just friends || complete!

[chandy]

Hey guys! This is an old fic of mine that I'm going to post here - if you've read it already, don't give away the ending!

Here's chapter one!

joejoescircus89: you should be here by now.
penelopetheantelope12: what?
joejoescircus89: dinner. remember?
joejoescircus89: run, forrest, run!
penelopetheantelope12: ohh yeah!! sorry... its crazy around here right about now,
joejoescircus89: chat later. dinner now.
penelopetheantelope12: lol okay, okay.
joejoescircus89: I SAID NOW!
penelopetheantelope12: okay!
joejoescircus89: what did I just say?
AOL user penelopetheantelope12 has signed off
joejoescircus89: thank you!
AWAY MESSAGE: My master is summoning me. Yes, I mean you, Joseph. *scowl* - Penny

I let out a soft laugh before grabbing my purse and heading downstairs. Mom was sitting there trying to force baby food down Sarah's throat - she wasn't having it.

"I was just about to come up and remind you. Your dad's five minutes away," Mom said, pushing the little sthingy in my sister's mouth. Sarah spit it back out, mashed carrots dribbling down her chin and onto her bib. She squealed with delight while Mom cursed under her breath.

"Bye --"

"It's raining! There's an umbrella by the door." I hurriedly reached for the umbrella and, with one flick of the finger, opened it and dashed outside. "Bye, Mom!"

I sprinted to the Jonas', taking the usual route I took. It was the same route we took on our morning jogs - just the four of us. Me and my Brothers. Usually we paced ourselves, but today I wasted no time. For one thing, Joe was nearly having a cow because I wasn't already there. Secondly, I wanted as much time with them as possible before they left for the first town.

When I turned the corner onto their street, I could already see two dark figures out in the middle of the road - in the rain. I knew who it was immediately, judging by the height of one and the hair of the other. Frankie and Nick.

"Penny!" Frankie shrieked, jumping on me. His long hair was wet and stuck to my face as he hugged me - he was literally off the ground, on top of me. I laughed and held on to him - even though he wasn't part of the band, he was leaving on tour with them, too. And I would miss him just as much.

"Hey, kid!" I said enthusiastically, setting him down in a puddle. I looked up to see Nick walking over with his goofy Jonas grin that made me melt - no matter how wet and freezing it was outside.

"Hey, Nicky." I walked over to him with my arms open for a hug. He filled in the space and picked me up about a foot off the ground in the long hug as I laid my hand on top of his dark curls - like I always did when he hugged me - and snuggled into his wet t-shirt.

"Why are you two outside in the rain?" I asked as Nick set me down, then running for the cover of their porch. Frankie and Nick followed me.

"Nick wanted to come meet you," Frankie beamed mischeivously. Nick whacked him over the head and muttered for him to shut up. Frankie shrugged with his toothless smile and went inside, so Nick and I followed, both of us red in the face from running around outside.

"PENELOPE, my love!" Joe skipped downstairs and wrapped me up in a big hug. I laughed into his shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

"Where have you been? I signed off six minutes ago," Joe asked, letting go so I could go hug Kevin. I laughed.

"Hey, Kev," I smiled, hugging him around the waist tightly. "Joe, it's not my fault you have the patience of a hungry Pitt Bull."

"I know that's right," a woman laughed from the kitchen. I recognized the voice immediately.

"Hey, Denise!"

"Hi, Sweetie. How's your mom?"

"Good," I answered as Joe put his arm around my shoulders. I smiled at him and stood very still against his side.

"And your Dad?" Kevin chuckled, heading to the basement/game room.

I rolled my eyes. "Hasn't changed his mind. He thinks I'm at Katie's right now." Groaning, we followed Kevin. Joe's arm was still draped around me and Nick was at our heels.

"What's his problem?" Nick asked as we all sat down in front of the big television. Kevin and Frankie started playing some video game while I plopped down on the sofa in between the other two.

"I don't even know - he probably thinks I'm doing something wrong with one of you." I shook my head. My Dad had recently banned me from seeing the Jonas' anymore, because he was under the impression that I was having sex with one of them. I was apparently there too much.

"Which one?" Joe smirked. I looked at him and felt the blood rush to my cheeks. I didn't say anything, just shrugged.

That was one thing that Joe always made me do - he was too good looking. They were all too good looking. Every time we shared a moment, I'd blush and humiliate myself, even though I had known them forever. Before Frankie was born.

"Me, obviously," Kevin said with a grin, focused on the video game. Frankie was whupping his butt already.

"Yep, Kevin, you caught me, you sexy beast." Frankie made a strange little gasping snort noise at what I said. I looked over at Nick and we both just started laughing uncontrollably. Soon I was curled over my legs, gasping for breath. Joe patted me on the back.

"You alright?"

