I had all of the power in calling Jack (part of me didn't know whether or not it was his mom, or if he was joking), I just didn't know if I should or not.

It wasn't because I didn't like Jack, because I did. I just had a lot of things going on, between taking care of my other siblings, and college. With having a partying sister, and a brother with Down Syndrome, you never had enough time on your hands. You were constantly worrying about her doing something stupid, or him doing something that wasn't good for his wellbeing.

My parents weren't alive; Mom and Dad had died in Las Vegas the day of their wedding. They went to a crowded bar, and someone had started a fire. I was thirteen then, and was sent to live with my rich, and lovely nonetheless, grandmother in Rochester Hills.

Once I turned 18, I had moved out, taking custody of Ricky, and Jenny. My grandma helped me pay rent for my small apartment, and I started to attend the local community college. I was aiming for a degree to start nursing. But for the remaining time before that, I was working as clothing store cashier.

Jenny was 17, and preparing to move out. She was two years younger than me, but was like my daughter. That was the roll that I had took on in the house: the mother figure.

Ricky was only 3 when mom and dad died, he never really knew them. He had resorted in even calling me mom when I was 16. I snapped at him, telling him to never call me that. Of course I was yelled at for making him cry at the time.

I sighed, staring at my phone one long night. Jenny was at her friends, and Ricky was sound asleep by 8. I had One Tree Hill on, and was chewing on my nails. My hair was sitting on my shoulder, messy. I had came home from a six hour shift, and a six hour class. I had been up at 6:30 that morning. I came home, fixing Ricky a peanut butter sandwich, and putting him to bed. Once he was sleeping, I made myself Ramen noodles.

Would it be too needy to call him this early? It was 9:30, he was on tour, and was probably on stage by now. I shook the thought out of my head. I would have to wait until tomorrow, sadly.

It would be nice to have someone like Jack as a friend. I didn't know him well enough yet. But from what I had saw from the previous night, Jack seemed like the life of the crowd. In no way would I except to befriend him later on the night on such circumstances.

So I went to bed, and decided to call him in the afternoon. When I did, a woman with an accent picked up. "Hello?"

I was on break, smoking a cigarette on the side of the plaza. The frosty air nipped at my skin. I blew smoke out, and made sure I had called the right number. I did.

"Hello?" the woman's voice repeated, with a confused touch.

I flicked the cigarette's butt. "H-hi, is Jack there?"

She sighed, annoyed. "That boy, I swear! This is his mother, he forgets his number, and has people call me. Would you like his number, hun?"

I snorted. "Yes, please. Sorry for bothering you, Miss,"

She clucked her tongue, "No, no! You weren't bothersome at all," she gave me his number, and said goodbye.

I dialed his number, a little excited.

He picked up. "Hello?"

I bit my lip, trying not to smile. "So you give me your mothers number? What a turn on, Jack. I gotta say,"

"Whitney!" He shouts, sounding happy. "You called! I thought you thought I was a loser, and never wanted to speak to me, or listen to my band again, and-"

"Calm down, Jack, you are a total loser, but I'm not going to stop talking to you," I joked, putting the cigarette to my mouth.

"I'm going to be in Michigan today!" He said, full of excitment. "Grand... Matt, what's the place called again?... Grand Rapids! You should come, and see me. We could illegally go to the bars after,"

Oh, hunny, I wanted to say, I wish. "I totally would, and all, Jack. But not only is Grand Rapids about four hours away, but I have a kid to look after,"

"You're a mom? I mean, that's totally cool with me, and all, how old is he?"

"No, I take care of him. My parents died when I was like 13, so I took full custody of him, and my sister. He's 9." I explained, sliding down the wall to sit.

"I want to meet him," he said. "What's he like?"

"He's... Ricky is my favorite little man ever. Little miracle man, I tell you," I laughed softly to myself, looking down. "My mom didn't think he'd make it. When he finally came out, he had Down Syndrome,"

"I'm sorry." He said, quietly.

"Don't be. Don't pity him, there's not a point to it. He's perfect, and my little baby. I protect him through thick, and thin, and will never stop."

"Are you always going to take care of him? Even when you want to get married, and stuff?"

I thought about it before replying. "Yeah. Yeah, I will. He's my world."

Jack laughed. "Right. Anyways, I do want to meet him. I would like to. When can I see you?"

I shrugged, but then realized he couldn't see me. "I'm free on Sundays. But you're on tour. So I suppose, after,"

"Yeah, after. Thanks for calling me by the way, this car ride is torture. I haven't seen a civilization in hours,"

"No problem, Jack."

4 months later.

We stopped talking after the first call, and by now it was Summer. Jenny was graduated, and I was done with the years courses for that year. I would go back in September.

I didn't know what happened with him and I, but I supposed he had lost interest in talking to a lost-case like me. I didn't matter, I was used to it.

It was July, and I was in the store with my grandmother, shopping for food. She wanted to hold a small picnic the next week, and needed to pick some foods up.

I wheeled a cart around the aisles of Hollywood, a small grocery store.

"Oh, Whitney, may I take the kids tonight? I need them to clean the house for me," She examined a bottle of ketchup before throwing it in the cart.

I shrugged. "Ask Jen, gram. She's not exactly a kid anymore. But for Ricky, yeah. I'll bring him over later tonight." My phone starts to ring. I grunted a groan before fishing through my purse. A foreign number flashes on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Long time, no chat. I have one ticket to a sold out show in two weeks, and I thought, 'Hey, who better than my Michigan love?' You up for it, Whit-Whit?" It was Jack, who was screaming into the phone over loud music.

I glanced at my grandmother who was narrowing her eyes. "Jack Barakat, since when was I your Michigan love? You got some explaining to do, buddy,"

"Mmm, I'll explain it to you backstage after the show. You in or not? Because I got some hoes over in the Detroit area that'll love this ticket," He said. The music dimmed down, and I heard someone shout, and Jack shushing them.

I smirked, "Alright, Barakat. Send the ticket in the mail, and I'll go,"

"Just couldn't resist me, could you?"

I made an iffy sound, "Well, I went 4 months without a word from you. So I don't think resisting would be the word for it. But I'll see you soon, Barakat," I snapped my phone up and looked at my grandmother. "Can you watch the kids in a couple of weeks? I have an old friend to see,"

Notes

fyi: most of the places i'll mention in this are real places, "Whitney" lives in my area, and home:)

so, basically, in the story, whitney and barakat grow to be really good friends, and unlike my other fic, not so innocent like macy and him. it's not such a smooth road for these two in the future. you'll have to see for yourself!