Take Me. I'm Never Gonna Let You Fall.

"So, where are you guys from?" Jack asked, shoving his way in between Alex and I.

"Miami, actually," I responded, tucking some blonde hair behind my ear before shifting my bag to my other shoulder. What felt like miles and miles of hallway passed us by. I had no idea where the guys were taking us. So far, it had been a pretty shitty tour. I still had no idea where I was, or where I was going. Not that I minded really. The four of them seemed to be really fun, and they were nice enough. My poor brother though. He looked as though perhaps I was taking him to the dungeon, where I would string him up by his toes.

"That's really far. I bet it's a lot different here," Rian said, giving me a sweet smile.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It is. But it's the only other place I've ever been to, so I don't mind really."

"What about you, Henry? Do you like it here so far?" asked Zack, being polite.

Henry turned doleful eyes towards me, begging me to answer for him. I cleared my throat and nervously looked down at the ground. I felt so bad for him. I had grown up with it, with him being so shy, but every time we met new people, and he sent me that look the first time someone spoke to him, it broke my heart all over again. Often I asked God why He would do that to him. Why Henry deserved to go through this in life. He was a good kid. Smart. Funny, when he wanted to be. And hot damn could he use a computer. So why did he have to talk funny, and get made fun of? It just didn't seem right.

"Um. Henry doesn't really talk a lot," I muttered, squeezing my eyebrows together.

They had the curtesy to look extremely embarrassed. No one said anything for a few minutes. I knew they were dying to ask why. Everyone did. But, they were polite enough not to ask in front of my brother. I was eternally grateful for that.

"So, anyway, what's your first class?" Alex asked.

My stomach growled obnoxiously at that moment. I winced, pressing a hand to the bottom of my abdomen.

"Would you like to take a break? Order a pizza or something? My treat, of course," Daniella asked from across the table, bringing her arms up over her head as she stretched.

I peered at the clock. I had been talking for a few hours now. Lunch sounded pretty amazing. I nodded my head and walked over to the phone. Before I could dial the number, it began ringing. Startled, I pressed the button with the little green phone, and placed it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hols! Hey gorgeous. How are you doing?"

"Hey Jack. I'm doing fine. How are you?"

"Fucking fantastic. Is the writer there yet? I still can't believe that they want to write a book about you and Alex. And this soon. Ya know?"

"Yes, she's here. And it's okay. Seriously Jack. It's not all that hard."

I heard him sigh heavily into the phone. "I know. I just...I worry. You know me."

"Don't. Why don't you come over tomorrow? Have lunch or something."

"You bet your sweet ass I'm going to be there. I'm going to let you go though. Finish talking, or whatever. Love you, Hols."

"Love you too, Jack."

I hung up the phone, then punched in the number for the pizzaria right down the road. I placed the order, then went over to the window. The sun was high overhead, and blazing. I could feel the heat soaking into my skin. I closed my eyes, pressing my lips together. It reminded me so much of...Well, I was going to get to that. No use remembering these memories more than once. It was hard enough as it was.

"Was that Jack? Jack Barakat?"

I nodded simply. "He'll be over for lunch tomorrow. At least once a week, one of them calls, or comes over. Tradition."

"Oh," she said, before trailing off.

I took another breath, then continued talking.

I had at least one of the four guys in each of my classes. Henry did as well, and he also shared two of them with me. It was comforting, knowing someone your first day. They really took the both of us under their wings that day. Even Henry. They tried to make him feel like he fit in, and none of them seemed to mind that he didn't really speak. They spoke enough for him.

That afternoon, after the final bell rang, the guys were leading us outside. Alex, who was to my right, placed his hand on my upper arm. "Hey. We have a small gig tonight, at this small club on the outskirts of town. Would you two like to come and watch? We'll even treat you to dinner afterwards," he said with a huge smile, his chocolate eyes flitting over to Henry for a second, mine following close behind.

He had said 'you two'. Like he really wanted Henry to be there as well. I felt a sigh of relief rush through my body as I nodded my head. "Sure. We'll be there."

"Great. See you then. Come on dickface," Alex said, wrapping his arm once more around Jack's shoulder as he dragged him away, Jack waving madly at us as he walked practically backwards.

I shook my head and smiled, grabbing Henry's hand and leading him to the car. Once inside, he turned angry eyes towards me. "W-Why d-did you t-tell them that w-we w-would be there?"

I paused in my attempts to start the car, startled. "Don't you want to go?" I asked, staring at him.

He bit at his bottom lip, his eyes going to the floor. "Y-yes. But I-I don't w-want them to d-dislike me for n-not t-talking."

"Oh Henry," I murmured, reaching over and enveloping my brother in a hug. His skinny arms went around my shoulders as he buried his face in my neck.

My Henry. All he ever wanted in life was to be liked.