It was time for Lawrence to have lunch with his family, since they didn't have many reunions as it was in the past, and they wanted to celebrate how far he had come.

His mother, for the moment, promised to prepare lasagna, one of his son's favorite foods ever since he was a child.

Lawrence arrived at his parents house. When his father saw him, he quickly received him with a big hug.

“Hello, Jack!” 

“Hi, dad.”

“How are you? Look at you, so strong, I would recognise my son from anywhere!”

“Thank you.” Lawrence laughed.

“Let's go, your mother's inside, waiting for you.”

As soon as Lawrence entered the house, the particular smell of mum's lasagna catched his attention. Indeed, she kept her promise.

“Jack!!!” Shouted Emma, who ran towards his brother and hugged him immediately.

“Emma!!!” Said Jack, sharing his excitement with her.

“How has your life been?”

“It's been so good! The football thing has worked pretty well.”

“That's great!”

“Little Jackie!!!” Said his mother, who finished his cooking and ran to hug his son.

“Hi mum!”

“I can't believe how much you've grown.”

“I know.”

“Well, let's go to lunch, I prepared lasagna!”

“I knew it from the smell, it's my favorite lasagna in the whole world.”

The mother was moved by his words.

The dining room was decorated for the special occasion, it had a beautiful tablecloth with colourful plant patterns and a vase of flowers. The mother brought the lasagna that made Jack drool over, and everyone was starving.

Jack's father wanted to say something before everyone devoured the food.

“Before eating, I want to acknowledge Jack's incredible achievements. We are extremely proud of him.”

“You are truly a star in this family, Jack.” Added his mother.”

His sister, who was sitting next to Jack, applauded him with joy.

The family enjoyed the lasagna while they updated the others on their lives. They had a lot to talk about.

Jack saw a notification from his phone, it was Crawford. He immediately opened his messages to chat with him. His sister saw what he was doing on the screen.

“Who are you talking to?”

“Oh, it's Victor, he's a great friend of mine. He's in the football team”

“That's cool, he seems to be nice.”

The sibling's parents didn't want them to use their phones in the dining room, so they interrupted their conversation.

“By the way, Jack, we saw your last match.” Said the father.

“You shined at that moment!” The mother was happy.

“I wish your sister was as good as you.” Was the sentence his dad said which ruined all the vibe.

“Oh.” Jack didn't like that comment, and looked at Emma's upset face.

“Emma, you should start doing something productive, you're seventeen years old.”

“I… I know, it's just…”

“But, he likes dressmaking… Maybe we should stop this conversation.” Said Jack, who genuinely wanted to help his sister.

“I agree, but please, Emma, do something with your life that's worth it”  His mother ended the conversation.

Emma was holding her tears. She felt a strong pain in her throat. 

“Mum, dad, may I go upstairs with Emma?” Asked Jack, trying to help her.

“Sure, have fun.” Said the sibling's mother.

Jack took Emma by the arm, and they both ran to the sister's room.

Emma threw herself on her bed, covering his mouth with her pillow, and screamed with all the air of her lungs.

“I know, it might hurt a lot.” Said Jack.

“Yeah, it does.” Emma sobbed.

“I've seen your dress ideas, trust me, you're more talented than you think.”

“...My parents haven't stopped bothering me with my life choices… every argument is about you, achieving your goals while being so young…”

“...I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault, don't worry. Although I'm really jealous of your success,  I feel useless at your side.”

“Emma, the world just gave me the opportunities, I was really lucky to start my career at such a young age, but if you aren't doing the same, you don't have to feel useless or guilty. If you decide it, you'll achieve your goals eventually, no need to do it quickly.”

Emma thought about what his brother said, she didn't heal completely, but she felt better with those words.

“...Thank you, you’re a great brother.”

“You're welcome, don’t lose your sparkle.”

“I won't.” 

Jack and Emma decided to change the conversation. They started gossiping about his lives and friends. Jack told her more about his teammate, Crawford, giving her every single detail about him and their hangouts, and eventually mentioned all the drama.

“So, he's not gay?”

“Nope, and I don't understand why, but when he told me that he didn't actually like me, I was somehow upset.”

Jack's sister took a moment to think what his brother said.

“...But, why does it bother you so much that he doesn't have a crush on you?”

“I really don't know.”

Emma had a strange premonition. She and his brother were always close siblings, they used to tell each other everything, which included all the boys that she liked in all her life. But she never heard of Jack having a crush on any girl.

“You mention him a lot when you talk.”

“I know, he’s awesome.”

“Okay, may I ask you some questions?”

“Sure.” Jack nodded blindly.

“I want you to tell me exactly what you feel when he’s with you, with every detail possible.”

“Well, I feel a strong happiness, he’s someone to trust, and when he took distance from me, I felt very… lost, I was bored and sad without his company, since we talked a lot, it was a big change when he left… Oh, sorry, I strayed a bit from the topic.”

“Continue.”

“Sometimes, I feel like I want to take care of him, after all, that’s what friends do.”

“Hmm…”

“Oh, and I also feel a strong adrenaline when he’s around me, I guess.”

“Okay, now I get it.”

“What?”

“Maybe you were wrong, and you are developing feelings for him.”

“I mean, I know my friendship with him feels way different, but I don’t think it’s love.”

“Have you ever fallen in love?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then, maybe, because you have never been in love before, you don’t know how to recognise if you like someone.”

“…Oh.” Said Jack, who was finally starting to question himself.

“Try to reflect about it.”

“Okay…”

“Wanna play video games on my console?”

“Oh, sure.”

Emma and Jack played a combat game, competing with each other. They both had fun, but Jack was thinking too much about if he liked Crawford, connecting all his behaviours and emotions, and trying to remember if he liked someone before. However, no one came to his mind. Emma knew his brother very well, so she noticed how he played as it was on autopilot.

“What’s the matter?”

“Emma…”

“Tell me.”

“If I were gay, would you stop talking to me?”

“Jack, why would you think that? I’m going to support you, even if you like guys. You’re my brother, no matter what.”

“…Thanks.”

Emma gave Jack a hug, which made him relieved.

“Y’know, from what you told me, I don’t think that your friend is straight.”

“You sure?”

“I’m not, but I think it would be possible.”

“…Should I tell our parents about this?”

“I… don’t think it’s a good idea, at least not yet.”