The (possibly) Wonderful World of Disney*Rewritten

[Anna]

Chapter 10

“Caleb?” Caleb looked up to see his mother in the archway connecting the living room to the front hallway, a laundry basket resting on her hip as she paused her journey upstairs. “What are you doing?” She asked. He frowned and shook his head.

“Just…sitting.” He shrugged.

“Have you talked to the girls lately? Where are they now?” Setting her basket on the floor, Mrs. Martin entered the room and approached the couch where her son was sitting. “Feet off the table.” She reminded him, tapping his legs. Caleb smirked and returned his feet to the ground, granting his mother the room to pass him and take her seat on the couch. Caleb leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His mom sat quietly, waiting for an answer to her question.

“They should be in Oklahoma tonight. I called Adina about 15 minutes ago or so.” He said finally.

“How’s she doing?”

“I got her voicemail.” Caleb shrugged. “Again.” He muttered. “I talk to Noelle more often than I talk to her; she’s never too busy to talk. She says they're doing good, obsesses over the guys, rambles about these two girls on the tour who are her new,” Caleb paused and cleared his throat, “best friends forever!” he finished in a valley girl accent. His mother smiled and he returned to his own voice. “She said Adina’s been spending, like, all of her time with the boys.” He said quietly. His mother was silent for a moment.

“That’s good; she's making friends with them. I’d hate for her to be on tour for that long with a bunch of people that she didn’t like.”

“Yea, I don’t think I’d be able to stand that.” Caleb mumbled mockingly. Mrs. Martin frowned and placed a hand on her son’s shoulder.

“Why don’t you go out for a while?” She asked quietly. Caleb sighed and stood up.

“I have homework to do.”

“Honey, it’s Saturday night. Take a break, I hate to see you moping around all day like this.”

“I’m not moping.” Caleb grinned when his mother chuckled and followed his lead, standing up. She crossed in front of him and went into the kitchen, coming back with a set of keys in her hand.

“Go on, now.” She said, holding the keys out to Caleb. He looked at them hesitantly.

“I really should be working on that essay…”

“As your teacher, I am ordering you to procrastinate. Just this once.”

“But don’t you need some help with that laundry?”

“Caleb, sweetie, thank you; but when do you ever help me with the laundry anyways?”

“See? It’s about time I start!” Caleb exclaimed. His mother raised an eyebrow and he decided to give up on that excuse. “What if dad needs the car?”

“Oh, please. Basketball is on; do you really expect your father to leave that TV?”

“The game’s on! I’ve gotta watch this!”

“But you weren’t. I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it when you get home later, don’t you worry about that.” Mrs. Martin laughed. “You really are something else, you know that? Most teenagers would be thrilled if their parents were letting them borrow the car, and extending their curfew.”

“Mom, I’m 19. I don’t have a curfew.”

“No, you don’t have a curfew because you never go any farther than next-door. I don’t care how old you are; you live in my house, you live by my rules. And my rules are establishing a curfew tonight. I’m not waking up at 2 in the morning when I hear the back door open, scared half to death that someone is breaking in. You’ll be home no later than 12.”

“That’s ‘extended’?” Caleb snickered. His mother faked a scowl and Caleb put his hands up in defense. “Kidding! 12, got it. See you then.” He said, quickly hugging his mother goodbye.

“Have fun!” She called as he walked out the front door. “And that’s an order!”


Caleb jumped off of the front porch and jogged down the driveway to the parked car. Getting in, he wondered where he would go. What he would do. Wherever he was headed, he thought as he started the engine and pulled out onto the deserted country road, he wished he wasn’t going alone. After driving along silently for a few minutes, he turned on the radio. He flipped through the stations, passing a few talk shows, the classic rock channel, and the independent station run by a local college, stopping when he heard one of the voices he had become particularly familiar with over the past week.

“So this is where the story ends; a conversation on IM, well I’m done with texting, sorry for the miscommunication.” With a quiet grunt, Caleb stabbed his finger into the power button, turning off the radio.

“In Oklahoma,” He muttered to himself. “Won’t even pick up the phone when I call; spending all her time with that Joe guy…” He shook his head in disgust as he drove. “Joe Jonas. ‘Oh, I can’t stand him; he’s so mean to me!’ Yea, right. He’s probably all over you. And you’re not protesting at all, because he’s Joe Jonas. The hot, funny, flirty one. Jerk. She can do way better than him.” He paused in his aloud thinking and laughed to himself. “What do I care, anyways? Let her go out with that idiot, that’s what she gets for leaving me out here in the middle of nowhere.” He paused again. “No, that’s mean. She's my best friend; if she likes this guy he can’t be that bad. Who ever said they were even friends? They could seriously hate each other.” He sighed. “No, he’d be a fool not to like someone that amazing.” He shook his head slowly as he drove into the bustling downtown area and parked. “And someone that amazing would be crazy to like a fool like me.” He muttered. He sighed and pulled his keys out of the ignition, stuffing them into his pocket as he got out of the car. He spotted a group of teenagers from the local high school gathered in front of a seemingly empty store, and he made a point of walking in their direction, unsure of whether or not he really wanted them to invite him to join them.

“Hey,” He heard a voice say as he passed. He stopped and turned, greeted by a girl standing on the outskirts of the group. “You don’t go to GBN, do you?”

