Fame // Michael Clifford

3.

"I hope you're hungry," Aunt Jennifer announced as I walked through the doorway into the kitchen. "I made one of our favorites. How's spaghetti and meatballs sound?"

"Oh, yum!" I exclaimed. The past two nights had consisted of pizza at Michael's house, and it would be nice to finally sit down for a homemade meal with my aunt. I loved Michael, but I'd missed my aunt while she'd been working overtime the past couple of nights. "With parmesan?"

"What else, silly?" She teased. Aunt Jennifer was more like an older sister to me than an aunt. We loved to tease each other. It helped that she was still pretty young, too. She was only twenty-six. She was my mom's youngest sister, and she had just turned eighteen when I was only ten.

In addition to Jennifer, my mom had two other sisters and a brother, who were all well-rounded adults with successful careers and families and big houses of their own to take care of. Unlike them, Aunt Jennifer wasn't married, didn't have any other children, and she lived in a really tiny apartment, just big enough for one adult, one teenager, and one Miniature Yorkie named Bean. My grandma always implied that Aunt Jennifer was the least fortunate of her children, but I thought the complete opposite. Uncle Jack, Aunt Julie and Aunt Jasmine didn't know how to have a good time - Aunt Jennifer did.

Typically, on a day-to-day basis, Aunt Jennifer works as a waitress at a restaurant called Bernie's. On the side, she spends a lot of her time sketching and painting, and sometimes she makes a pretty decent amount of money off of a piece that she sells in the city. That's what we call our "fun money". Normally, its used for movie nights or amusement park visits, depending on how much she gets off a drawing at once. She's a really good artist, and when it comes to pasta, she's a really good cook.

"It smells good," I commented, sitting at the table in front of a steaming plate of pasta. Spaghetti and meatballs had always been one of our favorites, and one of her specialities. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome," She said, sitting across the table with a pile of tangled noodles covered in tomato sauce, meatballs and shredded cheese. She immediately picked up a fork and began twirling some noodles around the piece of silverware. "So tell me, what have you been up to while I'm getting in some extra hours at good ol' Bernie's?" She took a bite.

"Nothing, really," I shrugged. I hadn't had a whole lot of homework since our Christmas break ended. "I've been spending time with Michael and the gang. They just got back a few weeks ago. They're leaving again in about a month, finally starting their own tour."

"How exciting!" Aunt Jennifer exclaimed, a smile lighting up her face. Genuine excitement sparkled in her blue eyes. She had been so proud of them when they toured with One Direction. More than anything, she was glad that their dream was coming true. "Where are they going?"

"Mainly touring home, the UK and America, as far as I know," I mumbled. I considered telling her that Michael had invited me to go with them, but my heartbeat sped up in fear of an answer that I wouldn't want to hear. I wouldn't ask yet. "I met Michael's girlfriend today."

"Is that so?" Aunt Jennifer pulled the hairtie out of her thick, blonde hair and retwisted it around the ponytail again, attempting to make it neater in order to keep stray hairs out of her spaghetti sauce. "They've been together for a long time, haven't they?"

"About two years, yeah."

"And you just met her today?"

"I've been busy," I sighed. "Or Michael hasn't been here. Or I'm sick or grounded. Hey, where's Bean?" I asked, poking a meatball with my fork.

On cue, the miniature pup yipped below my chair. I smiled, patting his head before plucking the sauce-covered ball of meat off my fork and dropping it on the tile floor. Sauce splattered a bit, but I'd mop later anyways, so it didn't concern me at all.