Now Or Never

Chapter 9

Time went on and the months seemed to fly by. Senior year was half way over and we had more gigs then ever, especially with the help of Blake. Flynn helped out with a lot of our management too. "Why can't it ever get cold here around Christmas?" Reggie asks, watching to try and learn from Flynn on how to wrap presents. Christmas was always my favorite holiday. My parents and I would go to the snow covered mountains on Christmas vacation and it was a dream. "You'll experience snow one day." I say and smile at him. Mr. Ray and Reggie spent the whole afternoon together to decorate the studio as festive as possible. He nods and smiles a little when I lean over to ruffle his hair. "Well we always could go on a trip." Luke suggest, laying on the couch next to me. "I don't think school nor my grandparents would allow that." I say laughing softly at him. "That's why you make up something." Reggie says, Luke pointing at him. "Yeah, seven teenagers by themselves would definitely end up well." Alex says sarcastically. I shake my head as I continue to search on my computer for Luke's gift. He would try and peak over my shoulder to see but I'd push him away.

"Gifts have to be special." I remind him. He would roll his eyes and lay back on the couch, his pout returning. Julie points at a few things beside me. "He'd like that." She says nodding. I smile and nod, looking at it. "I'd like what?" He raises his eyebrow. I grab a pillow and hit him lightly. He chuckles softly and takes the pillow from me. "Okay, but what about seven teenagers under my parents supervision?" Flynn says, leaning back in her chair. We all look over at her. "My parents have a place we use for Christmas vacation. My parents could take us there and stay in the guest house." Flynn says, shrugging a little. The boys quickly nod their heads but Julie and I share a look. "I don't know.." I say, closing my laptop. "Pleaseeee!" Luke and Reggie say at the same time, both giving me their best puppy dog eyes. I laugh softly before finally giving in. "I'll talk to my grandparents." I say, reaching for my phone. I send my grandma a text and ask her in the nicest way possible. I was also going to go home and talk to her about it as we needed to discuss it in person. Christmas break started this week. We got two weeks off of school. A vacation was needed for us. No gigs, no homework, just all of us hanging out and having fun. Luke decides to take me home and I wave to everyone.

"Flynn's parents will be there. You trust me right?" I ask my grandma, leaning on the counter to look at her. She sighs and stirs the pasta in her pot. She places her hand on her hip and looks at me. "What do you think about all this?" She asks, looking at my grandpa. "They're young. They deserve to have fun on Christmas break." He says and continues to read through his newspaper. My grandma crosses her arms and looks at me. "Fine. But you better call me as soon as you get there and let me know what's going on." She says making me cheer and quickly run over to hug her. She smiles a little and hugs me back. "Thank you!" I say, quickly running upstairs to call Julie and Flynn.

Julie came over to help me pack. She grabs a few flannels from my closet. "How do you steal of these from Luke without him noticing?" She asks, laughing softly. I take them from her and shrug. "He gives them to me to wear when I'm cold and forgets to get them back." I smile and pack a few of them into my bag. Alex suddenly appears in my room, making us jump. "You guys have no idea how long I've been trying to remember how to do that." He says. Julie and I laugh at him before continuing to pack. "Don't teach Luke that again." I point at him while grabbing a few cute clothes incase we took pictures. Alex was on standby for opinions on certain shirts or jeans. "Don't bring those. Definitely bring those." Alex says, pointing at the jeans I was holding up. I laugh softly and fold the jeans. I place them in my bag and finish my packing.

"Luke probably needs your help on packing." Alex says and stands up. I nod and grab my stuff, walking downstairs. Julie and Alex walk with me. "Hello Alex, I didn't even see you come in." My grandma says smiling at him. She adored Alex. He was extremely kind and respectful when he came over. She allowed him to spend the night most of the time. "Yes ma'am. I came in with Julie." He says nodding. I give her a quick hug, saying goodbye to her and my grandad. "Remember my rule." She says to me. I nod and smile, leaving the house with Julie and Alex. We make our way to Julie's and find Luke packing with Reggie. "Luke seriously? It's going to be cold. No sleeveless shirts." I say, taking them out of his bag. Reggie chuckles at us as I look through what he's packed so far. I grab a few of his jackets and fold them to put them in his bag. He watches me with an amused look on his face.

"What?" I say, looking at him. "Just you're cute. Thank you though." He says, leaning over to kiss my cheek. I smile and zip up his bag to hand it to him. Flynn's parents pull up and walk inside to talk to Mr. Ray for a little. Mr. Ray was completely cool with the idea of us going. He'd grown to know and love the boys as his own. He trusted them. Alex and Willie arrived with their bags. "Ready to go?" Flynn asks, leaning into Reggie when he wraps his arm around her. "To see some snow!" Reggie says excitedly making us all laugh. Christmas vacation has officially begun.