“Oh, no. Homeschooled.” Caleb replied. The girl smiled and stepped closer to him.

“That’s cool,” She said. “I’m Kat.” She held her hand out and Caleb shook it.

“Caleb.” He smiled.

“Do you…want to go for a walk or something? Get some ice cream?”

“What about your friends?” Caleb asked, glancing to the rest of the group. Kat rolled her eyes.

“They won’t even notice I’m gone, trust me.” Caleb hesitated for a moment, only a moment, before he smiled and nodded.

“I’d love to.”

[Nanna{darkblue}]

Awww!! that was really sweet!! I love it!!

[Anna]

Chapter 11

A gust of hot air blew into the cool, air-conditioned room when the door swung open and a booted foot entered the front lounge of the tour bus. Adina glanced up from her laptop momentarily.

“Hey Cami,” She said. “How’d it go?” Cami collapsed onto the couch beside her and took a moment to catch her breath, a smile on her face.

“It never gets old,” She shook her head in awe. “It’s like when you go to a baseball game, and you walk into the stadium and see the field open up in front of you; only here it’s a huge crowd of people waiting for you to perform. Talk about an adrenaline rush. And the ringing in your ears after…it’s incredible.” She gushed. “When’s your first show again?”

“Next week.” Adina replied. “Joe and I have to do some serious rehearsing.”

“Are you guys getting used to each other yet?”

“No.” Adina scoffed. Cami chuckled.

“I don’t know what his problem is, you’re awesome!”

“Right? It’s not like I did anything to him!” Adina laughed. Cami shrugged.

“Well I don’t know what your problem is, either. Joe’s a great guy.”

“Well I haven’t seen that happen yet.” Adina said smugly. “At least it’s only one song.”

“Yea, one song that’s going to start a wildfire.” Cami muttered. Adina raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?”

“Never mind.” Cami said quickly. “Hey, did your sister say she was going to stay for the whole show? I saw her in the front row with Maya and Frankie.” She added, changing the subject.

“Yea, probably.” Adina nodded. Cami imitated the movement.

“Then can I get your opinion on something?” She got up and crossed the room, pushing a curtain aside to enter the sleeping area.

“Yea, sure. Working on a new song?” Cami returned to then lounge carrying a notebook and nodded.

“It’s definitely still a working progress, so don’t be too brutal.” She laughed. Adina smiled as she flipped through pages and pages filled with rushed handwriting in neon ink and stopped about halfway through the book. She cleared her throat dramatically and took a deep breath. “You fled from medication ‘cause it only causes pain. You won't go to the doctor, he keeps calling you insane. You're lost even when you're goin’ the right way. You mean the world to me even though you might be crazy,” She read. “And, well, I’m still working on the chorus, but I’m thinking this will be like the third or fourth verse, somewhere in the middle,” She paused, “We were so different, but opposites attract. So my hope kept growing, and I never looked back. You're one of a kind; no one can change this heart of mine.” Cami looked up expectantly, and Adina nodded.

“It’s-” She began, interrupted by the sudden sound of “Numb” by Linkin Park coming out of Adina’s purse from where it sat on the floor at her feet. She quickly reached down and pulled a cell phone out of it, turning it in her hands to look at the screen.

“Isn’t that Joe’s?” Cami asked curiously. Adina nodded.

“Mrs. Jonas asked me to hold on to all of their phones because last night these two fans tried getting into their bus during the show, can you believe it? And if anyone gets a hold of these, a lot of people will have to change their numbers.” She explained quickly and smirked. “Should I answer?”

“Well if you do, you'd better hurry before they hang up.” Cami snickered. “Who is it?”

“Someone named Maria?” Adina shrugged. Cami gasped.

“Wait, let me answer; she…” She started, but Adina already had the phone pressed to her ear.

“Hello?” She said. There was a silence on the other end for a moment.

“Um, hi,” A female voice finally said hesitantly. “Is Joe there?”

“No, sorry, can I take a-”

“Who is this?” The girl interrupted abruptly.

“Adina Cartell, I’m-”

“Where’s Joe?” The girl asked, cutting her off mid-sentence again. Adina raised an eyebrow.

“In the middle of a concert?”

“Doesn’t sound like it.”

“Well, no,” Adina said, getting annoyed. “I’m on the tour bus.”

“What are you doing on the bus with him?” The girl shrieked.

“I told you, he isn’t here!” Adina snapped.

“Uh huh. You know what? Just tell him to call me back when he isn’t busy, alright?”

“Fine; bye.” Adina agreed. Maria hung up without saying goodbye and Adina shook her head. “My god was she paranoid.” Cami shrugged.

“I told you to let me answer; she knows me. She’s not exactly great with new people of the female variety.”

“No kidding.” Adina said. “Who is she, anyways?” Cami sighed.

“You can’t tell anyone, alright? If the press finds out about this, Joe will kill you.” She said, dead seriously. Adina raised an eyebrow. “That was Maria,” Cami explained. “Joe’s girlfriend.”

[Anna]

ok, so i didnt reread this before posting because i have to finish some stuff for first period tomorrow(what else is new?) so this chapter is subject to failure
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Chapter 12
Adina’s eyes shot open and she sat up abruptly, hitting her head on the bottom of her sister’s bunk.

