Private Universe

I woke again to a tapping on my head. Jack was squatting in front of me grinning. I could feel Alex still behind me sleeping soundlessly. His arm was still around my middle and it made me smile. I looked at Jack who was still grinning.

"What do you want, Jack?" I asked.

"Shh. Let's go get a coffee." He said standing and holding out his hand.

"What?"

"We need to talk."

I took his hand reluctantly. Something must be wrong if Jack wanted to talk. I slipped out from under Alex's arm and he shifted a little. Jack grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the bus door. As soon as we were a little ways away from the bus I decided to ask what this was about.

"I just thought we could enjoy some coffee." Jack grinned.

"Uh-huh. What is it really about?"

I saw him bite his lip and look at me. "Alex."

"What about Alex?" I asked.

He didn't reply until we were both sitting down with coffees in hand. "What are you doing with him?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What's going on between the two of you?"

"Nothing. We're just friends."

"That's not how it looked when I woke up this morning." He smiled before taking a drink.

"That wasn't planned. We were just talking last night and we ended up falling asleep."

"Don't play with him." He said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"Girls like to play with boys. Not in the dirty sense but in the 'I'm going to pretend to like you and then dump you on your ass'. Don't do it."

"I have no intention of doing that. I've never done that."

"Good." He bit his lip again, contemplating what he was going to say next. "I'm not suppose to say anything, but being the best friend that I am-"

"You can't keep a secret can you?" I grinned.

"Yes! I really can't. He knows he shouldn't tell me. But he does anyway." He shook his head and took another drink of his coffee.

"I don't want to know." I said.

He groaned. "That makes things difficult. Because now I have to tell you."

"Jack! No."

"He likes you. A lot." He grinned as I hit his arm.

"Jack!"

"I'm sorry. But I don't want to see him hurt. That's not fair to him. And he's my best friend. But you can't say anything! I wasn't suppose to..." He trailed off.

"I know he likes me."

"What?"

"The grad party. He asked for my number."

"Why didn't you give it to him?"

"I wasn't ready. I'm still not. I don't know what's going on between us right now but I'm not ready for a relationship."

"Why not?" He questioned.

"Because."

"Because why?"

I felt my eyes fill with tears. I did not want to have to explain this to him. "I'm scared." I whispered.

"Of what?"

"That I'm going to end up on the streets again. That I'm going to go weeks without real food. I can't do it again, Jack. I can't. I don't know what kind of money you guys make but-"

"Whoa." He said and he came to sit next to me wrapping his arm around me. "We make enough. I promise. And if we run out of money because our fans suddenly hate us then we get real jobs and go live with our parents." He smiled.

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Seriously?"

"Mhmm. Alex was living with his parents for the longest time. They are great too. I'm sure they would like you." He grinned at me.

"Slow down, Jack. I'm not meeting the parents yet." He smiled.

"Right. Well, don't worry about money and living on the streets. We all like you. You could probably come live with one of us or something." He grinned again.

"Thanks, Jack." I sniffled and he pulled me close for a hug.

We drank our coffee and talking about lighter things. We made jokes and acted like idiots until the people kicked us out for disrupting the customers. We were laughing and insulting each other on our walk back to the bus. Alex was coming out of the bus looking tired and confused. I didn't know I was grinning until Jack leaned close and whispered in my ear.

"You totally like him." I looked up at him and saw he was grinning. "Give him a chance."

We walked up to Alex and he pulled me in for a hug. I had to admit that not only were his hugs amazing but I felt comfortable and safe in his arms. He also smelled really good. I smiled against his chest as he talked to Jack.

"Where were you guys?" He asked letting me go.

"I took her for coffee." Jack said. Alex raised an eyebrow. "Just coffee. I needed to talk to her."

Alex looked at me and I smiled. "Only coffee. We also only talked."

My phone started ringing so I walked away from them and picked it up. I didn't recognize the number so I was a bit hesitant. But if it was someone I didn't know I could just hang up. I answered and heard an unfamiliar male voice.

"Miss Zooey Evans?" He asked.

"This is she. Who is this?"

"This is Christopher Reynolds. I'm with the Reynolds Lawyer Group." He said.

"Okay. No offense, but what do you want?" I asked.

"I'm calling about a Mrs. Anita Evans' will."

"I'm sorry. Who?"

"I'm told she is your grandmother." I nearly dropped the phone in shock of what I was hearing. Anita Evans. My grandmother. She had a will. But that meant-

"She died?"

He hesitated before answering. "I'm afraid so."

"What does this have to do with me? I never met her."

"You're mentioned in her will."

"What?" This was getting weirder by the minute.

"Unfortunately, I cannot give you specifics over the phone. I need you to come to my office or the funeral so I can make sure you are the correct Zooey Evans."

"I wish I could. I'm kind of in Pennsylvania right now."

"I strongly encourage you to get a flight out here. You will want to hear this."

I sighed. I was all ready starting to dislike this guy. "I'll see what I can do."

"Great! Just call me back and let me know."

"Fine." I hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

I was not excited about going back to Colorado to see to some stupid will from a woman that cut off my father and never even tried to contact me. I walked back to Jack and Alex who were talking comfortably against the bus.

"Who was on the phone?" Alex asked.

"A lawyer." He gave me a puzzled look. "My grandmother's lawyer. On my dad's side."

I saw his eyes go wide as he connected the pieces. "What? I thought you never talked to her."

"I didn't. But apparently I'm mentioned in her will."