The New Year's Party was definitely a big hit. We'd decided to have it at Alex's, since there was more space and his shit wasn't as new as mine and Ember's was. So far the entire band and crew was already pretty much plastered, and most of the guys had brought along a girl so they'd have someone to 'bid farewell' to. Aside from there, we had a lot of friends from the area here and most of them brought along a friend as well. What can I say? When a band takes off, kids who didn't used to like them suddenly want to be their friends. Not that any of us really minded, so long as they brought booze and didn't start anything, we could give a fuck less.


Personally, I was just having fun talking about old times and playing six cup with the guys. We'd all been so busy with this growing up bullshit that it seemed we were only coming together for the holidays. Then again, I am getting married, so I guess I can't complain too much. It would have been nice to have Ember by my side, cheering me on, but she was off doing God knows what with Hayley.


"Guys, I think I've had too much," Zack groaned, tossing the dice on the table with a look of defeat. "I forgot just how much we ended up drinking when we played this in high school."


"You're barely slurring," Alex snickered, sloshing the drink around in the cup in front of him. Zack was right, though, there was much more drinking involved than I remember. And I'd only managed to score one cup this go 'round. "Fine. The night is still young. We should make room for beer pong."


Everyone agreed, but instead of standing up to mingle, we stayed right where we were. It wasn't a bad thing. Most of the party was in the living room and currently we were seated in the kitchen, at the kitchen table, with very few people lingering around us. Besides, we needed a moment to refresh.

"So," Rian turned to me, his eyes slightly glazed over from the booze, "have you and Ember spoken more about the tour thing?"


"Kind of," I shrugged, forcing myself to pick up one of the full cups and sip on it. "We said a few things, but then she totally tried to make me forget about it with sex."


"Trading a fight for sex," Zack grinned, drunkenly, "sounds just like a woman."


"Oh, and you would know," Alex poked him in the side. "When was the last time you got laid?"


A fight of laughter broke out around the table. Not so much because Zack hadn't gotten laid in a while, at least not that we know of, but because Alex sounded so damn serious when he said it.


"Who's getting laid?" A hand slapped down on my back, nearly making me spill the contents of my cup. I should have guess that Matt would find us eventually and try to hash out more tour plans.


"Apparently not Zack!"


"Ah, should have known they were picking on you," Matt winked at Zack with a sigh. "So Jack, have you managed to talk your woman into coming on tour yet?"


I couldn't help but to shoot a glare at our tour manager. He noticed the anger swelling in my gut and held his hands up in defense. It wasn't his fault and I knew he was just as upset about the fact that Ember was coming as I was, but fuck. Did they really have to keep bringing it up on the kick-off party? It was bad enough she wasn't even hanging out with me tonight. It was almost like she couldn't wait to get rid of me.


Growling, I managed to tip back the cup and chug most of liquid, successfully spilling some of it on my shirt. The guys laughed at me, but this was serious. I was about to leave my future wife for a six month tour and she wasn't even here to tell me when to stop drinking!


"Touchy subject, I see," Matt sighed, pushing Alex over so they could share a seat. "She told me she'd be joining us later on. Better than nothing."


"Easy for you to say," I groaned, holding back the fire in my gut. It was then that Alex shot me a warning glance, but I ignored it. "I just don't understand what the big deal is. Why is it that she can't start tour with us, but she can track us down later on?"


"That's really something we should discuss privately."


A chill shot down my spine. So that's why Alex gave me a glance. And here I was thinking it was because I felt sick, but no, it was because Ember had finally decided to join us. I cringed at the seriousness in her tone and rolled my eyes.


"This is tour life, baby," I spun around to face her. "This is as private as it gets."


"You can use that excuse when we're back to living on a bus, but as of right now, we have an apartment where we can speak behind closed doors."


"I can't really use it as an excuse later if you're not even going to be there!"


Ember crossed her arms over her chest and tried to avert her gaze. It was kind of hard when all of the guys were staring at her, watching the anger boil in both our guts.


"Jack, I already explained this to you. Isn't that enough?"


"She's pregnant, isn't she?" Alex slurred, a small hiccup leaving his throat. "You're so fucking pregnant, Em."


"I am not pregnant! And don't fucking call me that!"


"That's a relief," Matt breathed, a small smile on his lips. "I thought you were pregnant, too. It was the only logical answer I could come up with."


That's when a smile broke onto my lips. All this time I'd been venting to the rest of my band about my fears, only to find out that'd been just as confused over the matter as I had. Surely this had to bring some sense to Ember.


"Can we just drop this?"


"Well, Ember, you have to understand where everyone is coming from," Rian did his best to speak kindly. "You and Jack are engaged to be married. If you can't get on a bus with the guy, how do you intend to say 'I Do'?"


"Marriage and tour have nothing to do with each other. Why can't you guys just leave it alone?"


"Because, you're marrying a dude in a band. Tour and marriage go hand-in-hand there," Zack shrugged, picking up the dice to play with them. "You don't just owe Jack an answer, you owe us all one. We're you're family now, Ember."


"I seriously just don't get it," I spoke again, staring Ember down regardless of how uncomfortable she was. "Why can't you just start the tour with us? Why do I have to wait two months? Do you seriously just need a break from me that bad? Because if you do, we need to re-think this wedding thing."


"I'm not talking to you about this, any of you, while you're shit faced. I'm going home."


"Just answer the question, Ember," Alex raised his voice just enough to prevent her from walking away. "Why the fuck are you doing this? It's not fair to us, it's not fair to Hopeless and it damn sure isn't fair to your fiance. Isn't marriage supposed to be about love and trust? Yet you can't even tell him why you're refusing to start tour?! For fuck's sake, I could nail jello to a tree before you and Jack get all your shit sorted."


"I-I-"
"Ember, seriously," I growled, not even caring about the fucking tour anymore. "Answer the fucking question."

Notes

Short, I know. I'm sorry! I love you guys! At least there's group drama. [;