Wanna Live It Up Just Because

Arpeggio was fast asleep on Jack's chest when Neon and Alex returned. Neon smiled at the sight. She may not have liked Jack but she had to admit the two laying together was the cutest thing she had seen in awhile. Jack looked up when the two walked though the door.

"You didn't kill him?" Jack asked.

"He was being helpful," Neon answered.

Jack nodded and continued running his fingers through Arpeggio's hair. She seemed to be feeling better. All of her visible symptoms had died down. Jack could feel her heart beat against his skin and it still hadn't evened out. He didn't know if he should be worried.

"How's she feeling?" Neon asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Better. Her heart rate isn't normal," Jack sighed.

"It'll be like that for most of the day," Neon said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we have to keep an eye on her to make sure her blood sugar doesn't drop again."

"Did this happen because she ate fast food yesterday?" Jack asked.

He had been worried about that since Arpeggio's hypoglycemia attack started. He didn't want to be the reason the young girl had been feeling the way she was this morning. But it was possible, wasn't it? She never ate fast food before. Did eating it for the first time hurt her system?

"No, she ate properly there," Neon answered.

Jack released a sigh of relief.

"Dude, we have to go work out our lighting effects for the show," Alex stated.

"Okay," Jack gently shook Arpeggio.

Arpeggio opened her eyes and looked into Jack's. Momentarily, she found herself lost in his Labrador brown eyes. Jack could see the exhaustion in the young girl's eyes; though she looked to be feeling better than before.

"You feeling okay?" Jack asked.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Good. I have to go. I'll see you later," he moved her from on top of him to the mattress of her bed.

"Bye," she whispered, closing her eyes again and cuddling with a pillow.

Jack smiled at her sleeping form before following Alex out of the room. Neon watched her sister sleep. The young girl was just as calm in sleep as she was in the waking hours. Nothing ever made her angry or sad. She remained stoic on the outside. Neon knew that Arpeggio had to be hiding emotions of some sort. Arpeggio was never good at talking to people about how she was feeling.

Except when it came to Armand.

Armand could make anyone want to talk to him. His piercing blue eyes bore into the soul. And that smile, the one that made Neon fall for him, was the most comforting. Neon missed him; she always would. He was her everything. When he died, she and Lestat were the most devastated. After all, Armand was Lestat's little brother. The two leaned on each other after that day. They had to otherwise they would not have gotten through the incident.

Neon knew she had changed after that day. Well, after the month that she stayed locked in her room. She became more like Arpeggio's overbearing mother than necessary. It wasn't something she could help. Her sister was the last relative she had. With Arpeggio being diabetic and a suicide risk, she had to keep a close eye on her.

Though she didn't think she could call Arpeggio a suicide risk anymore. She showed no suicidal behaviors. Not that she ever had. Neon wished she would talk to her or anybody for that matter.

The talk they had the night before about Arpeggio's crush was the deepest conversation the siblings had ever had. It was because of their parents. Neon was their mother's angel whereas Arpeggio was daddy's little girl. The split in their parents' affection caused tension. It couldn't really be helped now. They got along to the best of their ability. They didn't fight and they cared for each other. What more could they ask for?

Their relationship worked because Arpeggio never complained. Neon knew they would have conflict if Arpeggio didn't respect her like a mother.

Neon glanced at the clock. The bright green numbers blared 10:00AM. Arpeggio needed to wake up so they could eat breakfast with the rest of the band and go to practice. Neon tapped Arpeggio's foot, causing her to stir and glance at the pink-haired woman.

"Time to wake up," Neon instructed.

Arpeggio pushed herself to a sitting position and looked around the bed. She expected Neon to pick her clothes out for her and place them on the bed but they were no where in sight.

"I figured you could wear your pajamas today," Neon answered the girl's unasked question.

Arpeggio smiled. It wasn't everyday that Neon allowed her to go places in her pajamas. She would enjoy the freedom while she could.

Neon handed Arpeggio the tiny glucose meter. Arpeggio took the hint, pricking her finger and placing a drop of blood on the testing strip. There was no point to doing this; they both knew it would be low.

Arpeggio gave the meter back to Neon, whose eyes scanned the numbers on the screen. Neon frowned.

"It's low," she mumbled.

She was hoping Arpeggio's blood sugar would perform a miracle and rise to a normal level. This just meant the band would have to watch her. Arpeggio would have to take it easy at practice.

Neon returned the meter to the bag of supplies and stood.

"Come on," she commanded.

Arpeggio stood on unstable legs. It was the morning and she had just had a hypoglycemic attack; standing was not on her agenda. Neon placed an arm under her younger sibling's, balancing her.

"Let's go," Neon smiled at Arpeggio.

Even though there was an age difference between them, they were the same height. Neon ended up stunting her growth in high school. She never openly admitted to having a problem but she, like her sister, was good at hiding her emotions. She had gotten caught by their mother and was sent to a psychologist.

Insanity ran in the Lowry family bloodline.

Arpeggio leaned against Neon as they walked through the deserted hallway to the elevator. The silence was something neither were used to, nor did they expect. The rest of the band had to be downstairs already; otherwise the hall would be full of unnecessary noise. The siblings waited in silence for the elevator. They didn't need to wait long; the elevator door opened without a noise. They entered. Neon pressed the button marked with an "L"; the doors closed almost instantly.

The silence in the elevator was suffocating to Neon. She wanted to talk with her little sister.

"You know I love you, right?" Neon asked, still propping Arpeggio up.

Arpeggio nodded. Of course she knew that.

"And I'm glad you talked with me yesterday. I'm here for you if you need anything. Don't be afraid to talk to me," Neon continued.

"I know," Arpeggio whispered.

"I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine."

She may have been a tad mentally unstable in her younger teen years but she was fine now. There were no suicide plans formulating in her head.

It was silent again. Arpeggio could feel Neon's arm twitch underneath her. Neon could never handle silence. Silence was one of Arpeggio's favorite sounds, if it could be called that. There was no need to fill space with words. Arpeggio never understood why Neon couldn't stand silence. There was a lot she didn't understand about her older sibling.

That could only be solved by talking.

"I love you," Arpeggio whispered.

"I love you too," Neon smiled.