“Ouch,” She hissed, her hand darting to the sore spot. She quickly fumbled to pick up the cell phone sitting on the small shelf perched on the wall beside her bed and make the ringing stop. She yawned as she struggled to read the caller I.D., her eyes slowly adjusting to the bright screen in the dark room. She recognized the number as the phone on the other bus. “Hello?” She whispered. She heard her sister shift in the bed above her.

“Hi Adina.” A voice replied hesitantly.

“Kevin, it’s 4:30 in the morning!” She whined.

“I know, I know, and I’m really sorry. But could you come here for a minute? I’m at the door.” Adina groaned quietly.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Sorry.” Kevin said again.

“Alright, I’ll be there in a minute.” Adina agreed and hung up, dropping her phone onto the mattress below her. She reached down and ran her hands across the floor under her bed until she felt the cool foam like material of her flip-flops. She silently slid them onto her feet and slowly stood up, cringing at the creak of the floor under her weight. Across the small room, Cami rolled over.

“What time is it?” She whispered groggily, her eyes barely open.

“Shh,” Adina replied, quickly glancing between the two top bunks of the room where Noelle and Maya were fast asleep. “Go back to sleep, I’ll be back in a minute; I’m just going to the bathroom.” Cami nodded willingly and turned back onto her stomach, losing consciousness almost instantly. Adina sighed in relief and tiptoed past the curtain blocking off the sleeping quarters from the rest of the bus. She opened the door, squinting at the brightness of the early morning sunrise. Kevin smiled, running a hand through his tangled curls.

“Morning,” He said. Adina scoffed.

“Morning shouldn’t even be allowed to come for another 2 hours.”

“I know, sorry. But I can’t leave my bus when we’re cruising on the highway, can I?” Kevin asked, motioning to the gas station the various vehicles that their tour required were lined up in. “The king is requesting his cell phone,” He rolled his eyes; “I figured I’d stop him from coming over here and forcing it from you. You know, spare him a life?” He smiled. Adina chuckled.

“Wise choice; he should be grateful that I wouldn’t dare kill you.”

“Yea, I’m pretty psyched about that myself.” Kevin laughed. Adina returned the smile.

“Hold on, I’ll get it.” She said, disappearing into the dark bus and returning moments later with three phones. “Here’s yours and Nick’s, too. But may I ask what Joe needs with this before 5 AM?” Kevin shook his head, rolling his eyes.

“He was supposed to call someone back last night, but we got in too late. So, even though he can’t call right now anyways, he insisted on having the phone with him.”

“Oh, please. He just wanted to come bug me. Who’s he need to call, anyways? Maria?” Kevin raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, considering she called 3 times last night before I finally turned the phone off…” Adina trailed off.

“You’re kidding.” Kevin insisted. Adina folded her arms across her chest and Kevin’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, she must be ticked!" He exclaimed, a faint smile escaping his lips. Adina grinned.

“Oho yes.” She laughed.

“Oh well,” Kevin shrugged. “Maybe she’ll finally dump him.”

“Ouch.” Adina chuckled. “Big brother doesn’t like little Joey’s girlfriend?” Kevin grinned.

“Well, I mean,” He paused, trying to think of the right way to put it. Finally he just shook his head. “No, can’t say that I do. There's nothing wrong with her, don’t get me wrong, but no one knows why they're still together. There's no connection between them at all anymore. But, he claims that they're madly in love,” He said with a roll of his eyes; “so whatever, I guess.” Adina smirked.

“That’s why he’s so anti-me, isn’t it?” She asked. Kevin hesitated.

“He knows that once you start performing with him, the rumors are going to heat up and the industry isn’t going to let him deny you two are, well, dating.” He said slowly. Adina rolled her eyes.

“Why does everyone keep saying that? No one’s going to believe we’re together just because we sing one song together!”

“Maybe not, but…you know what? It’s early, why don’t you go back to bed and forget I ever mentioned anything?”

“I would love to.” Adina nodded. Kevin smiled and turned around. “But, you woke me up, and once I’m awake, I’m awake.” Kevin froze and slowly turned back towards her.

“Same here,” He said with a small shrug. “You wanna go grab some coffee? It looks like we’re going to be here for a while.” He said, glancing around at the various busses around them, all waiting patiently for their turn to fill up their gas tanks in the small suburban station. Adina looked down at her ratty pajamas and flip-flops that she now realized didn’t match-she had grabbed one of hers and one of her sister’s in the dark. Kevin looked down at his oversized sweatpants and t-shirt and nodded. “Ok, never mind.” He chuckled. “I hope you have a brush in there.” He smiled, ruffling Adina’s matted hair. She smirked.

“I hope you,” She replied and pinched his cheek, “have a razor.” Kevin chuckled and gently swatted her hand away from his face.

“Yea, yea, I do.” He griped. Adina laughed and he smiled. “I’ll see you later, ok? Try to get some sleep.”

“You too,” Adina called as he walked toward the much larger, fancier bus that the Jonas family occupied. She turned around and went back inside, kicking her mismatched shoes off as she made her way to the bedroom.

“That was an awfully long bathroom break.” She heard Cami whisper as she crawled back into bed and under her blankets. She smiled and shook her head, grabbing a pillow from under her.

“Oh, shut up.” She whispered back, tossing the pillow to the bed beside hers, where it hit Cami’s legs with a thump. She laughed quietly and kicked it off.

