Wanna Live It Up Just Because

"Hey, cutie," Jack greeted Arpeggio when he saw her.

Jack took note of Arpeggio's attire: the pajama's she had been wearing that morning. Neon must not have made her change. It was for the best, she wasn't feeling well. Why would she want to dress up if she felt miserable?

Not that she looked bad. In fact, she looked downright adorable in Jack's eyes. He didn't think it was possible for her to be unattractive to him.

"Hi, Jack," Arpeggio responded.

Her voice was lower than normal. That wasn't a side effect of hypoglycemia. Jack couldn't remember reading anything pertaining to lower voice volume last night. It must have had to do with her suicide attempt.

"Are you feeling any better?" Jack asked.

He was genuinely concerned for her wellbeing. He didn't want her to hurt.

"Not really," she answered.

Neon looked at her younger sibling, worry clear on her face. She had to admit, Arpeggio was looking worse than she did at the beginning of practice. Hopefully eating something would make her feel better.

Jack noticed Neon's worry. He wasn't happy about that answer either. He just wanted Arpeggio to feel okay.

"I got you something," Jack smiled at Arpeggio.

Arpeggio cocked her head to the side. She noticed that he had his hands behind his back. His body was rocking back and forth in anticipation.

"What is it?" Arpeggio asked.

"Guess," Jack exclaimed.

Was he serious? How could Arpeggio possible get into Jack's mind enough to know what he got her? With him, it could have been anything.

"I don't know," Arpeggio stated, hoping to get him to tell her what he was hiding behind his back.

"Just guess," Jack pushed.

Arpeggio paused. Her mind reeled with guesses but she didn't know what Jack had.

"I don’t have any idea, Jack."

"Its something you really want," Jack stated.

At least, he hoped she wanted it. It was quite possible that she didn't like the object hiding behind his back.

Arpeggio couldn't remember discussing things she wanted with Jack. She strained her mind.

"A unicorn?" she asked.

The guess was only a partial joke. Though she knew unicorns didn't really exist, she always wanted to see a living, breathing unicorn. But that was about as likely to happen as her diabetes going away.

She wasn't getting her hopes up.

Jack's smile fell, "Did you want a unicorn? 'Cause I can take this back and get you that instead."

Neon smiled at Jack's frantic answer. He would do anything for her sister; she had a feeling he would. Besides Jack's occasional playboy attitude in high school and teasing of Neon's weight, he was a good guy.

He was never half as bad as Alex.

Even better, Arpeggio was opening up to Jack. He may not have caught onto her joke but she was opening up enough to crack them.

"I'm joking. But if you really want to get me a unicorn, by all means go right ahead," Arpeggio smiled.

Jack's face was blank for a moment, taken aback by Arpeggio's statement. His expression bounced back to the large smile he had earlier.

"Fine, then you don't get your present," he joked.

"Fine, I don't want it," Arpeggio returned.

Jack released an exaggerated gasp, "Take that back."

"Make me."

Jack took his hands from behind his back, exposing a medium sized, bright blue teddy bear with a dark blue bow. On the bear's waist was a plastic insulin pump identical to the one on Arpeggio's waist. In one hand was a pair of custom-made drumsticks. Arpeggio's mouth dropped slightly. Jack held the bear out for Arpeggio to take, which she did, holding the bear up to examine. Neon could not suppress a small "aw" from escaping her mouth. Arpeggio returned her attention to Jack.

"You got me this?" Arpeggio asked, eyes sparkling.

"Yeah. I didn't know if you would like it."

"I love it," she declared, holding the bear to her chest, "Where did you get it?"

"I special ordered it from Build-A-Bear. It came in an hour ago."

"When did you order it?"

"Last night."

"And it came in this fast?"

"I pulled some strings."

"Overnight?"

Jack nodded, still smiling. Arpeggio's shocked expression was well worth the argument he had with the saleswoman over the phone. If only he could kiss her. But they weren't at that point in their relationship yet. Jack was fully aware of how slow things would have to go for her to be comfortable. He didn't even know if she liked him.

Arpeggio stepped forward, bear cradled in one arm, and embraced Jack with her free arm. Jack wasn't expecting her to be bold enough to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, enjoying the closeness of their bodies.

"Thank you so much," she whispered.

"You're welcome, cutie."

They stayed in each other's arms. Arpeggio didn't want to let go. Jack was comfortable; she liked being in his arms. It made her stomach do flips and heart race. He smelt good, a mix of Axe and aftershave. She took a deep breath of the smell, filling her lungs with air. She could get used to being in his arms.

Neon cleared her throat. The two jumped apart.

"Jack, I need to talk with you later," Neon stated.

"Okay?"

Jack was unsure about what Neon would need to talk with him about. Would she tell him to stay away from her sister? Or would she give him her blessing? That would be unlike her.

Lestat walked up to the small group. A basket was in his hands. It was for Arpeggio; the band packed food for her earlier so she would be able to keep her blood sugar relatively normal. He noticed the bear in Arpeggio's arms.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked, pointing to the bear.

"Jack," she answered.

A grin spread on Lestat's face, "Oh."

"Did you need something?" asked Neon, causing Lestat to look at her.

"Just making sure Arpeggio's okay. She didn't look like she was feeling too great when she walked off stage," he turned back to Arpeggio, "You need to eat."

Arpeggio didn't say anything. Was there a point to? Lestat would simply reiterate that she needed to eat and that she needed to take care of herself.

"We need to work out some more stage details with Grim," Lestat said to Neon, "so you can either stay with your sister or get someone else to watch her while she eats. Eating and walking doesn't seem like a good plan for her."

"Okay. Jack, how long do you have till you practice?" Neon asked.

"About an hour."

"Do you mind eating with Arpeggio? There should be enough for you to eat too. And maybe she can watch you guys practice."

"Sure," Jack exclaimed.

He wasn't expecting Neon to ask him to eat with her sister. Never in his imagination would he expect that.

Neon had actually been planning for Arpeggio to eat with Jack at some point today. She knew Jack wouldn't take complete initiative in wooing the young girl without Neon's consent. So Neon decided to help. She didn't know that he would come watch the last song of their practice. Fate seemed to want Arpeggio to be near Jack.

"Awesome. The basket has her shots and glucose meter. Make sure she checks her blood sugar before she eats," Neon instructed.

Lestat handed the basket to Jack.

"See you guys later," Neon stated as she and Lestat walked away.

"Come on, cutie. Let's find a spot to eat," Jack took Arpeggio's free hand and walked through the venue.