Someone holds me safe and warm

[Raebee]

Miki jingled her keys excitedly, wondering whether she should have called before turning up at Jack's dorm. With all the studying she'd had to do over the last few months, it felt like she had barely seen him. She hadn't even seen his dorm room, he always came to her place.

She rang the doorbell, then quickly pulled out a pocket mirror to check her hair and her face were ok. She knew he wouldn't care what she looked like, but it still bothered her. After all, what if his roommate opened the door and she looked like a homeless person? She'd never live it down.
Once satisfied, she tucked the mirror back in the back pocket of her jeans and fluffed her hair once more.

[Dani]

Fresh out of the shower, Jack threw on jeans and a t-shirt and headed to answer the door, wondering who could possibly be on the other side. He was so busy with school and work that he barely had time to socialize with the few friends he had. In fact, the last time he'd had anybody in his dorm other than his roommate was when he'd moved in at the beginning of the semester. His mother and siblings had done their normal walk-through of the place and made random comments about how nice it looked. Then they later moved down the hall to do the same thing to his other relatives' dorms.

As he approached the door, he figured that it had to be for his roommate. He didn't know him very well, just that his name was Garret, but he could have been really popular with a steady stream of visitors for all Jack knew. A huge smile broke out across his face when he finally opened the door. He immediately took her in his arms and kissed her. He knew he should have probably said hi to her first, but he didn't care. They could exchange pleasantries later. As soon as he felt like he'd lost the ability to breathe normally, he pulled away from her, still smiling. "Don't mind me," he said. "These are just the normal emotions of a desperate man that hasn't seen his fiancee in forever."

[Raebee]

Miki gasped as Jack pulled her to him, but returned his kisses enthusiastically. When they finally broke apart, Miki laughed and moved closer to him, leaning her head against his broad chest. "Oh really? I kinda thought you'd forgotten about me". She pouted playfully and lifted her face to look into his. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

[Dani]

Jack laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "You thought I forgot about you? You gotta be kidding me, Blue Eyes." The whole reason he had been working so hard down at the fitness center was because of her. If he made enough money by next summer, then they'd be able to get married as soon as she turned eighteen and be able to move into their own place. "Oh I'm sorry that I didn't invite you in. Where are my manners?" He picked her up and carried her through the doorway into the living area. "I figure I should start practicing that now."

[Raebee]

Mikaela giggled as Jack swept her up into his arms, and flung her arms around his neck. "That's better." She clung to him, breathing in the scent of him that she'd been missing. "Sorry I haven't been around Jack. The teachers have been piling the work on us so much I barely had time to sleep. I mean, it's not like I want to go to college or anything but I don't wanna look like I'm stupid you know?"

Looking around the dorm, she wrinkled her nose unconciously. "So this is where you live huh? Do you have a roomate, or is all of this yours?"

[Dani]

Jack made his way over to the couch and gently placed her across it. "You're not stupid," he said pecking her on the lips. Sure, she had done some things in the past that made him raise his eyebrows a few times, but he would have never called her stupid. "You don't want to go to college?" He was surprised to hear that. Yeah, she had never really struck him as much of a school nerd, but he didn't realize that she had planned on skipping college altogether. Would she want to go if I hadn't asked her to marry me? Guilt suddenly began to nag at him.

"Yup, this is my place," he said, trying not to think of his guilt. "I live with this guy named Garret. I'm so busy that I rarely touch base with him, but he seems like a pretty cool dude, I guess."

[Raebee]

Miki rolled her eyes and grinned as Jack placed her on the couch. "Well duh. I mean if I want to be a model and everything, I can't waste my time sitting around pretending to listen when old guys ramble on about stuff." She looked around again, trying to get used to the idea that he lived with someone other than his family.

"So um..." Miki fiddled with her hair absentmindedly, wishing she was mature enough to live on her own, or with a roommate. Suddenly the age gap between her and Jack seemed huge, and she had nothing to tell him that didn't seem silly and childish.

[Dani]

"Oh I see," Jack said, wrapping his arms around her. "It does get kind of boring at times. It's much easier to read the stuff instead of listening to them ramble. Although sometimes reading about it can be just as boring." He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the neck. "I think you'll make a great model, but if you ever decide to go to college, I'll help you, okay? You don't have to go through it alone."

He glanced around the room as well. "What's wrong, Blue Eyes? You don't like the place?" he asked teasingly. "I know it's not much, but it beats the hell out of living with like a hundred people. I'm sure our pad will be much snazzier once we get one."