“’Night, Adina.”

“Goodnight.”

[Anna]

Chapter 13

Adina watched as people continuously walked past her, none of them seeming to notice that she was even there, silently panicking.

“Here, try these on.” Michael ordered, thrusting a pile of clothes into her arms. Adina looked down at the mess of fabric and sighed as she stood up and turned to the door behind her. She opened it and went inside the small changing room and closed the door behind her. “Sorry, this was supposed to be taken care of earlier.” Michael said from the other side of the door.

“I swear, no wardrobe lady ever even talked to me!” Adina protested as she let her shorts and t-shirt drop to the floor and stepped into one of the dresses Michael had given her.

“I know; and I assure you, somebody’s going to be hearing about that. Find anything you like?”

“I’m not done yet!” Michael chuckled.

“You’re going to have to learn to change a lot faster than that sooner or later. The fact that girls take forever to get ready cannot hold true in a concert; hate to break it to you.”

“Oh, please. That is such a stereotype.” Adina scoffed, pushing the door open and stepping out into the main backstage area. “That had to be less than 2 minutes.”

“Close enough.” Michael nodded, glancing at his watch. “Looks great, do you like it? Turn around.” He said, taking Adina’s hand and spinning her.

“Yea, I love it! And it fits great.”

“Ok then,” Michael smiled. “It’s all yours. Great, this is the one I picked out myself. Can you say ‘greatest manager on earth’?” He smirked. Adina laughed.

“Maybe if you found some matching shoes…” She winked.

“What, those lovely striped socks you’re wearing aren’t good enough?” Michael gasped and Adina laughed. He shook his head. “Picky, picky,” he teased, then chuckled. “I’m on it. Just put your gym shoes back on for now and track Joe down to see if he wants to do one last rehearsal. I’ll come find you in a little bit. Size 6, right?”

“Yea, thanks Mike!” Adina smiled.

“Just doing my job,” Michael replied as he walked away. Adina sat down to put her shoes back on before navigating through the maze of hallways in the building, leading to a closed door with a white board hanging on it. It read ‘Acquaintances of the Jonas Brothers only’ in the center in large, capital letters. Surrounding the statement were shorter messages scribbled on in various colors and sizes. Among them were ‘Frankie was here’, ‘Living the Dream’, ‘Nick wants his diet coke’, ‘This is an SOS, our One Man Show starts at 7:05 Tonight…SO BE READY!’, and ‘Trespassers will be smothered in peanut butter’, under which a chicken scratch handwriting quickly responded with ‘in which case Garbo will leave and cry because the jonas brothers are once again trying to KILL HIM!’. Adina chuckled, turning the handle and pushing the door open. Eleven pairs of eyes stopped what they were doing and looked up at her, just for a moment, before continuing their own conversations. Adina crossed the room, inviting herself to plop down on the couch between her sister and Nick. Noelle shot her a quick look that threatened to kill.

“Was she bothering you?” Adina smirked. Nick smiled.

“Not at all,” He chuckled. “But either way, glad you’re here. New dress?”

“Oh, yea. Like it?” Nick nodded.

“Yea, definitely. You look…great.” He said, still nodding. Maya laughed from where she sat on the couch on the other side of the small coffee table that separated them.

“Hey Noelle, does Nick look obvious staring?” She taunted. Noelle laughed.

“Very.” She nodded. Adina chuckled and looked at Nick. His cheeks were just the faintest shade of red.

“What kind of world is this where people use a guy’s own line against him?” He muttered. Noelle and Maya looked at each other.

“Our world!” They said in unison, breaking into a fit of giggles after. Nick rolled his eyes, but smiled.

“You girls aren’t guaranteed a spot in that video yet, you know.”

“Oh, please. Joe wouldn’t let you kick us out, would you Joe?” Maya asked. Nick scoffed.

“Joe’s not even in the roo-” He started, stopping when Maya pointed over his shoulder. He, along with Adina and Noelle, turned to see Joe walking into the room, closing the door behind him.

“There you are!” Adina exclaimed, suddenly remembering she was supposed to be looking for him.

“Would I what?” He asked monotonously, stopping behind the couch. Noelle tilted her head back to look at him, directly behind her.

“Let your brother kick Maya and I out of the Burnin’ Up video.”

“His brother doesn’t have a name anymore?” Nick argued. Joe glanced down at him.

“Burnin’ Up video?” He asked, returning his stare to Noelle. He smirked. “Why would we put you two in it in the first place?” He teased, reaching down and pulling Noelle’s hood over her head, covering her eyes. He looked at Adina. “Did you want something?”

“Uh, yea, the show starts in three hours. Weren’t we going to practice some more?” Joe shrugged.

“What for? You’ve got it down.” He said. “But I guess you should see the stage first.”

“Yea, that might help.” Adina rolled her eyes and stood up.

“Alright, come on. You need to do a sound check anyways.” Joe said, looking her over as she walked around the couch to join him. “Nice dress.” He mumbled.

“See? Joe thinks so too; I was simply complimenting her!” Nick exclaimed. The younger girls laughed.

“Oh, give it up.” Maya said. Joe chuckled.