"Yeah - sorry," I giggled. I looked at Nick, whose face was pink from laughing at absolutely nothing - and we both broke out in peels of laughter again. I leaned closer to him and we both just laughed and laughed for what seemed like eternity. And what made it even more hilarious was that we didn't even know why we were laughing now. Frankie's little noise had lost it's shimmer - now we were just laughing at how ridiculous we were.

"Boys, your Dad's home - time to eat," Denise said over the intercom that reached the basement. We all raced to the table - Mama Jonas was the best cook ever and we all knew it.

Knowing the Jonas' system when it came to meals, I was the first to take Nick's and Joe's hands and bow my head for grace. Even though I wasn't as religious as they were, praying before I ate was just something I did now. I had grown accustomed to it.

And plus, it was a reason to hold hands with cute boys, even if they were my best friends.

"Amen," we all chorused as Mr. Jonas finished the prayer.

"Potatoes!" Joe sang, making all of us laugh. After everyone had food on their plates, I caught Denise beaming at me from the other end of the table. I smiled back at her.

"So, Penny, how's the baby?"

"You had a baby?!" Nick teased, turning to me. I smacked him in the arm and turned back to his mom.

"Loud and nocturnal -" Everyone laughed. "- but she's cute, I guess. She's driving us up the wall, except for my Dad - he doesn't really deal with Sarah," I said, my words dripping with anger and resentment at him. I looked around to see all four of the boys shaking their heads when I brought up my Dad. I stifled a chuckle.

"We should just come and kidnap you tonight," Joe suggested. I laughed out loud.

"I wish you would. I have no clue what I'm going to do for the next few months while you're gone..." Everyone was silent for a while. As my throat tightened, I mentally scolded myself. See, I knew this would happen. I couldn't let myself get emotional in front of them - I'd save that for later. I set down my silverware and waited for a moment, hoping that if I stopped thinking about it for a moment, the tears would go back in my eyes. But they didn't.

"Oh, honey..." Denise said softly as a tear tumbled out of my eye. I sighed sadly and looked up to see her looking at me sympathetically, along with Mr. Jonas and Kevin. I tried to smile, but Frankie started crying, of course, which didn't help. I hated watching little Frankie cry. Joe put his hand on my hair and pulled me against him comfortingly, while Nick's elbows rested on the table, and he buried his head in his hands, releasing a loud sigh. It seemed that I wasn't the only person who was upset about not seeing them.

"You'll just have to email me a lot. And you know I mean that." I beamed, trying to get rid of the depressing atmosphere I'd caused. I hated seeing my brothers sad. They were my second family. Sometimes they were more of a family than my actual relatives were.

They had always been so close to me, and I them. They were my inspiration for art - I couldn't even count how many paintings and drawings of them I had in my portfolio. And I was the inspiration for some of their songs.

We were all sitting in my room as I sobbed uncontrollably into Nick's shoulder. They'd all come over the instant I called and told them what had happened - that Pierre had broken up with me.
"And what kind of name is Pierre anyway?" Joe asked bitterly. "It's like someone who peed... in the air..." I normally would have laughed at Joe's humor, but I was too distraught. I could barely even hear him over the sound of my crying. I was practically screaming into Nick's t-shirt, getting it all wet, but he didn't seem to be bothered. He just cradled me against his chest as Kevin and Joe rubbed my back gently.
I honestly was in love with Pierre. He was everything I wanted in a guy - sweet, sensitive, funny, romantic. He was perfect in my eyes. Was.
"What exactly did he say, Pen?" Kevin asked softly. I pulled my head away from Nick's arm, but still leaned against him.
"H-he said..." I sniffed. I was practically hyperventilating. "He said... 'I can't be-be with someone who wo-won't... do stuff with me!'" I buried my face in Nick's shoulder again and let out an agonized wail.
"Jerk."
"Idiot."
"Penny, don't even worry about that guy. He's nothing. He's wrong." Nick said in my ear. I tried to shake my head.
"No - no, he's right... I should have--"
"Don't even finish that sentence, Penelope," Joe said sternly. I looked at him, tears brimming over. I managed a quick glance at Nick's shirt - completely soaked through. "You're better than that."
"Yeah," Kevin encouraged. "You're better than him."
"I know, you're right... I just... I really thought -" I groaned. "I should just give up!"
"Pen, just because you're heartbroken doesn't mean you have to give up," Nick reasoned. "You just need to start over. Have faith."

When you love someone
and they break your heart
Don't give up on love
Have faith, restart

And that's where Hold On came from.

Those boys had always been there for me. I was miserable during the few months they were away for their School Tour - and they were going to be even longer this time. Could I take that kind of torture?

After dinner, we all retired to the living room to watch some television. Joe was practically peeing his pants with excitement at the reality show.