[Raebee]

Mikaela flushed with a mixture of pleasure from his kiss and embarrassment. "No, no. Your place is fine, honest." She bit her lip and looked down at her hands, fidgeting with the ring on her finger. "It's just...I'm sort of scared cause there are all these college girls running around you know? And I can't help thinking that you're gonna get sick of having a high school girl as your girlfriend." She looked up and smiled sadly. "It just feels like you're...leaving me behind. I don't know if I could take it if you needed..someone else."

She pulled away from Jack and sat on the couch beside him, staring once more at her lap. She'd thought coming here would make her happier, but instead it had brought all her insecurities to the surface. Sure it was better to talk about them than to bottle them up, but it was just one more thing to show him that she wasn't anywhere near his league. Speaking to her lap, she sniffled as tears welled. "You won't leave me...will you Jack?"

[Dani]

Jack frowned a little when Miki pulled away from him. Did she really think that? That he would leave her for some random college girl? The very thought was so ridiculous that he almost laughed at it. As soon he heard the sadness in her voice, he realized that it probably wasn't a good idea to laugh. "Never," he said softly, kneeling down in front of her. "I'd never leave you. I wouldn't even consider it."

He reached out and lifted up her chin so that he was looking directly at her. "I don't have a high school girl as my girlfriend. I have a high school girl as my fiancee, which means that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. She stole my heart three years ago and that was it. I don't want it back. I don't want anybody else. I don't need anybody else." He moved his hands away from her face and took his hand in hers. "I'm not leaving you behind. I love you and you've always got me. Even if I'm busy or not around, you still have me. Those college girls can run all they want. There's only one girl that I'm running after." He then wrapped his arms around her, hoping that he was able to make her see just how much she meant to him.

[Raebee]

Miki tried to keep her eyes downcast, but when he lifted her chin she looked into his dark eyes and sighed with relief. "I should have come earlier.. But I was afraid that you would tell me you'd made a mistake. Um..there's something I wanted to ask you...and it's cool if you say no or whatever I just.."

She took a deep breath and looked around the apartment once more. "I was just wondering if there were..you know co-Ed dorms? Cause..Brody's baby is loud. And I can't take it anymore. I was kind of thinking maybe I could like live here with you instead? I'd still go to school and everything but..." Mikaela trailed off hopefully, biting her lip.

[Dani]

Jack kissed her gently on the lips and shook his head. "You're not a mistake. You're the most important person in my life. I know it sucks that I can't be there all the time right now, but if you need me, just text me or call me, alright?" He pulled away from her, bracing himself for what she had to ask him next.

"Awwww," he said, chuckling slightly at the mention of Brody's loud kid. He could certainly sympathize. His baby sister Molly started teething during a week that he had midterms and a basketball game, causing his entire family to get very little sleep. How he managed to stay awake in class and during the game still amazed him to this day. "I wish you could live here," he said, wrapping his arms around her again. "But they don't have co-ed dorms. We'd have to get an apartment. I'm saving up money for it now. We can't get it right this second, but maybe in the next month or so."

[Raebee]

Mikaela folded her arms and pouted. "Stupid rules. How would they even know that I was here? Your room mate wouldn't even know if I left early and came here late." She glowered for a minute before brightening up considerably. "But I guess a couple months isn't too long. Can I decorate it? I think that's what I want to do if I don't end up a model, be an interior decorator. That would be pretty cool."

She grinned at him, before kissing him gently on the mouth. "So...your room mate..He's not here right now is he? Do you guys have separate rooms, or...?"

[Dani]

"Sure," Jack said, nodding his head. He quickly backed up a little once he realized just exactly what he had agreed to. "Just as long as you don't put up a lot of flowery stuff. I mean, some flowers are okay....they can be pretty, I guess. Just try not to overdo it too much." He shuddered a little as images of hideous floral wallpaper, floral curtains, and a big floral couch began to run through his mind.

Trying to take his mind of ugly flower patterns, he smiled back at her. "No, he's not here," he whispered against her lips before kissing her. He moved his hands down her back towards her waist. "I have my own room. Did you want to see it?"

[Raebee]

Miki feigned irritation at his slight on her decorating style, but grinned soon after and bounced off the couch grabbing his had. "Absolutely! Why are we hanging out in here when your roommate could come home any minute, if you have a perfectly good room of your own?"

She felt suddenly giddy, her head filled with images of them living in their own place.