We Don't Want to Ever Fall at All

Jack wakes up to a glass of water and two Tylenol on the coffee table in front of him and Mari sitting crossed legged on the other side with a mug of something hot.

"First thing: This isn't happening again, you hear? I find you passed out, drunk, in front of my apartment again, and you're gone."
"Yeah, OK."

"Second: If you've got reason enough to drink like that, then you talk it out first. I don't date alcoholics."

"Fine."

"Third, and finally: The shower is the door to the right. You stink worse than you did last night. There's a spare toothbrush under the sink."

Jack expected worse, even in his drunken stupor, when he'd gotten himself sat in front of Amari's door, having abandoned his friends in favour of attempting to walk downtown to find her building, he thought she'd dump his sorry ass then and there.
Yet, here she was, taking care of him the next morning and barely threatening his masculinity.
He didn't know what his real issue was, not anymore, not when Amari had given him a chance he probably didn't deserve, but his break-up with Holly still felt fresh and it hurt sometimes to think he'd gotten so invested in that relationship that he hadn't even noticed her slipping away.

He'd barely been with Mari a week, and he was already fretting, but he clearly wasn't helping himself. She had shown no intentions of ending this, yet Jack was already worried, two weeks into this, that he would end up on his ass again.

Jack feels no better after the hot shower, but a smile does creep onto his face when he wanders back into the main room of Amari's apartment and he finds her splayed out on the couch, quietly watching The Regular Show.

"And you call me childish." He chuckles, rubbing the extra towel he'd found waiting for him on the bed when he'd finished, through his hair, "You not at work today then?"

"Not until later on. Late shift again."

"Can I hang out here? Or do you want me to go home?"

"If you can fit on the couch some how, you're welcome to stay."

"I'm slim."

"But surprisingly heavy. I've had to shift your drunk ass twice now."

Jack crouches down in front of her and chuckles as he watches her eyes focus on him instead of the TV, "I am sorry. Honestly."

"Mmm." She hums like she's contemplating it, "Do I get sunflowers this time?"

"I'll see what I can do... Later."

Mari analyses him for a moment before shuffling forward on the cushions so there's a space behind her, "Squeeze on, Stretch."

"Thank you, Casper." He rocks forward to offer her a kiss, smiling as she reciprocates, "You definitely get flowers now."

"I've decided, you're actually still Stinkie." She fake gags, "You're still secreting beer."

"Ew."

"Yeah, ew."

-----
"So, when are you guys likely to end up back on tour?"

They're still holed up in Amari's apartment, she having abandoned their cuddle session to start on a new piece of art work she had been itching to create, giving Jack the opportunity to sleep some more. It had been almost three hours before Jack was awoken by Mari, who was asking him if he fancied takeout.
The current set-up is them on opposite ends of the couch, numerous cartons of Chinese food spread out in front of them as they talk quietly over the music Amari had left on from when she'd been painting.

"We've got a couple of shows around here in a few weeks, but we really are focussing on this album at the moment. New label means we gotta impress them. We probably won't do a full tour until August now?"

"So, I've got a while then."

"What evil plans are you stewing up now?"

She laughs, flicking a string bean at him and frowning when it only lands on her couch, "Well, fuck."

"That's what you get for being mean." He pokes his tongue out, "Now, what did you mean?"

"To be with you." She shrugs, "I got thinking last night, when you were snoring like a pneumatic drill, may I add. I was worried that before I really got to know you, that you'd be at the other side of the world."

"Does that mean I can start asking questions about you then?"

She waves a hand forward, chopsticks still in hand, "Feel free."

"Right, let's start with.. Where'd you got to college?"

"UCLA."

"Well, no shit!"

"Surprised?"

"You don't seem like a snob."

"That college was full of fucking hippies. I swear, freshman year, the guys the floor below us used to smoke weed at least twice a day."

"And you dormed there?"

"Oh yeah! Canyon Point. Right next to the pool."

"When did you move here then?" Jack had imagined her here from when she'd graduated, everything looked in such a place that to hear it was only two years ago, was a surprise.

"Second year. Tess and I rented it. Used to be all official UCLA apartments but they decide it was too far from campus and sold the building. The new landlord upped the rent and Tess bailed. Then I bailed on college altogether."

"You 'bailed' on college?"

"Indeed. I got two and a half years and decided it wasn't for me. I was sick of not having my own money to spend and that was pretty much it. I quit, got a job or three and cut myself off." Mari shrugs and Jack guesses that the end of it, she shifting her attention back to the now cold food in her hands.

It seemed like a sour subject, her family.

He knew a little about them. Chloe was the 'golden child', the one who made it in Hollywood, but he knew Amari had starred alongside her to begin with, the two of them competing with the Olsen twins for the cutest kids in the film industry, but at some point before she hit her teens, Mari stopped it all and Chloe carried on alone. The elder not only continued starring in movies but became one of the poster girls for Victoria's Secret.
Without knowing the relation or the strange surname, he never would have guessed they were even slightly related, Amari having grown and developed into Chloe's complete opposite.

"And what about you, Mr. Barakat? Did you attend college before you decided to explore the big, bad world?"

He shakes his head with a mouthful, swallowing quickly, "We got signed while we were sixteen. Hit the road straight outta' High School."

"Your parents didn't mind?"

"There were so many lengthy discussions with all our families whether or not they wanted this for us. It's not like any of us come from overly musical families so for us to want to completely skip college and play for a living - it was a bit of a culture shock."

"Are you glad you did?"

Jack nods immediately, furiously, "This is one thing in life I've never regretted. Sure, if this all comes crashing down around us, I don't have a leg to stand on - I've got the basic High School background and nothing else going for me. No real job experience. I worked at Rita's for three years, that's all I've got for my resumé."

"I just can't imagine being away for so long? Don't you miss your family? Friends? Your own bed?"

Jack laughs, smiling at her as she makes an exaggerated motion towards her own bed, "It's not so bad! I still technically live with my Mom, so I see her whenever I'm home and my brother and sister come visit all the damn times. I'm stuck in a sardine tin with my eleven best friends." He jokes, "And as for my own bed? I find it difficult to sleep in it for too long - I miss the road."

"You're so odd."