From Rags To Riches

Chapter 18

I paused the camera to stop the filming and we all turned to face Logan.

"Awe!"

"What. The. Fuck."

Andrea and Jake had polar opposite reactions, I was just sitting there in shock.

"I mean what I say and I say what I mean. What's the big deal? If you guys or Liz don't want us to date then we won't. But that doesn't mean I'll stop trying to convince her," Logan said, leaning against the wall. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen? "

"You two fall in love."

"A whole shit ton of drama and fights that's what."

"Our chances at winning could be at stake," I said, refusing to look him in the eyes. Instead I had found a paticular spot on the floor that seemed to have a drop of black nail polish.

Logan rolled his eyes, "Trust me, we'll be fine. A little crush won't hurt anyone. Bringing a bit of 'drama' won't hurt our publicity either. So Jake, please just shut up. Let's finish this video."

We answered the rest of the questions quickly and signed off. When we did, Logan left the room and Jake took Andrea's laptop and opened up Skype.

"What're you doing?" I asked him, moving closer.

"Andrea said the other day that I could use her Skype to talk to our family. So Andrea got someone to tell Sal to get everyone together at the library today." Jake was fiddling around, trying to put in the screen name. "Now I just need to call them and see if they answer."

Within a few seconds, a giant nose filled the screen. Diana appeared at the edge of the screen, seeing us and pulling Sal backwards away from the monitor.  Suddenly we could see the whole family.

"Liz! Jake! Random friend!" Jared shouted.

"Hey guys!" I said, smiling widely. My siblings were all beaming, especially Diana who seemed over excited about something.

"Hey, how are you? We've missed you!" Micheal said.

"We're great! We've missed you guys too! Did you get the gifts?" Jake asked them.

"Of course we got the gifts. We all loved them. Where did you guys get the money?" Our mother asked, eyeing us carefully. She seemed better from the last time we'd seen her.

"Actually that was our great friend Andrea over here who got it for you all. Liz just chose the clothes," Jake answered her, holding Andrea closer to him and the screen.

She looked shyly at our family, gaining a faint blush. "It was no problem really. I mean, my parents don't care about money or what I spend really. "

"Well either way thank you so much, you didn't have to but you still did and we're very grateful," my mother said kindly.

Andrea said her goodbyes and decided to give Jake and I some time with the family. We talked about how the competition was going, and how everyone was in school. Apparently since everyone found out we had managed to make it to the show they were leaving our siblings alone. No Tiffany meant no reason for tormenting apparently. Then we finally came to one topic Jake and I wanted to avoid.

"So guys, are you two dating anybody yet?" Our mother asked.

"Haha no. Not at all. We're focusing more on the competition than on that right now. Right Jake?" I turned to see Jake staring intently at his fingernails.

"What? Oh sure. Hey I have to go do something I'll be back in a few," Jake then ran out of the room, leaving the family and I alone.

Can I have a minute alone with Liz? I wanted to tell her something, it's kinda personal," Diana asked. Everyone stood up and went to go look around at the books, allowing Diana to let out a breath and give me a wide smile.