Long Live Us

We'd just finished recording another song. The feeling one was that I could easily get used to, but sadly, our days in the stuido were coming to an end. Only positive thing I could see about going home was, well, I could take Stella out just the two of us without having to worry about who was breathing down our necks. We had recently been informed that Jules said no to us having sex, which I totally understood. But if I'm being honest here- Why do we give a rats ass our what our parents think? This is our life. Our love. Asking them for permission to share something sacred was stupid all together. I would respect Stella's wishes, no one else's opinion meant anything to me.

"Jack," Stella whispered from her and Aubree's room. I knew Aub wasn't in there, she was helping Tom with his planning. I smirked to myself and slipped through the door, silently closing it behind me. "It sucks that our dads won't leave us alone anymore."

"You're telling me."

She opened her mouth to speak, but instead, I pushed my lips against her own and let my tongue do the talking for her. Stella's small fingers intwined with my hair as I roughly pushed her against the wall. Even if she didn't want to sleep with me right now, the teenage boy that I was required some kind of action from his girlfriend, even if it's just making out.

With my girlfriend pinned against the wall, I slid my hands down her sides and gave her hips a light sqeeze. Her breath quickened and she moaned a little into my lips. That's when I knew we'd be caught- She was too loud. I pulled away from her just in time for the door to fly open. Our messy hair and swollen lips were a dead give away.

"Guys," my dad groaned, closing the door over as he stepped into the room. "You're lucky it was me this time and not Alex. I know what it's like to be a sex-obsessed teenager, but you have got to respect Juli's wishes. I don't think for one second Jack is too young to have sex. But you, Stella? Your world is just opening up. Take a step back and appreciate it while you can."

My dad frowned, and in some way, I think he honestly felt bad for us. Aside from Stella, he was probably the only person in the world he knew how much I loved the Gaskarth Princess. My intentions weren't cruel. I didn't want to hurt her or break her heart in the future.. I just wanted to have sex with my girlfriend.

"Look, do what you have to do to relieve yourselves, but don't do it together. I love you guys. Now get out of here before Alex comes looking for Stella. There's a family meeting in the kitchen."

Leaving the room, my dad left the door standing wide open. Stella's face looked disappointed and I'm sure mine matched. Wasn't it better for her to sleep with me, anyhow? A lot better than some random guy who swooned her at a party and got her in the sack with no means to talk to her again. I groaned inwardly and grabbed her hand, leading her into the kitchen. There were two giant boxes of pizza and drinks on the table. Everyone looked excited.

"There you guys are," Alex glared at us. "Sit. Tom has something to say."

Joining everyone at the table, we directed our attention to our manager, who had Matt standing right beside him.

"Well, you guys know how great you did with the recording today. I'm pleased to say with have everything we need for our EP. This will be the last night we spend at the studio. From here, we go no where but up!"

So maybe that did cheer me up just a little. A thought that we could finally start our tour with All Time Low in the Winter and the thought that this was the first step of many our band would take. Standing up from the table, I pulled Stella into my arms and kissed her with passion. I could feel Alex staring at us, but I honestly didn't care. She was my girlfriend, I'd kiss her if I want to.

"Eat up!"

I broke away from Stell long enough to see everyone crowding around the bar. A thought came to mind, so I pulled Stella from the room and out of the back door. The moonlight made everything glow under the pale light. Leading her to a tree at the edge of the yard, I pulled her against my chest, simply holding her.

"Do you think we'll ever get the chance to make our own decisions?"

"Stella, you listen to me," I sat her up so that her eyes were locked on my own. "I appreciate everything our parents are trying to do for us, but when you honestly feel like you're ready to, you know, give yourself to me.. You let me know. This is no one's business but our own."

"But, Jack-"

"No, Stella, it's ridiculous. What I do with you should matter to no one but you. I love you and whenever you're ready, I want to take our relationship to the next level. If you want this to become a mature relationship, you've got to treat it like one. Don't let anyone else tell you how to feel."

I must have said the right thing because she pushed me on my back and kissed me gently. Her fingers were drawing small circles on my thigh, making my heart skip a beat. Something about this moment with her felt different. More passionate, more loving that any time before.

