"Stuck In The Friend-Zone Again and Again"

"With A Tear In Your Eye"

The boys didn't leave till around 4, and I was pleasantly surprised that no one had thought to ask about Jake yet.

That was spoiled when Jack brought it up over dinner.

"So Paris," Jack smirked, spooning some mashed potatoes onto his plate. "How's the boyfriend, Jake isn't it?"
"I- I- I-" I stuttered, eyes wide trying to fight the tears from my mind. Just don't think about it, just don't think about it.
"What?" Jack smirked.
Luke looked at me, concerned, knowing I only ever stuttered before I was about to cry or when I was really nervous.
"I- I- I... He's- he's good," I finally managed.
"All this time separate won't make you grow apart?" Jack asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"I-I-I, we- we- we..." My eyes were burning with the effort of keeping the tears in. "No," I finally squeaked.
Luke grabbed my hand under the table, squeezing tightly.
"Jack," he said harshly.
"She probably already misses him enough," he added with a note of sadness.
I nodded, biting my lip to keep from sobbing.

Luke studied my face, noticing I was about to cry.
"Give us a minute," Luke told his family, standing up and leading me into the other room and closing the door.

I could already hear Liz and Andrew scolding Jack.

He pulled me into his arms as soon as the door shut.
I allowed a few tears to escape eyes while he couldn't see me, but squeezed my eyes shut so they would hopefully stop.

Just as I had hoped, the last few tears leaked out but the main supply was cut off.

Luke pulled back to look at my face and I swiped my eyes quickly.
"I'm okay," I lied convincingly.
"Are you sure?" He asked worriedly.
"Yes," I said a little too quickly.

Luke gave me a look, but backed down, taking my hand and leading me back into the dining room.

"Are you alright?" Liz asked concernedly.
"I'm fine," I said, sitting down at my place again and picking up my fork.

Liz shot a pointed look at Jack.

"Sorry," Jack said to me. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's okay," I replied. "I'm okay."
He looked at me skeptically, and I gave him a fake nod of assurance, which he thankfully took to be real.

"So," Ben said, breaking the silence. "I heard you guys were planning on a trip to Perth."
"That was just Ashton joking around," I told him. "It's a 16 hour drive."
"Well isn't it a stop on the tour?" Ben asked, puzzled.
I shrugged, turning to Luke.
"I think so," Luke answered.
"Well there you go," Ben said.
"If I'm going to meet Troye, which is highly unlikely, I'm going to have to work on not freaking out," I chuckled.
"You didn't freak out when you met me," Luke pointed out. "You did a good job of hiding your excitement."
"Oh my god you should of seen me before we walked into the building," I laughed, remembering. "I was like giving myself a pep talk about not screaming."
"Luke didn't say you were such a fan," Andrew commented.
"The biggest," I smiled. "I have every CD and poster out there."
"Even the EPs?" Andrew asked.
"Every one," I answered. "Even the ones that were only released in Australia and New Zealand. I have the deluxe Canadian version and the Australian version of both albums, because some of the songs are different."
"E-Bay?" Jack asked.
"E-Bay," I answered.
"And now I have every piece of merch," I realized, laughing.
"It was a very band birthday," Luke agreed.
"Indeed," I smiled at Luke.