We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

“They’re coming for Christmas, Cody. I don’t know what you want me to do,” I respond to my brother’s complaints. “They haven’t seen you in two months, and they live in separate houses.
Cody groans. “I left because I don’t want to be around them.”
“Again, I don’t know what you want me to do. They’re coming to see us, and that’s pretty nice of them.”
“Yeah, maybe they’ll start helping you pay for something,” he mumbles.
I roll my eyes. “Beggars can’t be choosers.” I turn to the stove and open the oven.
The door to my apartment pushes open. “Hey, babe,” Alex greets. I pull out the pizza and wave to him. “Cody, you ready for tomorrow, man?” He turns to my brother who is doing his homework at the kitchen table.
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, I won’t be sleeping tonight, but whatever.” He quickly turns back to his homework, and Alex looks at me with a frown.
I sigh and pull out the pizza cutter. Alex approaches me. “What’s wrong with him?” he whispers.
I slice the pizza into eight slices then drop the pizza cutter into the sink. “Mom and Dad are coming out for Christmas,” I reply in the same tone, “and Cody doesn’t want them to. He was really looking forwards to Christmas with the guys and their families.” I glance at my brother sadly. “I can’t tell them not to come, and I can’t tell them that I’d planned on having Christmas with your family. They already booked their tickets and everything.”
“Invite them, too. Two more people aren’t a problem.”
“Alex, they’ll be here tomorrow. Christmas is in three days.”
“I know. Babe, it’s fine. Really.”
“You’re sure?” Alex nods and pulls his lips onto a smile. “Are you staying over tonight?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Considering you’ve spent the past week in the studio and practicing with my brother? Yes.”

Cody drums against his legs nervously, and the crowd is screaming widely. “Game time, bro,” Jack cheers, punching Zack’s chest excitedly. “First show in a few months. Let’s fucking go! Let’s go!”
“Calm the fuck down,” Zack laughs, throwing Jack into a headlock. Despite Jack’s flailing, he ends up face-down on the floor. “Asshole.”
“Gin, I’m nervous,” Cody mutters. I turn to my brother and hug him.
“Just pretend it’s Jake, Matt, and Derek up there with you. You’ve done this a million times.”
“Not with this many people! Nor with a famous band!” I laugh and push him away from me.
“You’re going to be fine.”
I watch the boys run onto stage, and the first two songs are a bit of a mess, but the between Alex and Jack recovering for Cody or pretending that they were the ones who messed him up, you wouldn’t know if you hadn’t been listening to the practices.
“He’s pretty good at what he does.”
I snap my head to the voice beside me. “Dad? What are you doing here?”
“Your boyfriend left some kind of VIP pass for me at the hotel and instructions to get here.”
I eyebrows fly up in shock. “He did what?”
“So, you might notices a little change in our lineup,” Alex begins.
“Yeah, where the fuck is Rian?” Jack chimes in. Zack is laughing as Alex throws an opened bottle of water at his best friend. “If I slip on that and die, I’m haunting you.”
“Your ghost is the last thing I’m afraid of. Anyways, I’d like to give a huge thanks to our good buddy Cody for filling in for Rian, who is off watching his girlfriend’s blind auditions on the Voice.
“So, everyone tweet at Cassadee wishing her good luck. Right now,” Jack quickly cuts in.
“Yeah, I already did. Anyways, speaking of girlfriends, I’ve got a brand new song for you all tonight. It’s been really hard to keep this one from my girlfriend for the past two weeks at practice considering her little brother is our drummer for the night.” He pauses as the crowd gets rowdy and glances at me, a smirk on his lips. “Alright, everyone shut up and let me talk.” The crowd slowly simmers down. “Anyways, I’ve been through so much with this girl, and I’m beyond grateful to have her in my life. In the past few months, she’s seen more than I think anyone our age should, and she made it through. I’m beyond proud of her for it.
“Now, I’m not going to delve into more than that. Other than the inspiration of this song.”
“Show them your new tattoo!” Jack squeals. “It’s so pretty.”
“Fuck off,” Alex laughs. “A few weeks ago, I admit to getting a little…rambunctious one night, and coincidentally, I woke up with a new tattoo. Not sure how it got there.”
“Yeah, and so did Zack.”
“So did my sister,” my brother quickly chimes in from the mic staged next to the drum set. I feel my dad’s attention turn to me, but I ignore him. I’m extremely intrigued at this moment in time.
Alex pulls up the sleeve of his flannel to reveal his Wendy silhouette. “If you can’t see, this is Wendy from Peter Pan. So, this next song is proudly entitled Somewhere in Neverland, and it goes out to the strongest girl I’ve ever met.”
And I actually am shocked at this song that I’ve never heard before, but I haven’t been attending their practices last week per Cody’s request. Well, that and I have a job.
“We’ll talk about how your parents separated and how you don’t want to make the same mistakes as them. I’ll say it’s all about sticking it out and trying to feel forever young.”
If anything, this makes me admire Alex all the more. “Kid’s got some nerve, including that in his song,” Dad mentions after the song is over.
I frown and cross my arms tightly over my chest. “Kid?” I turn to my dad. Kid to him is a very derogatory statement.
I physically have to bite my tongue to keep from saying what I want to. Informing him of the hell he and my mother sent me through without their assistance.
“I thought you two weren’t getting back together after you broke up.”
“I thought you liked him.”
“Until he broke your heart.”
“Dad, I left him. He didn’t do anything to me.” That’s a lie, but I’ll defend Alex to the death if it means not letting my dad win. “And he fought like hell to get me back. That man is taking care of me better than you ever have.”
“Oh, really? I’ve provided for you your entire life.”
“Except for the past six months when I needed it most.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I guess you should have listened to the song a little better…he pays my rent because I can’t afford it even working two jobs overtime because I have to pay for food, insurance, Cody’s tuition, gas, two cell phone bills, and my own schooling. So, before you call him a kid again, think about what he’s doing for me.”
Dad stands there in shock as I walk away to greet the guys as they walk off the stage for a break. “You’re amazing,” I tell Alex, pulling his sweaty face to mine and touching our lips. I feel him smile as he rests his hands on my waist.
“I’m glad you liked the song.” Alex looks behind me at my dad. “Why’s he looking at us like that?”
“We’ll talk about it later.” Alex nods and lets me go to shake my dad’s hand. “I’m glad you could make it out for the show.”
“Of course.” I stare at my dad. “Uh, listen, I want to thank you for what you’re doing for Virginia.”
I watch Alex’s expression turn to shock. “Oh…it’s the least I can do…it’s the most she’ll let me do, actually.” They share a small laugh. Cody nervously walks up behind Alex.
“Cody.”
“Hey, Dad.”
Surprisingly, Dad pulls Cody into a hug. “I’m so sorry, son. For everything.” I don’t actually realize that my brother is crying until he pulls away. He glances at his phone. “And, uh, I brought your Christmas present a little early.”
Security lets in three boys, and my brother drops his drumsticks. “Are you kidding?” He looks at Dad who just smiles.
“They wouldn’t miss this show for the world.”
I immediately turn to Alex. “You didn’t…” He shrugs and holds back a smile.
“It was your dad’s idea. So, technically I didn’t…but I might have chipped in to get all three of them here.”
I lightly punch his arm. “Stop spending money on us, asshole!”
“Whoa, you’re not even drunk, and you’re swearing at me.” He laughs and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t tell your brother I helped, okay?”
I nod and rest my head on his shoulder. “You’re amazing.”