"At it again, are we?"

"Dad," Stella groaned, sitting up. Alex was walking across the grass towards us, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. "We just got awesome news. Am I not even allowed to celebrate alone with Jack for five minutes?"

"No, you're not," he shrugged, this time, staring at me. "Your mother said absolutely no time alone together. Sorry, kiddo."

"Maybe you and mom should quit trying to control my life," Stella yanked herself up. "Trust me to make my own decisions, damnit!"

Before Mr. Gaskarth could catch her, Stella shot past him and took off back through the door. I sighed to myself, knowing that this entire issue was driving her crazy. I don't think our parents realized that, by making us wait, they made us want to do it even more.

"Jack. I know it seems like we're butting into your relationship, but I really need you guys to trust us on this."

"With all due respect, Mr. Gaskarth, I don't." Now I was standing, looking into the eyes of the man who currently hated me most. "What Stella and I do is no one else's business. That would be like her curling up in the bed between you and your wife to make sure you two aren't having sex."

"I am married to to Jules, Jack," Alex shook his head.

"Who says I won't be married to your daughter one day? Honestly," I sighed, slowly walking around where he was standing. "If you guys can't let us handle our relationship alone, we may never get to that point. I would love to have Stella as my wife one day.. But I refuse to marry her father."

I decided to leave Mr. Gaskarth with that thought swimming around his head. Inside, I saw no sight of Stella or Aubree, so I assumed they were having girl time. Grabbing myself a plate and a drink, I plopped down on the couch next to Tom and Nate. We were staring at the screen and I was finishing my pizza by the time Mr. Gaskarth came in. He didn't say a word, just went back to his own room.

"Are you fighting with my dad again?"

"No, not technically."

"If you want my opinion," Nate commented from the end of the couch. I was thankful to hear him speak without being spoken to. "Don't even worry about what he says. Stella's vagina doesn't belong to anyone but her. If she wants to unleash it, let her."

"Dude, that's my sister," Tom mumbled. "Fucking gross."

"What about you and Aub?" I questioned. "Hell, even Nate's dad isn't bothered that he has sex. Nate's younger than Stella is."

"My dad is a lot more chill than anyone else in this house," Nate shrugged. "Besides, I don't sleep around, thank you."

"Anyway," Tom laughed lightly, answering my question. "Aub and I will have sex when we're ready. And when that time comes, we probably won't try to talk to each other's parents about it. We're not that stupid... At least, she's not."

"So what you really mean," I smirked, "is that you're waiting until Aub is ready?"

"Yeah," Tom grinned. "Pretty much."

The conversation died off, which left me alone with my thoughts. Maybe I should try to get Nate alone to talk about all the crazy shit going on in my life. He was the only other person in the band who'd had sex before, therefore he would understand exactly how I feel when I look at my girlfriend. I shook the thought from my head, at least for the moment, and forced myself to go brush my teeth and prepare for bed. If I kept thinking about Stella, I wouldn't be able to contain myself anymore.

Once I pulled my shirt over my head, I slid into my bed and groaned to myself. Our last fucking night at the studio and I couldn't even spend it with the lead singer of our band. Indeed, our parents were pushing us apart, I could feel it. A few moments later, Tom and Nate joined me, sliding into their own beds with mild conversation flowing through the room. We were just about to shut off the light when the door creaked open, Stella standing there with a smile. My heart skipped a beat. I wanted her in my bed, beside me, where I could fall asleep to the scent of her shampoo.

"Tom, Aubree wanted me to give you this," Stella threw him one of his tee-shirts. "She said you left it in there earlier."

Nate and I both snapped our heads to Tom. Was there something he wasn't telling us? The shit eating grin on his face made me more curious.

"Stella, really?"

Mr. Gaskarth's feet were moving quickly down the hallway. Stella's face instantly dropped.

"I was just returning a shirt to Tom, dad," she said through gritted teeth. "Goodnight, guys."

Stella slammed the door closed and I fell back onto my bed. All hope was draining from my body. At least tomorrow, we'd be on the way home, and if nothing more I could talk to Stella on the drive back.

Notes