replied.

“So, it’s a dinner, huh?” Jack was obviously trying not to mention my eating disorder unless I did first. So I did.

“Yep, a dinner. And I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. I mean, I’ve improved and made some progress, but I’m still not nearly close to being comfortable around food,” I confessed.

“It’ll be okay. I’ll try and help before you go,” he smiled reassuringly, which made me believe him.

“Thanks,” I smiled. “But, I guess the reason I’m telling you about the dinner because Luke said Sandra invited you, too.” I was reluctant to ask him, because we’d only been going out for a week and a half. I didn’t know how he’d take it.

“Really? Yeah, sure, I’ll go,” he responded with a smile. “But you have to come see my family, too.”

Relief washed over me, because not only was he perfectly okay with having dinner with my family and I, but he invited me to meet his family, too. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.