“Let’s go.” He said, motioning for Adina to follow him as he walked toward the door. They walked through the backstage area until they were faced with a huge black curtain reaching from the ceiling all the way to the floor. Joe felt it for an entrance, pulling it back once he found one. “Here it is.” He said, smiling when he saw Adina’s eyes widen.

“It’s enormous!” She breathed, stepping past him and onto the stage. Joe laughed.

“You’re in Anaheim, California. This is one of our biggest shows on the tour. It should be enormous.”

“Are…all of those seats going to be full?”

“Sold out.” Joe grinned. “We’re coming back tomorrow night just because the tickets went so fast. Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” His smile faded when he didn’t get a response, and he stepped forward, giving Adina a quick, one-armed hug. “You’ll do great, I promise.” He said. He let go of her and jogged to the other end of the stage. “Now, you’re going to come out just where we did now, and I’m going to be somewhere over here when you do. The guys will all be back there.” He said, pointing to center stage. “You just start on your cue like we practiced; I’ll come in when I always do. My mom and Frankie are always front row center, and my dad will be coming and going from the audience to backstage, so if you get nervous and need someone to look at, they’ll be literally right in front of you. And your sister will be watching, I’d assume. So that shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s see…there's really no set choreography for any of the numbers. Just do whatever you comfortable with. If you want to just stand there like a statue, that’s fine by me. My only suggestion is you stay on the stage, these fans can be vicious; in a good way, of course, but vicious just the same.”

“I wasn’t planning on leaving, but ok; stay on stage. Got it.” Adina said.

“Right. I’m gonna dig up an extra tambourine or something for you, it kinda helps to be holding something if you’re nervous. Besides, Kevin’s overly protective of his mandolin, and all the other bells and stuff for this song are taken already, so you really have no choice.”

“Can’t have a band without percussion.” Adina smiled as a flashback of the day she first met the boys replayed in her mind. Joe’s eyes lit up.

“Exactly!” He exclaimed. “Whoever told you that must be a musical genius.” He winked. Adina laughed.

“Something like that.” She nodded.

“Well,” Joe said, “Looks like they’re almost ready for you.” He pointed to the floor below them where a whole crew of people was standing with all of the various sound and light equipment. “Just listen to them, they’ll tell you what to do. I’m gonna go listen in the back; I want to be able to hear you and understand you from the last row, understand? No mumbling. Then I have some things to get done before the show, so finish getting dressed, go see the hair and makeup people or whatever you need to do, and try to eat something. My mom should be back in the lounge with food by 5:30 or so. Don’t forget, you come on after ‘Australia’, so be ready and listen to your cue.” He paused and smiled. “And relax, you look like you’re about to faint. My brothers and I are nervous too, and we’ve been doing this every night for a while. Listen to some music, it helps.” He nodded.

“Are you ready, Adina?”

“Yea, she’s ready Matt.” Joe answered for her. He turned back to Adina. “Remember, I want to hear you way back there.” He reminded her, pointing to the back wall of the arena. “Good luck.” He smiled before jumping off the stage and jogging down the center aisle. Once he was about halfway through the audience, he turned. “Meet me back up there in three and a half hours!”

[Anna]

Chapter 14

Joe stopped for a minute after the echo of the music faded and looked out into the crowd. The arena was packed, and the screams were deafening. He looked to either side of him, where his brothers were standing, preparing for the next song. They had the same smile on their faces that he had felt present on his since he first walked out onto the stage. Turning back to the audience, he tilted his microphone towards him.

“Tonight we have a very special guest joining us.” He said. The cheers quieted down for a brief moment as the thousands of fans took in the unexpected news. “She’s going to be helping me out with one of the songs off our upcoming album, A Little Bit Longer, which will be in stores this August.” The screams picked up again and Joe grinned. “Maybe you guys have already heard this song, I know some fans from other concerts already have it up on YouTube,” Taking the microphone off its stand, Joe walked over to a staircase leading to the next level of the stage. He sat down on the middle step, and continued. “But you’ve never heard it quite like this before.” He glanced to his left, where he could see Adina waiting in the wing, a wobble in her knees and a shake in her breath. “She’s a little nervous,” Joe smiled, “so let’s make her feel extra welcome. Ladies and gentlemen, our very good friend, Adina Cartell!” He exclaimed, holding an arm out in the direction of where she would enter the stage. When he didn’t hear his brother’s guitar start moments later, he turned. Nick, Kevin, and the band were all watching the left side of the stage, waiting. He followed their gaze to the empty stage and turned his head so the fans wouldn’t see his scowl. With a frustrated sigh, he put a smile on his face. “Come on out here, Adina.” He said cheerfully. Seconds later, she emerged from behind the curtain, and Joe chuckled at the hand he noticed shoving her into the spotlight. She looked into the audience, which had settled down a little bit, unsure of what to expect. She smiled and walked up to her microphone as the music started to play, and Joe leaned back on the steps, relaxing a little more. All he had to do was sit there, make sure she didn’t join him, and he’d be safe. Until, that is, a familiar male voice ruined his peace.

“Called her for the first time yesterday, finally found the missing part of me.” It was only when the fans started to cheer again after Nick started to sing that Joe noticed they had been quieter than he had ever heard them. “Felt so close, but you were far away,” He continued. Joe looked across the stage to Adina. She was standing completely still, staring blankly into the crowd. Suddenly she turned around and looked at Nick, as if just noticing that the song had begun. “Left me without anything to say. Take it, Adina!” Nick gave her a reassuring smile before glancing at Joe, worriedly. Joe raised an eyebrow in response and looked back at Adina. She took a shaky breath and started to sing, not missing a beat.

