I See Sparks Fly Whenever You Smile

Alex

The Rock Show At The End Of The World tour ended up going off perfectly. While we didn't have much time to rehearse many of the new songs in time for the tour, the few we were ready to play for the crowds went by very well received.

I could not believe how quickly it all came to an end though. It almost seemed like I blinked and we were playing the last show of the tour at home right before Thanksgiving.

About a week before the end of the tour, Brook pulled off another big surprise and met up for the day of our show in New York. I was beginning to see how naive I was because when she said there was no way she could make it this time, I believed her.

While she was there, she asked me what my plans for Thanksgiving were. Seeing as my parents were born and raised in the UK, Thanksgiving wasn't something we made a huge deal about in my house. We celebrated, but not like other families. For the last few years, if I was home, I just spent the day with Lina's family.

Brook then informed me that she decided to take on the impossible and have Thanksgiving dinner at her and Jenn's apartment. I thought that just meant her, her parents, Jenn and myself. But I quickly found out it meant her entire family from Brooklyn and her brother in Chicago and my parents.

I was less nervous about meeting more of Brook's extended family since meeting her aunt and uncle at Warped and things went so well. What I was most nervous about was meeting Brook's brother. I didn't imagine I looked so good in his eyes after I bailed on seeing him in Chicago. I know I had good reasons to bail and Brook totally forgave me; i just didn't know if he would be as understanding.

I couldn't focus on my nerves too much. Brook was, as to be expected, a complete whacko and if I showed her any bit of negative energy, she would have completely fallen apart.

"Alex! What is this?" Brook gasped from the bathroom.

I stood frozen to the spot in her bedroom where I was finishing getting dressed. I'd taken a shower after Brook had already cleaned the bathroom. I promised that when I was finished, the bathroom would be spotless - which I thought it was.

I took all my clothes out with me. I wiped the floor dry and I arranged the shampoo bottles inside the shower stall just how Brook liked them. The shower curtain was correctly in place. The toilet seat was down and I made sure it was flushed. The sink and counter area was wiped down and I made sure the tooth brush cup and the tooth paste were placed where they belonged. There was not a thing out of place in that bathroom when I left. I had not a clue what I could be getting yelled at for.

I slowly turned to face her and saw Brook coming towards me with the waste basket from the bathroom. "What is this?"

As she got closer, I noticed the waste basket was empty save for the one lonely, used Q-Tip I'd thrown in there after my shower.

"A dirty Q-Tip?" I answered, a little confused by the drama.

"Alex! You promised that the bathroom would be spotless! Why the heck did you throw that in there?" she scolded.

I took a deep breath. If I said anything right away, I would have laughed at her and that would have been a suicide mission.

"Well, Brook, the dirty Q-Tip was waste so I threw it in the waste basket. And now I wish I was dead..." Sometimes I couldn't control my sarcasm.

"I'm glad you find this funny," she scoffed, picking up the Q-tip from the basket and tossing the stick at me. "Get rid of it," she hissed before turning on her heel and stomping back to the bathroom where she slammed the waste basket back down between the sink and the toilet. Then she stomped her way back into the kitchen.

"Can I maybe get a hint on exactly where I'm supposed to throw this out?"

"Oh my God, Alex!" she gasped, snatching the contents from my hand and tossing it in the garbage under the sink.

"Now why is it okay to throw it in there but not in the one in the bathroom?"

She stared at me for a long moment before she rolled her eyes. "The entire bathroom was spotless. Anyone could've gone in there later and all they would have seen was the dirty Q-Tip!"

"Okay," I said slowly. "You've lost it. Brook, not one member of your family is going to give a shit about the content of the trash in your bathroom."

She stared at me again. I could tell she was thinking of any kind of comeback.

"Well, I give one, so be a little more careful, okay?" she said, turning back the stove.

"Yes ma'am," I replied coming up behind her and slipping an arm around her waist. "Relax, okay? Everything is going to be perfect."

"Okay," she said, leaning against me for a minute and I kissed her cheek. "Okay. I can't do this now," she shrugged me off. "Too much work to do."

"How can I help?"

She turned around to face me. "Really? After how well you clean the bathroom?"

"Brook..." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Make the bed and vacuum the living room," she mumbled.

I smiled, pressing my lips to hers quick and giving her a thumbs up. "You got it, dude."

