Luna

"Luna!" My mother called from downstairs. I sighed and placed my last shirt into my suitcase. I stood up from my spot on the floor and walked out of my room to the edge of the staircase. As soon as mama spotted me, a smile grew on her face. "Gio is here to talk to you."

I nodded and headed back into my bedroom. "Tell him to come upstairs!" I called behind me. A few minutes later, I heard loud footsteps heading up the creaky stairs. I assumed that Gio had spent a moment talking to my parents before heading up to my bedroom.

"Hey," Gio breathed, plopping down on my bed, holding two cups of scolding hot tea. "Your mom wanted me to bring you this," he handed one of the cups to me.

"Thank you," I placed the cup on my dresser.

"So...America, huh?" he sighed, stretching out on my bed. I looked up from my suitcase and glanced at him with a small smile.

"Yep," I nodded, grabbing a couple of pairs of jeans and tossing them into the luggage. My second suitcase was nearly filled up, meaning that I was almost done packing. I don't have many clothes but that's okay. I don't really need much.

"I'm gonna miss you and your crazy curly hair!" Gio exclaimed, ruffling my dark brown hair with his fingers.

I giggled and swatted his pale hand away from me. "Stop! You're gonna mess it up!"

"Is that even possible?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I think my hair is cute," I pouted, grabbing my tea cup and taking a sip. As the taste filled my mouth, I frowned my nose up. Ew! "Did you put milk in here?"

"Uh no...I don't know how you like your tea," Gio rolled his eyes before turning on my tv and putting on a random movie. How dare he!

I stared at him with wide eyes. "Dude...I know how you like your tea!"

He removed his eyes from the television and looked at me. "Congrats. Would you like a cookie?"

Another pout formed on my face as I heard his sarcastic remark. "You're so mean to me," I whined, standing up. I marched downstairs to the kitchen, where Mama stood, making a pot of macaroni and cheese.

"Mama, did you let Gio mess up my tea?" I frowned, grabbing the milk from the fridge.

"He said he would take care of it," she shrugged.

"What a story-teller," I mumbled, beginning to make my tea how I like it. Once I was finished, I jogged back up the stairs and into my bedroom, making sure to shut the door. I took a sip of the tea as I sat down on the opposite side of my bed from Gio. I glanced at the television to see that he was now watching Celebrity Apprentice. "Ew, I hate that guy," I muttered when I saw Donald Trump's face pop up on the screen.

"Well good luck because he's about to be your new president, Mr. America," Gio burst into a fit of laughter.

"You think that's so funny, huh?"

"I think it's hilarious," he sighed, calming down a bit.

"You're such a...butthead!" I rolled my eyes.

"Why can't you just say 'asshole' like normal people?"

"Because I'm not normal people. I'm Luna," I smile, proudly. Gio obviously isn't impressed by my reply as he rolls his eyes for what has to be the fiftieth time today. I think he might have an eye problem. He should get that checked out. "Hey, Gio, have you ever thought about getting your eye twitch checked out?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Have you ever thought about getting your brain checked out?"

"How rude!" I frowned. "I'll have you know, I was an honor student back in high school."

"And I'll have you know that I was with you all throughout high school and that's a damn lie," Gio burst into another fit of laughter, which was soon followed by my own.

"Hey!" I called, in between laughs. "I had a few honors classes."

"Let's just hope that you'll marry a billionaire in the future."

***

Gio groaned as we watched Mario pass the finish line just a few moments before Luigi. "Yes!" I squealed, jumping up and down on the bed. This was the first time since we'd started playing Mario Kart that I'd beat him. This was normal for us. We'd play Mario kart for hours and I would continuously lose until Giovanni decides to let me keep my pride by purposely flying off the edge of the map. "I win! You lose!"

"Yeah whatever," Gio chuckled before standing up from his spot on the floor. After losing for the fourth time, I had frustratedly kicked him off of my bed in a rage. This had scared Aurora a bit, causing her to hide under my bed for the next couple of rounds. She was scared of everything and everyone, except my parents and I.

I glanced over at the puppy who was now resting near the top of my bed. What a cutie pie. I heard Giovanni sigh, causing me to switch my gaze over to him. "I'm gonna head out now, Lu."

A frown spread across my face as I realized that this would be the last time I'd see him for a while. "I'm gonna miss you Gio."

I felt his arms wrap around my body before I was lifted off of my feet in a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you too, Luna. I'll make sure to come visit you while you're in the US."

"You better," I joked and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Bye, Gio."

"Bye, Luna," he smiled before exiting my room. It wasn't long before I heard the front door slam. I sat back down on my bed, pulling Aurora on my lap. This would be the first time that Gio would be separated for a long period of time. The last time we were away from each other for longer than two days was when I went to go visit my grandparents in Venice, three years ago. And even then, we made sure to call and text each other every night until we were reunited. This trio is gonna be extremely hard but I have to do it. I need to prove myself to Papa.

I sat there for a while, holding Aurora while I blindly watched whatever was playing on the television. It wasn't long before I heard a soft knock on my door. I opened it to see Mama standing there with a bowl of macaroni and cheese. "You didn't come down and eat earlier. I assumed you and Gio were lost in your world of video games," she stated. I smiled and grabbed the bowl from her as she took a seat on my bed. "You look upset. Talk to me."

"I'm just gonna miss, Gio. That's all," I shrugged and took a bite of the meal. Yummy. Mama makes the best macaroni. "But it's okay. He can always come visit me."

"You two will be reunited before you know it. You know what they say, time flies when you're having fun!"

I giggled and looked down at Aurora who was now asleep in my lap. "That's only if I'm having fun."

"If it makes you feel better, your sister will be home when you come back," Mama grinned. My baby sister, Willow, had been on a two week vacation to Ireland with her friends. It's truly sad. My sixteen year old sister has more of a life than I do.

"Why would that make me feel better? We don't even talk to each other," I rolled my eyes. I've definitely been hanging around Gio too often.

"Maybe that'll change after you two separate for a while."

"It's whatever, Mama. I don't even care about trying to talk to her anymore," I sighed, leaning back against my headboard.

Mama shook her head, looking down at her lap. I knew that my relationship with Willow was a sensitive topic for Mama. But hey, she should talk to her daughter if she wants us to get along. Whenever I tried to talk to her, she ignored me or had a bad attitude so I gave up. "You'll have fun in America, honey. I know you will," she said, trying to change the subject.

"I hope so," I shrugged, taking a few more bites of my macaroni.

"Maybe you'll find me a son-in-law," Mama teased, nudging me in my side.

I burst into laughter. "Me? Finding a boyfriend? Yeah right. British boys don't even like me. What makes you think American boys will like me?"

"You're beautiful, baby. Maybe British boys are just blind and dumb."

I sighed and stood up with my empty bowl. "Whatever you say, Mama."

"Don't worry, Luna. This is an amazing opportunity for you. It'll all pay off in the end," she pressed a kiss to my forehead before taking the bowl from my hands and exiting my bedroom.