“Now I’m speechless, over the edge I’m just breathless; I never thought that I’d catch this,”

“Love bug again.” Nick sang, joining her in the background, just as he would have done if it were just him and his brothers performing. The second voice, instead of calming Adina, seemed to startle here, and she glanced at Joe, her eyes full of fear.

“Breathless, head over heels…hopeless, head over heels,” She sang quietly, her voice down to a mere squeak by the time she corrected herself of the mixed up lyrics. The guys all exchanged glances and tried to slow down to catch up to her, but their attempts failed.

“…hit by this love bug again.” Joe filled in quickly, staring at Adina confusedly. She looked at him, and he noticed tears in her eyes. He nodded, hoping that she realized her verse was over and she could step back during his to recover. The message didn’t get across, though, and she turned, running off the stage and disappearing behind the curtain. In the audience, Noelle jumped up and scrambled her way out into the aisle before breaking into a run towards the backstage area. Mrs. Jonas caught Joe’s eyes and gestured to Frankie, silently telling him to keep an eye on his brother. The instant he nodded in agreement, she quickly followed Noelle. Under any other circumstances, Joe would have been perplexed that his mother would still try to get him to babysit, even in the middle of a concert. But that night, he just gave his brother a look that told him he’d better stay in his seat. Kevin opened his mouth, but closed it again, realizing there was nothing that could be done about the lost performer. He looked at Nick and nodded, and the two of them stepped forward, the rest of the band following close behind.

“I can’t get your smile out of my mind,” Nick continued the song, forcing himself to tear his eyes away from the curtain behind him where Adina had run through.

“I can’t get you out of my mind.” Joe followed dully.

“I think about your eyes all the time.” After what seemed like a lifetime, the song ended. As the fans cheered, Joe looked at his brothers. Kevin offered a half smile and shrugged. Joe sighed.

“Well,” He said into his microphone, “was that not Love Bug like you’ve never seen it before?”

[Anna]

Chapter 15

“Unacceptable! This is just unacceptable! It’s rude, it’s childish, it’s cowardly, it’s-”

“Michael!” Mr. Jonas snapped suddenly. Michael stopped pacing and looked at him. “I think he understands.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. Because you,” He turned back to Joe, who was sitting alone with his head in his hands, “because you were so afraid of your girlfriend finding out you were spending the least amount of time with another girl, and for her career, of all things…” He trailed off in frustration and sighed. “We put you in charge of one thing, Joseph. One thing! All we asked you to do was to make your guest on this tour feel welcome, to coach her a little bit and help her get on the right track, to teach her one song and to help her prepare to perform it. Instead you ignore her, you stand her up at rehearsals that you scheduled, you give her attitude, act like a jerk to her, fail to help her get ready for her first performance, and leave her stranded on stage when she needed your help!” Michael exclaimed, his voice rising with every word. “What kind of presentation was that tonight? Why on earth were you sitting down, as far away from her as possible, like you wanted no part in this at all?” Joe opened his mouth, but Michael cut him off. “Don’t answer that. What happened to the choreography we asked you to incorporate, huh? Adina, what happened to that?” He asked, keeping his eyes on Joe.

“There…he told me there was no choreography.” Adina said quietly from where she sat behind Michael.

“Exactly.”

“That’s because there was none. We don’t plan what we do on stage, we just do it.” Joe said angrily.

“But we specifically told you what we were looking for in this duet!”

“Yea, you did. You wanted me to be all mushy with her, like it was a love scene in a chick flick or something.”

“The song is called Love Bug, for heaven’s sake!” Michael yelled. “The least you could have done is, gee, I don’t know, maybe actually look at her? Maybe stand closer than 50 feet away?” Joe crossed his arms over his chest and slid down in his chair, not responding.

“Joseph,” Mr. Jonas said calmly, stepping back in to the conversation. “I know you’re still with Maria. But that doesn’t give you the right to act the way you did to another wonderful young lady like Adina.” He sighed. “She’s going to get a lot of press about this, no matter how hard we try to stop it. There are going to be pictures and videos online, the paparazzi is going to be all over her, and she’s going to need you to be there for her, understand?” Joe nodded, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. “Michael, maybe we can all work out some extra time for Adina and Joe to work on this, and have her start performing again when she’s ready?”

“I’m sorry; you don’t know how much I want to be able to do that. But after tonight, I think the best thing we can do is try again tomorrow. The press is only going to be harder on her if she doesn’t show up for another concert until next week.”

“Tomorrow?” Adina cried.

“Adina, honey, I’m sorry. Joe is going to work with you,” Michael paused and glanced at Joe, “and you’re both going to go back to the Honda Center bright and early tomorrow and rehearse all day. He’s going to make sure you’re more than ready.” He said. “And,” He continued, “He’s going to help you with the press. There would have been questions about who you are and about you and Joe no matter what, but now, unfortunately, there are only going to be ten times more. But not to worry, Joseph here knows exactly how we want you two to respond, correct?” Joe groaned.

