My 'Cool' Grandpa

**Rosie's POV**

I sobbed and picked up Emma. "I know, I'm sorry, I should have listened to you." She hugged me and I hugged her.

"Don' be sad, Wosie, he wuvs oo. I know it. He be marry oo," Emma said.

I felt a warm rush of affection for Emma. She was so sweet, trying to make me feel better.

"Of course, Emma. Thank you," I said, drying my tears and hugging her.

"No, weally! He be marry oo and I be bisemaid!" Emma shouted.

"I know Emma, but now you have to go to sleep."

I tucked her back in. She clutched Mr. Whirly and drifted off.

I went back to see Grandpa the long way. I didn't want to be anywhere near Jack, ever again.

**5 and a half years later**

**Rosie's POV**

Grandpa and I were watching our favourite, Bullet in a Bible. It was two weeks before Christmas, and Grandpa was depressed because he'd just turned 79. He cheered up when he saw his younger self and we sang along and spoke along. It was really cool.

The doorbell rang. I got up and opened the door. My best friend, Jack and my worst enemy, Roxanne, were standing at the door with Billie and Adie, snow swirling behind them.

"Hey guys! Come in, you must be frozen! They came in and behind them, were Joey, Sarah, Emma, Jack, Ellie, Estelle, Harry, Kate and Mike. Aunt Ramona and her husband, Steve brought up the rear, carrying baby Lucy.

"ORANGE MOCHA... .OH MY GOD!! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!!" I heard Grandpa yell.

"Grandpa, calm down. Don't be such a drama queen."

"But I'm good at it," Grandpa pouted and turned the TV off.

"What do we owe this to?" I asked.

"Well," Billie began. "Jack and Roxanne came round and told us we had to round up the whole gang and come here. Come on guys, what's up?"

Billie and Aide frowned as Roxanne squealed girlishly, "Come on Jack," she smiled at Jack. He smiled back and began to talk.

"Well, um.." he drifted off as he caught my eye. We looked into each others eyes.

"For heavens' sake, Jack! I'll tell them!" Roxanne yelled. "We're getting married!"

Those three words made me sick. I felt as if I'd never be alive again. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I stifled them. No one had said anything. Adie and Billie looked upset, as did Joey, Sarah, well, everyone. Apart from Emma, Roxanne and Jack.

Emma was looking at me weirdly, Jack was still staring at me as was Roxanne, with an oddly triumphant, smug look on her face.

"Guys.. I.. I'm so pleased for you!" I choked. "That's fantastic!"

I walked over to them and hugged them. Roxanne quickly let go, but Jack hugged me tightly. A few tears seeped out of my eyes. I stopped myself from crying and let go.

Emma looked at me. "Um, Rosie, could you help me with something?"

"Of course, what's wrong?"

"Come with me."

We left the room as everyone started (half-heartedly) congratulating Roxanne and Jack. I looked back. Jack was still staring at me. I may be wrong, but I thought I could see the hint of a tear in his eyes. I looked away from him. Emma and I went up to my room.

"You love him. He loves you. He doesn't want to marry her! She's a bitch!"

"Emma! Where did you learn that word?"

"I'm seven, I'm not stupid. Honestly, he loves you! You love him! You're going to end up together!"

"No we're not Emma! He's engaged to Roxanne. He loves her."

"Do you love him?"

I looked out of the window at the snowflakes falling lightly outside my window. I sighed and buried my head in my hands.

"Yes."

"You've got to tell him."

"EMMA! I can't! He's engaged! It's not right! You don't understand! You're just a kid!"

"Rosie! Get your head out of your ass and listen to me! If you had half a brain, you'd see how much he loves you! Billie knows it, Adie knows it, Joey knows it, everyone knows it apart from you!"

"Emma, SHUT THE FUCK UP! You don't know what you're talking about!" I burst into tears. Emma came over and hugged me.

"Rosie, I promise, if you tell Jack how you feel, everything will turn out great. He'll dump the bitch and marry you."

I sighed. Emma wasn't giving up. "OK, OK. I'll talk to him. Not tonight, too many people are here. I'll meet him for lunch tomorrow."

I dried my tears and we walked downstairs. Everyone had glasses of champagne and Roxanne still wore a smug, triumphant look on her face. I walked in. Everyone fell silent and I felt Jack staring at me again.

I smiled. "Hey, who got out alcohol and didn't inform me?"

Grandpa grinned and passed me a glass. Emma smiled and took a glass of orange juice. Harry and Kate also had orange juice.

I paused. "Hey, guys, unless you wait two years, you can't drink champagne at your wedding."

Jack began to talk, "Honey, Rosie has a point."

Roxanne glared at me.

"We've decided we want to get married as soon as possible. We're thinking of New Year's Eve."

Billie spit out his champagne, Adie and Joey dropped their glasses. Jack looked shocked.

"Wow, that's in, about, three weeks," I said, feeling my false cheeriness slip away.

"Yeah, Roxanne, I thought we were waiting... " Jack stammered until Roxanne interrupted.

"Well, we love each other," she began, looking pointedly at me. "We can't wait to get married, can we honey?"

"Yeah," muttered Jack. He was still staring at me. "So excited."

Everyone moved out into the garden. I got out some Ben and Jerry's and sat on the couch. I didn't feel like celebrating.

A while later, Jack walked in to get more champagne. He saw me and walked over. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah. Listen, we haven't had time together for ages, what d'you say of we go out to lunch tomorrow?"

"Yeah, Rosie, that'd be great!" Jack beamed.

Roxanne's voice came through the windows. "Jack!"

His face fell.

"Incidentally," I grinned. "Whose idea was it to go outside in the freezing cold?"

"Mine," Jack grinned. "I want to see how much I can annoy my Dad."

"Aww, you're so grown-up!"

"Anyway, I've got to go," he said, gesturing the door. "I'll meet you at Frank and Benny's tomorrow at one o' clock, just the two of us."

"Fantastic," I smiled. Jack walked out. Oh my God, I'm going to kill Emma if this goes wrong.

Hmmm, it looked really cold outside. How likely would Roxanne getting frostbite and dieing be?

**The Next Day**

I was sitting in Frank and Benny's. I have never been this nervous. I could hardly breathe. It was quarter past one. I got up to leave when Jack walked in. The sight of him made my heart skip a beat and I felt happy.

Wait a minute, I'm not happy, I'm fucking terrified. I've got to tell him that I love him when he's engaged to someone else. He saw me and came over. He sat down.

"Hey, how's it going?" Jack grinned.

"Good," I replied. "Listen, Jack... "

"HELLO! Welcome to Frank and Benny's! May I take your order please?" The waiter was wearing a cheesy grin and looked COMPLETELY retarded.

"Um, I'll have an espresso please," Jack asked, frowning at the waiter.

"I'll have a latte please."

The waiter made a note of our order and walked off.

"Well, he's certainly not getting a tip," Jack frowned.

"Hey, come on, cut him some slack. Anyway, Jack," I took a deep breath.

"What's wrong Rosie, Are you OK?" Jack leaned over and put his hand over mine.

Oh my God! He's being so nice! He's going to hate me, he's engaged. OK, I just need to get it over with.

"Jack, I love you."