Earlier this morning, Jenn had announced that she was going to meet with some friends from school for a Thanksgiving brunch and that she'd be back around the time our families showed up. I was a little put off by this at first on Brook's behalf because I thought Jenn would want to help her. But then after careful examination of the situation, I realized that Jenn definitely had the right idea. Staying out of the way was a much bigger help to Brook than anything else.

I'd just finished making the bed, just the way Brook had taught me, when I heard a loud gasp come from the kitchen, followed by something glass shattering on the floor.

I rushed into the kitchen to find Brook cradling her left arm in her right hand, hissing "shit" under her breath.

"What happened?" I asked, stepping around the broken glass to get to her side.

She looked up at me, tears pooling in her eyes, threatening to spill over her eyelashes. "I was checking the turkey and I burned myself on side of the oven and then I jumped back and knocked that glass cup off the counter."

"Are you okay?" I asked, putting my arm around her shoulder.

"No," she mumbled, wiggling from my arms and grabbing the broom and dust pan from the closet to clean up the glass.

"I got it," I said, taking the cleaning supplies from her and crouching down to the pile of broken glass. I quickly swept everything up and emptied the dust pan in the garbage under the sink. "Don't walk barefoot in here until after I run the vacuum over the floor, okay?"

She nodded and I put the broom and dust pan back in the closet. "You know this is all your fault, right?"

"What?" I laughed. "How?"

"I was thinking about that stupid Q-Tip and I was distracted and that's how I burned myself!" she explained.

"Okay." I shook my head, placing my hands on Brook's shoulders. "Baby, you need to calm down," I insisted, leading her back to the kitchen table and instructing her to sit.

"I don't have time to si-"

"Sit!" I said firmly, digging my hand into the ice bucket in the freezer and wrapping a few ice cubes in a paper towel, telling her to hold it on the burn on her arm.

Reluctantly she did as she was told while I disappeared into the other room momentarily.

"Is that the ingredients to some new drink?" she asked when I returned with a bottle of Tequila in one hand and a tube of tooth paste in the other.

"Not exactly," I said, walking toward her with the tooth paste and crouching in front of her. I took the ice cubes away from her and squirted a generous amount of tooth paste over her burn.

She looked at me, her head cocked to the side a bit.

"I used to see my grandmother do this all the time when I was little and she would burn herself cooking."

I thought I might have been seeing things when Brook's lips curled into a smile.

"Mine too."

I smiled, tightening the top to the tooth paste tube and placing it on the table. I rested my hands on Brook's knees and looked up at her from the floor. "Feeling better?"

She nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"You're welcome." I said, standing up and kissing her quickly. "One more thing," I said, going back to the counter and taking two glasses from the cabinet and pouring a shot size helping of Tequila in each.

"Alex..."

I held the glass out in front of her and she was reluctant to take it.

"Brook, you will take this shot. And you will like it," I instructed.

"It's just after ten-thirty in the morning. I cannot be doing Tequila shots."

"Yes you can. You have to. It will take the edge off. If you don't relax, you are going to explode."

She looked at me, long and hard, before she sighed and held up her glass to me. "Happy Thanksgiving."

I smiled big and gently clinked my glass against hers. "Happy Thanksgiving," I repeated before we both brought the glasses to our lips and swallowed the burning liquid.

"Gross." Brook made a face and shook her head. "Now I can just spit fire and finish off that turkey."

I smiled at her joke and kissed her lightly. "I'll go finish up the vacuuming now," I said, throwing away the paper towel with the now melted ice cube.

"Thank you," Brook said, her attention back to the stove.

"You're welcome," I said, taking the tooth paste and liquor bottle with me as I left to kitchen so I could return them to their places.

Thankfully after this, Brook seemed to calm down significantly. I loved the girl to death but she did not handle stress well at all.

By the time three o'clock rolled around and our families started to pile into Brook's tiny apartment, I was finding it harder to keep my nerves in check. Once Brook's brother had arrived and after our initial introductions, he hadn't really said much to me.

Brook was a little too preoccupied in the kitchen to notice, but Sami did. She kept assuring me that this was just how Mikey was. And he was just a little distracted right now with family he hadn't seen in a while.

"We have a huge problem," Brook said, pulling me to the side in the kitchen.

"What kind of problem?" I asked, dreading her response.

"When Jenn went to the bakery last night for the bread, she got the wrong order. This bread has all seeds on them. My Uncle Sal can't eat seeds," she panicked.