“I can’t believe this.” He mumbled. “Yea, correct. I know what you want me to say. You want me to make it look like we’re dating as much as I possibly can without actually saying it, you want me to refuse to deny it when I’m asked if we are dating, and you want Adina to do the same.” He grumbled. “And excuse me, but as her manager, isn’t teaching her how to answer questions from the press your job? And don’t give me this ‘it’s more comfortable to work with someone her own age’ crap that I’ve been hearing since this tour began. I’m not an idiot. You’re only forcing this on me so that it looks even more like we’re together. You tried the same thing on Nick a few months ago, and now you’re moving on to me. That’s just low. I have a girlfriend. And maybe no one else on this tour likes her, but I do. And that isn’t going to change just because little miss princess came along to steal the spotlight.”

“Joseph,” Mr. Jonas sighed. “I’m always on your side. You know that. But it’s nearly 2 in the morning. You did get Adina into this, so you are going to help her out. You’ll figure out how to handle it.” He said. He turned to Adina. “Adina, could you come here for a minute?” He asked.

“Um...sure.” Adina got up and walked up to Mr. Jonas, and he motioned for Joe to stand up as well.

“I don’t care what went on between you in the past. Because now you’ve never met. You’re starting over. And it’s going to work out right this time, got it?” He asked, eyeing Joe. “Adina, I’d like you to meet my son, Joe Jonas. Joe, this is Adina Cartell. She’ll be joining us for the rest of this tour.” He said as he took one of their hands in each of his and brought them together, forcing the two of their palms to make contact.

“Nice to meet you.” Joe muttered as they shook hands.

“Yea, you too.” Adina replied monotonously.

“Alright,” Mr. Jonas nodded. “Now can we all just get to bed, please?”

[Anna]

Chapter 16

The knock came at exactly 6:45, right on schedule.

“Noelle,” Adina called from across the dark hotel room, where she was kneeling on the floor and stuffing things into her bag. “Can you get that?” Noelle groaned.

“I’m sleeping!” She complained.

“It’s just Joe! I need to finish getting ready. It’ll take you two seconds, you’re right there.”

“Joe? No way, I’m not even awake yet, I’m a mess! These are the Jonas Brothers we’re talking about! I can’t let them see me like this!” Adina sighed and got up.

“My god, when are you going to get over this obsession?” She asked, not looking for an answer. She unlocked the door and pulled it open, holding it just long enough for Joe to grab onto the handle before it fell closed again.

“Good morning.” He whispered, looking around the room.

“It’s ok, she’s not asleep.” Adina replied at a normal volume. She grabbed a pillow off her bed as she passed it and flung it at her sister. Noelle grunted and pulled the pillow over her head.

“Do you see how mean she is?” She yelled into it. Joe chuckled.

“You know, Noelle,” He said, still scoping out the room, “Nick woke up this morning when I did, so he’s up. He could use some company…” He trailed off with a small grin on his lips. Noelle instantly took the pillow away from her head. Joe hid his smile. “He’d really like it if you went.” Adina looked up at Joe, and he winked, holding a finger to his lips in the darkness.

“Well…” Noelle said, pretending to debate whether or not to go. “I guess I could.” She decided modestly. She got out of bed, put her glasses on, and looked down. “I guess I should change.” She mused.

“Oh, no. Trust me, he looks worse than you.” Joe assured her. “And,” He added, looking at the old shirt Noelle had on over her shorts, “he loves Peter Pan.”

“Really?” Noelle asked.

“Oh, yea. Just tell him I sent you. Room 2416.”

“Ok, thanks.” She nodded and hopped over the luggage covering the floor to get to the door.

“Hey, turn on a light on your way out, would you?” Adina asked.

“See you tonight!” Joe smiled as she left the room.

“Ok,” Adina said, standing up as soon as the door closed. “What was that about?” Joe shrugged.

“He gave Frankie my new shampoo yesterday. I woke up this morning to an empty bottle.” Adina stared at him.

“What did he do with an entire bottle of shampoo?”

“He’s seven,” Joe scoffed. “Use your imagination.”

“Why’d Nick give it to him then?” Joe rolled his eyes.

“I ran out of socks to I took a pair of his.” He smiled. Adina laughed.
“You’re kidding!”

“Wish I was,” Joe laughed. “It gets worse; since this was the third time I did it, I’m apparently out of chances, and he literally locked his suitcase.”

“Aww, that sucks. So you couldn’t just take his shampoo, then.”

“No,” Joe shrugged, “but I can send him a little visitor.” He grinned. Adina gasped and playfully hit Joe.

“He’s still sleeping!” She exclaimed.

“Boy, you catch on fast!” Joe mocked. Adina laughed.

“Poor Nick! You’re terrible!” She paused. “Yet,” she continued, “strangely genius.” Joe bowed.

“My, you are sharp this morning, aren’t you?”

“Oh, shut up.” Adina laughed. Joe joined in.

“Are you almost ready? They have security waiting for us at the arena. I guess they thought I might not show up this morning or something.” Adina gasped sardonically.

“You? No!”

“Alright, alright,” Joe confessed, holding his hands up in surrender. “I admit it; I wasn’t planning on showing up.” He winked. Adina shook her head.

“Jerk.” She laughed. Joe smiled.

