Be Your Everything

f i f t y e i g h t

Gossip Girl here, and I have to say, I'm getting bored without my favorite 'it'- couple these days.

It's been two weeks since the pair were spotted returning from the islands, and yet no one has seen them together since the trip. L says he's been hard at work in the studio, but where is his muse? It seems E has snuck away to Charleston without so much as a goodbye kiss from her man.

Rumor has it there's a third person that caused some drama on their vacation, and I just can't wait to drag them all throw the mud. This whole 'happy couple' thing is boring, wouldn't you agree?

I roll my eyes and drop my phone in my purse as I exit the plane after a long morning of holding myself together in front of the paparazzi. Somehow, I managed to avoid hanging out with Luke before my trip home for Beth's birthday.

I moved up my flight home so that I could leave at the same time Jaclyn went to the airport for her flight to London to see Jo, so the two of us drove to the airport together this morning. Even without Luke there, fans and paps alike were still sneaking pictures of me whenever they got the chance as Jaclyn and I made our way to the terminals, and after several attempts at saying goodbye, I was on the plane en route to Charleston to see my family.

"Eleanor!" Beth yells as I walk into the Charleston airport terminal. I run to her and my parents the moment that I spot them and throw myself into their arms the moment that I'm within arm's reach.

"I missed you guys so much!" I exclaim as I hug them. My dad chuckles to himself as he hugs me tight. I know I was just home a couple of weeks ago, but it feels like so much longer since I've seen my family.

"We've missed you too, kiddo." He finally releases his grip on me to let my mom have a turn hugging me, and then Beth comes in for another hug.

We spend the car ride to my house talking about my trip to Fiji, leaving out the part where Luke and I had a massive falling out and still haven't really talked since the trip. Beth is entranced as I tell her about how beautiful the island was, and she laughs as I tell her about Luke's friends that I met on the trip.

"When do we get to meet this rockstar boyfriend?" My mom asks from the front seat. I haven't had to tell my parents about my 'relationship' with Luke until now, but I don't want to lie to them. Especially now that I'm looking for a way to end this arrangement once and for all.

"Actually," I clear my throats and sit forward so they can hear me better. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that."

I'm okay with most people believing that Luke is my boyfriend, but I can't lie to my family. Not about this.

"That doesn't sound too good, Elle." My dad says from the driver's seat. "Do I need to kick someone's ass?"

"Graham!" My mom swats his arm at his foul language, but I can't help but laugh. If she only heard the things that come out of Luke and his friends' mouths...

"No, no nothing like that," I assure him, and my mom turns in her seat.

"Eleanor Elise," she forces her best stern parent voice, but fails miserably at sounding menacing. "If you came home to tells us that boy got you pregnant-"

"Mom! Oh my god no!" I groan in exasperation and cover my eyes with my hand. "Luke isn't really my boyfriend! We're just pretending."

"Why on earth would you pretend to date someone?" She furrows her brows in confusion. "I thought you had a huge crush on this boy."

"I did, but it's a little more complicated than that." I take a deep breath and look over at Beth, who grabs my hand as encouragement to continue talking. "Luke was getting a lot of negative attention in the media, so he managers hired me to pretend to be his girlfriend so that the fans would see him in a happy, stable relationship. We hold hands and act like a couple when people are watching, but I'm not actually dating him."

"Are you okay with that?" My mom asks carefully, and I nod without having to think about it.

"Yeah I am," I tell her. "Luke and I got to know each other during this... thing that we're doing, and we figured out that we're more compatible as friends. I'm actually dating his friend, but only the band knows about it because the press has to thinking I'm dating Luke."

My parents look puzzled as they take in my explanation, but neither of them seem unsettled like they were a moment ago.

"Sounds complicated, but if it's working then more power to you." My dad smiles like a proud father and looks at Beth. "Since we're making announcements, Beth, is there something you want to tell Elle?"

I turn to look at Beth, who is grinning from ear to ear as she squirms in her seat.

"I finished my online classes!" She tells me happily. "I'm officially a high school graduate as of three days ago!"

"That's so great!" I pull her into a hug as we pull up to the house. "I'm so proud of you, nugget!"

"Thanks Eleanor!" She giggles while pulling away, a small frown on her face. "The only problem is now I have to wait until next year to go to college since I missed the deadline to apply for this fall."

"You could always apply for the spring," I suggest when an idea comes to my mind. "...and until then, you should come live with me in LA and do some auditions! One of my roommates literally just moved out, so we have an empty room in my apartment."

This was too perfect. Beth could take Jo's place in the apartment, and she could finally live in LA with me. She has mentioned a few times now that she would love to do it, and this is the ultimate opportunity to come out west with me.

"I don't want to be a burden on you-" Beth weakly argues, but I stop her before she can continue her argument against coming with me to Los Angeles.

"It was meant to be! Jaclyn and I were going to make a guest room out of it anyway, so we can just make it your room instead. We wouldn't even have to get furniture since Jo didn't bring any of hers to London."

"It does sounds fun..." Beth bites at the cuticle on her thumb just like she always does when she needs me to give her a little extra push to do something that she wants to. 

"You're coming back to LA with me." I unbuckle my seatbelt and climb out of the car, giving her no chance to counter. "You obviously want to, and besides, this way you can go out on auditions while you wait for school to start and such. It's literally a perfect plan, and you're not saying 'no' because I'm not going to let you."

"Alright, you got me," Beth giggles, the excitement on her face clear as she follows my parents and I inside the house.

"So, what do you have planned for your 18th birthday?" I ask in anticipation, and Beth smiles like she's up to something. Without a word, she grabs my hand and leads me back down to the car. My parents don't ask us where we're going, so I assume I'm the only one not in on the secret plan that Beth has concocted.

"Remember how we used to talk about getting matching sun tattoos?" She asks as she starts the car, putting it in reverse before I can even reach for my seatbelt.

"Yeah, but you always chickened out on me," I tease.

"Only because I was too young to get one legally," she corrects with a pointer finger in my direction. "Now I'm old enough, so I want us to get them with you... if you still want to that is."

"Yes, absolutely!" I cheer in excitement. I never thought Beth would actually get up the courage to do something as crazy as getting a tattoo.

"Good, because we're heading there now."