"Not a problem," I assured her. "I'll sneak out right now and get seedless bread. No one will ever know the difference. Don't freak out."

"I'm not freaking out," she said slowly.

"Why are we not freaking out?" Mikey asked, coming up behind us in the kitchen.

"We have bread with seeds on it. And I know Uncle Sal can't eat seeds," Brook explained again.

"But it's okay," I cut in. "I'm going to go out now and get more bread right now."

"Awesome," Mikey nodded. "I'll take the ride with you."

Brook's eyes widened a little but she was quick to force a smile to her face.

"No," I shook my head. "That's okay. You stay here. I can manage on my own."

Mikey shook his head and insisted. "No. Really. It's fine. I could use a little fresh air."

"O-Okay," I said a little shaky. "Let me go grab the coats."

Mikey nodded. "Okay. But you have to drive. Yanno, seeing as I don't have a car."

Brook followed me into her bedroom where all the coats were piled up on her bed. "You okay?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Which one was your brother's coat?" I asked.

She dug into the pile and pulled out the right coat. "Alex?"

"What?" I snapped my eyes to her as I zipped up my coat.

"I love you," she said, slipping her arms around my neck and squeezing me tight before kissing me softly.

"I love you, too," I said against her mouth as I kissed her again.

"You're going to be okay. I promise," she assured me, dropping her arms from my neck and giving my hand a squeeze this time.

I smiled. "It's weird being on this side of a pep talk now."

She smiled back before kissing me one last time. "Go."

I nodded, scooping up Mikey's coat and leaving the room, with Brook close on my heel.

"Ready?" he asked me, slipping on his coat after saying goodbye to his girlfriend.

I nodded. "Let's go."

Brook gave me one more assuring smile from across the kitchen before Mikey and I slipped out of the crowded apartment.

We climbed into my truck in silence and went about two blocks before he said anything.

"So, you and my sister have been together for a while now, huh?" he started with.

I swallowed hard. "Y-Yeah. It'll be a year next month." I said, almost not believing it myself.

"Look, usually I would have given this speech a long time ago, but since this is the first time I'm actually meeting you, eleven months into the relationship will have to do."

I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and swallowed again. "Okay."

"Brook's had a rough couple of years since that prick ex boyfriend of hers practically ripped her heart from her chest and threw it in the street. And I swore to myself after that no one would ever hurt her like that again."

I nodded. I sort of made that same pact with myself. I kept my mouth shut though.

"Before you guys met, Brook was better. Not totally herself. But she wasn't this broken, fragile, little girl anymore. And then you met and even though I didn't see her face to face, I could tell she changed just by the sound of her voice over the phone or the tone of her texts. My baby sister was back..."

He paused for a second. It seems as though he was gathering his thoughts. "And in a way I think I have you to thank for that."

"Really?"

"Believe me, when I found out my sister was dating the singer from a successful rock band, I was not happy. I did not see this ending well for her at all. But when I noticed such a positive change in her attitude and heard from my parents how great you were, I started to come around."

I tried not to smile too wide. "Look, I love your sister. A lot actually. And I know a guy like me has a certain reputation and maybe in the past I lived up to that reputation but I've changed. I've grown up. And I owe that to Brook."

Mikey smiled. "With all that being said, if you hurt my sister, I will rip you apart limb from limb. You got that?"

I nodded. "Fair enough."

"So, with that out of the way, tell me how much of a neurotic nutcase she was over today."

I laughed. "Oh. She was a mess. I'd get yelled at for not helping and then when I asked to help, I'd get yelled at for doing it wrong."

Mikey laughed. "Our mom was just like that when we were growing up."

"And then I thought I'd pay her a compliment last night and tell her everything that she was pre-cooking smelled delicious. And all that did was result in bruised knuckles for every time she whacked me with the spoon for trying to sneak a taste."

Mikey laughed again. "She's completely out of her mind. But she's my baby sister and my best friend and I wouldn't trade her for the world. Yanno?"

I nodded. "Of course."

I then saw something change in his eyes and I had a feeling I knew where the conversation was about to turn and it made me wish the bakery was closer.

"Listen, Alex. Brook told me the real reason why you bailed on coming to see me in Chicago."

I sighed. "Yeah. I'm really sorry about that..."

Mikey shook his head. "You don't have to apologize. I totally understand."

I nodded. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "Actually. To be honest, I don't understand. I don't think I could ever understand something like that happening."