“I know I am. And I’m sorry.” He said sincerely. “I wasn’t thinking. I know you’ll probably never forgive me, but…” He trailed off and looked at Adina hopefully with wide, pleading eyes. Adina rolled her eyes.

“So that’s where Nick learned that face. I get it almost daily from him.” Joe smirked.

“Then I’ve taught him well.” He joked. “But really, we need to go. You have a lot of work to do.” Adina raised an eyebrow. “Ok, we have a lot of work to do.” Joe smiled.

“Agreed.” Adina nodded and picked up her bad off the floor and slung it over one shoulder. “But can we grab some breakfast first?” She asked as she grabbed her room key and followed Joe to the door.

“I was hoping you would ask that.” He said. “I’m starving.” He added, pushing the button for the elevator. When it came, they both got in and waited in silence as they rode down to the lobby. “Hey listen, if there are any fans out there, or anywhere today, just let me handle it, ok? And don’t bring attention to yourself if they don’t notice you.”

“Wasn’t planning to,” Adina said, “but seriously? It’s barely 7 on a summer morning. I doubt any kids will be out here now.” Joe smiled.

“Oh, sweet naïve Adina,” he said, patting her shoulder. “You cherish that privacy while you have it, will you?” Adina raised her eyebrows in confusion, just as the elevator door opened. The lobby was quiet, but a small crowd of a few girls were clearly visible just outside the front doors. As soon as they realized that it was Joe Jonas that they were seeing come towards them, they began to scream.

“What’d I tell you?” Joe asked. “Now talk.”

“What?” Adina asked. Joe plastered a smile onto his face and faked a laugh.

“Just pretend that you’re a fan!” He said enthusiastically, using vivid facial expressions. Adina glanced to the door, coming closer to them with every step, and mimicked his smile. She nodded and laughed. Once at the door, she pushed it open, not taking her eyes off of Joe.

“Really?” She asked and laughed. Joe smiled.

“Yea, totally!” He said. He looked up at the group of screaming girls that had suddenly gone silent and were staring at him in awe.

“Hi!” He smiled. “You girls are up early.” He turned back to Adina and pulled a marker out of his back pocket. He quickly held the keys he had been carrying closer to his face and signed one of them before handing them to Adina. “It was really nice to meet you, have a safe drive home!” He said. Adina looked down at the set of keys in her hand. She widened her eyes and forced her smile to grow.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” She exclaimed, frantically standing on her toes to hug him. She looked back at the keys again excitedly. “Oh my god, I have to go tell all my friends!” She said before running off. Joe chuckled.

“Hi, what’s your name?” He asked, turning to the nearest fan on his right and taking the poster out of her hands to sign. Adina turned a corner and stopped, hidden from the group of girls. She peeked around the building at them and waited while Joe talked to all of the fans, signed all of their posters, posed for all of their pictures, and distributed hugs to each of them.

“Over here.” She said when she noticed him walking towards the main parking lot. Joe turned and smiled.

“Oh, good. I was hoping you’d come this way. They won’t see us now. Come on, the car’s this way.” He pointed to a different lot and began walking towards it. They stopped at a small car parked in the far corner of the area. Adina held the keys up for Joe to take, and he looked at them blankly.

“You’re driving.” He said simply before climbing into the back seat. Adina raised an eyebrow.

“What am I, your chauffeur?” She asked as she got into the driver’s seat.

“Uh, tinted windows?” Joe said, gesturing to the dark back windows. “And,” He added, shrugging modestly. “I don’t exactly have a license.”

“You’re kidding!” Adina exclaimed.

“I’ll tell you which way to go.” Joe shrugged again. “By the way,” He smiled as she drove out of the parking lot and onto the street. “You were great back there.” Adina laughed.

“Yea, you too. I can’t believe they bought it.”

“I don’t know. A few of them recognized you from the concert last night, but I played dumb.”

“Oh good, I was worried you might’ve had to do something hard, but that must have been easy for you!” Adina teased. Joe ignored the comment.

“But either way, they didn’t say anything more after I said you were just a fan.”

“That’s good.”

“Yea…keep going straight.” He said. Neither of them spoke for a few blocks.

“Hey, Joe?” Adina asked suddenly.

“Yea?”

“What did you end up doing about the shampoo?” Joe smiled embarrassedly.

“I went and borrowed some from my mom.” He admitted. Adina glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

“I thought I smelled something fruity!” She smiled.

“It’s Pantene’s brunette expressions shampoo with liquid crystals.” He clarified. Adina chuckled.

“Nice.” Joe’s eyes lit up as he brought one hand up to his head.

“I know! My hair is just luscious this morning, don’t you think?”

"Oh, definitely." Adina smirked.

“I’m too sexy for my hair, too sexy for my hair; now you’re gonna turn up there.” He pointed to the next corner. Adina turned and rolled her eyes.

“You are such a dork.”

“Aww, you know you love it.” Joe teased, reaching forward and flicking a strand of her hair. Adina didn’t respond and rolled her eyes, but smiled.

[Nanna{darkblue}]

That was awesome!! I felt like I was watching it as it happened!! Poor Nick!! and all over a pair of socks... well i guess if you love your socks that much...

[Anna]

haha yea, i usually try to add some sort of sock affliction somewhere in my fanfics because i find it hilarious how aggressive nick (used to? i dont know if he still cares) gets over people wearing his socks.