The Rising Star

SIX MONTHS AGO

Eve Rosser woke up to the gentle sound of a guitar strumming from the living room downstairs. She lay in bed for a while, smiling to herself. She could imagine her boyfriend, Michael Glass, sitting on the couch in his favourite spot by the window, the rising sun painting him and his guitar in gold. The strumming abruptly stopped and was replaced by the sound of a pencil scribbling on paper. Heaving herself out of bed, Eve went to see what he was composing today.

She found him just as she had imagined him, sitting by the window looking as ethereal as he always did. She curled up beside him, her head on his shoulder. "Hey," she whispered.

Michael kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Hey."

"What are you writing today?"

"Oh nothing, just another song for you."

"You should come up with better titles, then," she said, reading the words Eve's Song #29 on the top of the page. "Besides, don't you have hit singles to write?"

"Not really. I've finished all the songs for my EP, so I'm basically free right now.

Eve paused for a moment before a new thought crossed her mind. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, I love my music, but no, not as much as I love you."

"That's not my question!" she cried, but blushed anyways. "What are you going to do if you get famous?"

He looked at her curiously. "I'm not going to forget about you, if that's what you're worried about."

"Of course not," she lied.

"Then what is it?"

She tried to think of some point of concern that didn't involve her. "Are you thinking of touring the world?"

"I'm not that famous yet." He laughed.

"You could be," Eve replied, half-encouraging yet half-sorrowful.

"Speaking of which," Michael added abruptly, "before things get too crazy, I want to ask you something." He gently placed his guitar on the couch next to Eve and got down on one knee. She tried—and failed miserably—to stifle her gasp of surprise. He produced a small black box from his pocket and popped it open. Inside, there was a silver-banded ring with a diamond that twinkled softly in the early morning light coming through the windows. "Eve Rosser, will you—"

"Yes!" she shrieked, not caring about the early hour or how loud she was. "Oh my god, yes, of course!"

"Dammit, what's with all the yelling?" Their third housemate, Shane Collins, padded sleepily down the stairs. His girlfriend and their fourth housemate, Claire Danvers, was trailing behind him.

"We're getting married!" She showed them the diamond ring Michael had gotten on her finger in her excitement.

"Guys, that's great!" Claire rushed over to hug them both while Shane continued to stand there and stare at them sleepily. He finally seemed to process the information because he snapped awake and went to give Michael one of those bro-hugs boys always do. "Congratulations."

"Well, this is nice," Eve observed. "Look, we're all together again!" With Eve working at Common Grounds all day, Michael making music, Claire taking classes at the local university and Shane—well, who really knew what Shane did with his time—the Glass House Gang hadn't all been in the same room for a while now.

"Until Mikey leaves for music-making, anyways," Shane said, which was what had been picking at Eve's mind all morning until Michael's proposal.

"Don't make me leaving seem so bittersweet," Michael said. "It's not like I'll be gone for long."