Wanna Live It Up Just Because

A barely noticeable smile graced Arpeggio's face. Jack took mental note of it, his own smile growing larger. The ghost of a smile on her face made her that much more attractive to him.

"Would you stop calling her cutie?" Neon demanded.

Jack tore his eyes from Arpeggio to look at the now fuming Neon.

"No," he replied.

Arpeggio wondered if Jack had taken to calling her cutie just to get a rise out of her older sibling. It was obvious the boys found some entertainment in annoying the lead singer; could it be that the nickname was just another ploy to piss her off?

She hoped it wasn't.

Neon growled. Jack needed to leave her sister alone; he would corrupt her. Arpeggio was innocent to a degree higher than that of most seventeen year olds. She was good kid; Jack would ruin that.

"That was kind of hot," Alex smirked.

"You're disgusting," Neon returned, throwing her bag on the ground and storming out of the room.

Arpeggio watched her older sister, not sure whether to follow or wait with her bags. She shrugged her shoulders, dropping her duffle bag on the ground along with her bag of food. Whoever bought the food ordered too much; Arpeggio couldn't finish it all. It would have to go in the refrigerator for later.

Jack watched Arpeggio's movements with interest. Instead of following after her older sister, the young girl opted to stay in the room. She shrugged her over-sized jacket off her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground without care. Her simple, black tank top showed a portion of her stomach, stopping just below where Jack assumed her belly button was located; her pants hung loose on her hips. Though she didn't seem to care about her appearance, Jack couldn't help thinking her laid back attire was incredibly sexy. The tattoo fully visible on her left arm only added to the effect. He spotted another one peaking out from the right side of her tank top.

"Is that a real tattoo?" Alex asked.

Arpeggio nodded.

"You may want to cover that before your sister gets in here; she'll have a freaking heart attack," Alex stated.

Arpeggio tilted her head to the side, clearly confused by Alex's statement. Her sister knew about all of her tattoos. How would she have gotten them if her sister didn't sign the consent form?

"I'm serious."

Alex couldn't understand why the girl was giving him that look. He knew Neon; she would not be okay with her little sister desecrating her body like that. Arpeggio must have known that too, after all she lived with Neon. But the way she was staring at him made him feel like he was stupid for even suggesting Neon would be unhappy.

Whatever, it was her funeral.

Arpeggio rolled her eyes at Alex. She didn't need another person telling her what to do. She had enough guidance from her sister, the band, and their manager. Alex was just starting to piss her off. She didn't need to be told what to do all the time; she could handle herself. Apparently other people didn't see that.

She climbed onto the hotel bed and leaned against the headboard, crossing her arms over her chest. The floral design of the comforter drew her eyes. It was probably one of the uglier patterns she had seen in a hotel and she wondered who picked the design. The bed sunk in next to her. Expecting to see her older sister, she looked up. She was shocked to see Jack sitting next to her, arms crossed over his own chest and leaning against the headboard like her. Her heart jumped as he smiled down at her.

Was her blood sugar dropping? That was the only explanation for the heart palpitation.

"So, how old are you?" asked Jack.

Arpeggio glanced around the room; Neon was no where in sight. As far as she was concerned, Jack had no reason to talk to her since he couldn't annoy her sister. She looked back at him. He was waiting for an answer.

"Seventeen," she said.

Jack could barely hear her. He was expecting a confident voice like Neon's. One that was loud and had authority. Arpeggio's voice was low, barely above a whisper. She sounded like she was questioning, or even apologizing, rather than answering his question. He felt a tiny bit of worry for her.

But he wasn't going to let that worry get in the way of finally talking to her.

"Are you still in school?"

She nodded.

"Where do you go?"

"Dulaney High."

"I went there," he exclaimed.

The corners of her lips tugged upward. She bit her lip to keep from laughing at Jack's outburst.

"I know," she stated.

"You do?"

"You went to school with Neon."

For some reason, that fact slipped Jack's mind. He should have remembered; He, Alex, and Rian had an all out war with Neon during high school but he couldn't remember how it started.

"I try to forget that," Jack said.

"She's not that bad," Arpeggio insisted.

"Well, I'll take your word for it."

Arpeggio looked at her hands, which were fiddling with the wire attached to her insulin pump. She would need to change the infusion set's placement soon. Moving the needle, adhesive mount, and the other parts of the set was not something Arpeggio enjoyed. It didn't hurt much but it was a pain in the ass. Changing the placement was necessary though. Leaving it in too long would cause her insulin absorption to become less effective, therefore leading to poor control of her blood sugar.

Jack looked at the insulin pump. Had he not seen it, he would have assumed she was completely healthy. He thought she was when he met her years ago and he thought she still was when he had seen her in the conference room. He was never aware she had diabetes.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

She looked at him, "What?"

"That," he motioned to the pump, "Does it hurt?"

"No," she answered.

"How long have you had it?"

"I was two when I was diagnosed. It never really clicked till I turned seven. One day at a sleepover, I realized I was different and I asked my parents why all the other kids didn't have to take shots. That's when I found out. And I got the pump on my eighth birthday."

That was probably the most Arpeggio had said to him but she didn't mean to. She didn't want him to feel bad for her.

Jack was in slight shock. She had dealt with it since near birth. She didn't know anything different. At least not consciously. Her life had been based around diabetes for so long. He wondered if anyone ever looked past the insulin pump and injections to actually see her, if anyone ever tried to make her feel normal.

Well he decided he would be the one to do that.

"Leave her alone, Jack," Neon's voice commanded.

Jack looked up to see Neon walk though the door and begin digging through the suitcases on the ground.

She would probably get in the way of his endeavor. But he would fight her tooth and nail to do what he had to.