Your Eyes Shine Like The Stars At Night

“Thanks!” a fan exclaimed after I signed her autograph.

“No problem,” I assured, smiling.

My bandmates and the ATL boys were signing autographs together after our second show. A short, petite brunette took another step forward in the line, making Alex do a double-take as he realized who it was. “Brittany!” He ran to her, engulfing her into him. “I missed you, baby.”

“I missed you too, Alex,” she said, kissing his lips. “Guess what?”

“What?” The smile on his lips was still as wide as ever.

“Remember how you asked me if I’d be able to come on tour with you?” she smirked.

His jaw dropped, not even needing to respond with anything more than, “Oh my god, I’m so excited!” They only talked for a few more seconds, since Alex had to finish signing.

As the line came to an end and fans cleared out, Brittany introduced herself to my bandmates since Rian, Jack and Zack already knew her. “I’m Brittany, Alex’s girlfriend,” she said happily, shaking my hand.

“I know; he talks about you all the time,” I laughed.

“He does?” Her lips turned upward, forming a smile as she glanced at her boyfriend who was talking to Greico and Jack about something.

I nodded. “So you’re gonna tour with us now?”

“Yep!”

“Awesome. I won’t be the only female here anymore!”

She laughed, continuing to introduce herself to Seth, Josh and Darren.

I was standing alone now, waiting for everyone to be ready to go out to eat like we had planned. I looked over Brittany’s shoulder, seeing Greico push Jack forward and Alex smile and nod his head at him. Jack took this opportunity to come over to me, an awkward half-smile on his lips. “Hey, Scarlett,” he said nervously. His hands were at his sides, shaking violently.

“Hi Jackie. What’s up?”

“I just, um… Well, the guys are going to the bar, but I was wondering if you’d want to go get pizza with me instead?”

I couldn’t hide the grin that was spreading across my face. “Yeah. I’d love to.”

His hands stopped trembling and he looked more confident. “Cool. Wanna go now?”

“Sure.” We waved to the guys, leaving them in the parking lot and crossing the street.

“So pizza’s good?” he asked.

I faltered. What was I supposed to say? No? That wasn’t an option. “Yeah.”

He pulled the door open for me, allowing me in first. “Thanks.”

He just smiled. The waiter came, leading us to our table.

“Ready to order drinks?” the man asked.

“Yeah, I’d like a water,” I nodded.

“And I want a Coke,” Jack told him. The waiter smiled, walking away.

We opened the menus, scanning the pages. “What kind of pizza do you like?” Jack asked, looking at the menu.

“Um, plain cheese is fine. But I don’t really care; whatever you want.”

He shrugged. “I’m okay with cheese.” The water came back, setting our glasses in front of us, taking our order for cheese pizza and going into the kitchen.

“Having fun on tour?” Jack asked, meeting my eyes.

“Absolutely. I’ve never been happier, honestly. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

“I know what you mean. My first tour with the guys was incredible. There’s really nothing like it.”

I nodded, agreeing entirely. The waiter arrived back at the table, giving us our pizza and leaving us.

Jack took off a slice, sliding it onto my plate before retrieving his own. I smiled insincerely at him, thinking about how awful the pizza looked. I could feel the grease oozing onto my fingers…

I reluctantly nibbled at the corner, smiling and nodding when Jack said how good he thought the pizza was. I forced a few more bites down my throat, amazed that I’d actually kept down half of the pizza slice. I set it down, waiting for Jack to finish eating.

As he bit into his third slice, he looked at my quizzically. “Is that all you want?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t take much to fill me up,” I chuckled nervously. I was almost mad at myself for eating something so unhealthy. I could literally feel the empty calories settle in my stomach. The thought sickened me.

My eyes widened in shock as I heard my stomach growl. I snapped my head to Jack, who laughed. “You must be hungry! Come on, have another piece.”

“No, no thanks,” I waved my hand. “Really, pizza’s the last thing I need.”

He looked at me, eyebrows furrowed. “You okay, Scarlett?”

I nodded my head furiously. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” Over the last few years, I’d become a pro at denying accusations.

“If you say so…”

The check soon came, and Jack handed the waiter his card. “Jack, no, you don’t have to pay…” I shook my head.

“I offered it, I pay,” he smiled. After getting his card back, we stepped out of the restaurant, heading to our respective busses. I was purposely taking each stride of my feet slowly; I didn’t want to leave Jack just yet. His fingers brushed mine a few times before he finally latched our pinkies together. He looked down and smiled at me, and I returned it, feeling heat rise to my cheeks.

We stood in front of my bus, our feet firmly planted on the pavement. “I had a fun time, Jack. Thanks.”

“Me too. Do it again sometime?” he asked hopefully.

“I’d like that,” I nodded.

“Night, Scarlett,” he smiled before turning around to walk to his own bus. Suddenly, he turned back around, and said, “Wait!” He gazed into my eyes. “You look really pretty tonight.” He didn’t wait for a response, and immediately walked away from me.

We may have been more than five feet apart, but I suddenly felt closer to him than ever before. And I certainly wasn’t complaining.