I nodded again. "It's something you learn to live with but you can never actually understand. Even after all these years."

"Well, Brook told me that I shouldn't even mention it to you. But I felt like it was rude if I didn't. So I just wanted you to know that I send my condolences to your family."

"Thanks," I said quietly, keeping my eyes focused on the road.

"And I don't know if this is pushing any kind of boundaries or anything. But I know that some times if I'm having a crap day, nothing makes me feel better than talking to Brook and I know she feels the same about me."

I nodded slowly, unsure where this was going.

"I know in your line of work, you're under a lot of different kinds of stress then most people. And I guess, all I'm saying is that if you need a big brother type to talk to, I'm just a phone call or a text message away."

I was glad we were currently stopped at a red light because I found myself in shock, staring at Mikey for maybe a little too long.

"Wow," I finally said once I regained control of my brain. "I really appreciate that. It means a lot to me."

Mikey smiled. "It's the least I could do."
*****

Brook

I could admit that I was not handling the stress of of hosting Thanksgiving all too well. But once everyone arrived and all the food was served and everyone was getting along, I definitely mellowed out. And the three glasses of wine I had probably didn't hurt much either.

"Okay. Okay. It's time to say what we're thankful for," my uncle announced to the table.

It was a Monteverdi family tradition that every Thanksgiving dinner, we went around the table and said what we were thankful for.

My uncles, my grandfather and my dad never took it seriously, each of them announcing that they were thankful for deodorant, tooth paste and mouth wash.

My aunts, my grandma and my mom all went on how they were thankful for a happy and healthy family.

Sami happily announced how thankful she was for me and Alex meeting because not only did he make me happy, but he's become a great friend to her and introduced her to so many awesome people.

Then it was Alex's turn and I knew I should have been worried when he stood up.

"I am thankful for this lovely lady right here," he started, resting his hand on my shoulder. "Without her, we wouldn't have had this delicious meal. And more importantly, I wouldn't have been nearly as happy this past year without her. Sure, I had plenty to be thankful for and happy about regarding my career and stuff but none of that means anything without having someone you love to share it with."

I was chewing on the inside of my cheek violently at this point in an attempt to not let my smile get too wide.

"I'm also thankful that through Brook I've been giving the opportunity to meet all you great people," he finished, squeezing my shoulder lightly before taking his seat.

Then all eyes were on me and I felt my mouth dry out. I hated being put on the spot like this.

"Well, it's hard to follow up that but I just want to say that I'm thankful to have such a loving and supportive family and a wonderful boyfriend that always has my back. Oh and also that I managed to get this meal on the table without burning the house down."
*****

"Well it is official," I said, plopping down in my bed next to Alex later that night once everyone had left.

"What's official?" he asked, instantly pulling me into his arms.

"My entire family loves you more than they love me," I said, cuddling into Alex's chest.

He laughed, kissing the top of my head. "It's no secret that they all think highly of me. But they definitely think higher of you."

"Maybe," I smiled, looking up at him sleepily. "Hey, how did it go when you went out with my brother."

"Um," he paused and I started to panic a bit inside. "It went really well actually. That was after he threatened to rip me limb from limb if I hurt you."

I shook my head. "Sorry..."

He laughed. "It's not a problem. We touched on the Tom subject a bit. Mikey pretty much told me if I needed to talk to someone like a big brother, he would be there for me."

My eyes widened. "He really said that?"

I nodded. "He sure did," Alex said. There was a satisfied smile in his face.

"That might be the most adorable thing I've ever heard." I smiled.

Alex shrugged. "I appreciated it a lot."

"I do too," I said, leaning up and kissing him lightly.

"So what is on the agenda tomorrow?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I'm still off from work so I will probably sleep in a bit. And then maybe do some Black Friday shopping."

Alex laughed at me. "Sleep in late? What does that mean? 7 AM instead of the usual 6 AM?"

"I actually have an alarm set for 8 AM, thank you very much," I smirked up at him.

"Wow. That's almost half a wasted day," he teased.

I kicked him lightly in the shin under the blankets. "When do you leave for tour?"

He laughed again. "We have two or three one off shows around Christmas but there's no real tour until we go to the UK in January."

I scoffed. "So you're going to be around almost every day for the next two months?"

"Yep!" he beamed. "Can you handle it?"

"Probably not. But I'll find a way to keep you busy."