Growing Up Won't Bring Us Down

My mom told me that Jack and I used to be inseparable when we were infants, and at the age of two it was like we were siblings. Of course that wasn't possible because we had different parents, but I knew what she meant. She told me about how we used to play together, and when one of us was upset, no one except the other could calm us down. She said it was odd, we simply had to be near to one another and we were peaceful. We were the best of friends, even at such a young age.



When I was five, I got pushed down at the park by some of the older boys in the neighbourhood. Jack picked me up and broke their toys that day; he was always protecting me from everything. After he defended me, I kissed him; I thought that was what you were supposed to do when you said thank you to someone. He ran off screaming something about girl germs, but I didn't care. I simply laughed at him and went back to playing with my toys. He came back afterwards, and he took me to the play area in the park. I swung upside down on the monkey bars, and he stood underneath me, promising to catch me if I fell.



When I was nine, my family took me camping for the first time. I didn't want to be separated from Jack, so they invited him to come too. We shared a tent, and spent many nights curled up against one another sleeping soundly. I always used to wake up before him, and I watched him sleep. He used to suck his thumb and he always snored lightly, with his mouth slightly open. I remember we were camping by a lake, and one night he took me to a clearing by the lake and we just lay there, looking at the stars. That night he promised me that if I wanted, he would go up to the stars and bring one down for me to keep. I laughed, even at the age of nine I knew he couldn't do that, but it was still sweet of him.



When I was thirteen, Jack and I slept over each others houses nearly all the time. We were still basically inseparable, even after 11 years. We had just started 8th grade, and Jack had met a boy called Alex in one of his classes. He started spending more time with Alex, and I got jealous. We had our first real fight that year. After we'd made up though, I kissed him. Jack didn't say anything; he didn't run away again, but he didn't kiss me back. I don't know why I did it. Now I chalk it up to my hormones being all over the place, as I was just going into adolescence. After the fight we had, Jack promised me he would never leave me. We pinky promised on it, but in my mind, I didn't take him seriously.



When I was seventeen, All Time Low got signed to Hopeless Records. I was so proud of them, but in the back of my mind I was terrified that Jack would forget about me. They were about to go on tour, and I was going to college after graduation. We would hardly see each other. I remember for my eighteenth birthday, my parents and the band threw me a huge party; I had fun, dancing with all my friends and catching up with people I hadn't seen for a while, but I couldn't shake the bad feeling I had inside of me. So I went to hide somewhere, and about an hour later Jack found me. He always knew where to find me. I was sitting on the flatter part of my roof when I heard him sit down next to me. He asked me what was wrong, and I told him I was scared he wouldn't be there for me and forget about me when he was off being famous. He pulled me into a tight hug, and promised me that he would always be there for me, and that he would always take a part of me with him wherever he was in the world. He said he couldn't ever forget about me, because I was one in a million. For the first time ever, that night he kissed me. He leant his head towards mine, and he kissed me. Not the other way round, me kissing him to say thank you or to stop a fight, but he kissed me just for the sake of kissing me. He then pulled back, resting his forehead on mine, and asked me to be his girlfriend. Of course I said yes. I graduated that summer, and Jack went on tour with his band, and I went off to college. We kept a long-distance relationship, it wasn't easy, but we did it.



When I was twenty-two, I graduated college with a degree in industrial design. I was so happy that I graduated, and that I was finally going to be able to stay with Jack. We had been together for five years, sure we had our ups and downs, but we made it through. He was there at my graduation, disguised so that none of my classmates would recognise him. I laughed when I saw him, sunglasses and a hat covering his face. Always the joker. That night he took me to the same clearing by the lake we had gone to back when we were nine. We sat side by side and he pointed up at the stars, asking if I could find a constellation. I was so focused on finding one, I didn't see what Jack was doing until he cleared his throat and I looked back down at him. He was on one knee with a ring box in his outstretched hand, the other grasping mine.

“Katy Ross I have known you all my life, and to me there is no other girl but you. We've been together for five years, but I've loved you for so much more than that. You have always believed in me, have been proud of me, have kept my feet on the ground when my head is up in the clouds. You make me laugh, you soothe me when I need you, and you always support me. For me, you are the one. When I was younger, I promised to comfort you when no one else can, I promised to catch you when you fall, I promised to never leave you, I promised that I will always be there for you, and that I will always take you with me wherever I go in the world. I also promise that I will make you the happiest woman alive, if you would do me the honour of being my wife?”

I couldn't speak; instead I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck tightly with tears in my eyes.

“So this means you will?” He asked, with hope in his voice. I leant back to look at his face, nodding quickly and trying to will myself not to cry.

He opened the box, and inside was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen in my life. The diamond was shaped like a star, and it was surrounded by smaller diamonds either side of it.

“I promised you I'd go up to the stars and get one for you to keep, didn't I?”