"NO DEAL! Oh, come on! No deal!" I laughed loudly as he groaned when the guy took the deal. "Watch, he'll have the million in his case. Just watch! I'll be right."

"Okay, Joe. Whatever you say," I smirked and played with Nick's hair as he laid his head in my lap. I knew the time was coming, but I didn't want to leave any of them.

"See? I told you! One million, in his case! I told you!" Joe repeated, doing a little dance in the middle of the living room. I ran my fingers across the top of Nick's head, sifting through his brown locks, still damp from the rain. Nick loved when I played with his hair; it relaxed him and usually put him right to sleep. But I could see that he was trying hard to stay awake until I was gone. I smiled at him, a new wave of sadness washing over me. Joe sat back down beside me and watched as I curled Nick's hair around my fingers. I smiled at him.

"Fine, show favoritism. Be that way, see if I care." Joe folded his arms and looked away pointedly, trying to pout. I grinned.

"Oh, you baby. Lean forward." Just like Nick loved when I toyed with his hair, Joe loved having me scratch his back. Just like how Kevin liked it when I traced the lines in his palm and Frankie liked when I drew little circles on his forearm with my index finger. I loved my brothers more than anything.

As I ran one hand through Nick's hair and gently drew little pictures on the back of Joe's t-shirt, I realized that there was nowhere I would rather be, nothing I would rather be doing.

And then Joe started purring playfully, so I pushed him off the couch with a loud peel of laughter.

"Okay, time to go," I said quietly, poking Nick in the forehead. His eyes were closed, but he was still awake.

"Nooo," he whined, looking up at me.

"Yesss," I smiled sadly. "Trust me, if I could, I would stay here and play with your hair all night long."

"Sounds good to me," Nick smiled, closing his eyes again. I chuckled and forced him to sit up. He groaned.

"Who wants to walk me to the end of the street?" Normally, everytime I was at the Jonas' house, the boys would walk me all the way home. But I didn't want to risk Dad seeing me with them, so I would have to cut it short.

"All of us," Kevin grinned, yanking my arms so I could stand up. I smiled.

"Yaaaaaaay." I said my tearful goodbyes to Denise and Mr. Jonas, trying not to get too emotional. We all huddled close and Joe opened the big family umbrella and held it up high over our heads.

"You can stand under my UM-berr-ella... ella... ella... eh? eh? eh? Under my..." Joe sang. Kevin whacked him over the head so he would stop. I smiled as Frankie told us he wanted to play in the rain instead, so he ran ahead of us. So it was just me and Nick and Joe and Kevin, snuggling up under one big umbrella for the last time for many months.

"So, what are you going to do on tour?" I asked them. Nick scratched his head.

"Uh... sing...?"

"Wrong!" I laughed, linking hy arm with his. We were three houses away from the corner.

"Email you everyday," Joe said.

"And?"

"Call you everyday?"

"And?"

"Be depressed because you're in New Jersey and not with us?"

"Good boy!" I patted Joe on the head. Two houses to go... "And you should also make some videos and put them on youtube. Just no more Nick Jonas shows, please. I don't like Angry Joe and Bleeding Nicky and BEHIND-the-camera Kevin."

"We will," Nick promised, putting his arm around me. One house to go. I started panicking.

"Do you guys really have to go on tour? I mean, are you sure you want to do this... forever? Can't you just be... car salesmen? Like Kevin?" Kevin let out a loud laugh and playfully punched me in the arm.

"Sadly, I'm pretty sure we're going to be doing this until retirement." I started cracking up at the thought of the boys, all old and wrinkly, singing Goodnight and Goodbye as The Jonas Brothers in their seventies.

"Now that would be a good concert." We were there. The corner of the street. We all stopped, frozen, as we realized that we'd have to say goodbye now. I didn't want to. Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over before anyone could even say anything.

"Where's Frankie?" I sniffled. He came running up and wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging tightly. I ruffled his hair and knelt down to hug him goodbye.

"Love you, Frank the Tank," I smiled into his hair.

"I love you, too," he whispered. I stood up and hugged Kevin tightly, pressing my face into his jacket.

"You are going to call me. You have no excuse," I teased. He nodded and released me with a sad smile. I turned around and nearly tackled Joe, wrapping my arms around his waist and squeezing as tight as I could. I felt his lips on the side of my forehead and squeezed harder, closing my eyes. I nuzzled my head practically into his armpit before I had to let go. I was crying really hard now, my whole body shaking. I stood up on the tips of my toes to plant a kiss on his cheek, and then turned to Nick.

Nick and I had a special hug. He wrapped his arms all around me and I just cuddled up against his chest. Sometimes, like this time, he lifted me slightly off my feet. I felt his lips on my hair and I kissed his cheek before we let go.

And then I had to leave.

"I love you, guys." I slowly blew them a kiss, and backed away.

They didn't even have to say it back. I knew they did. But they said it anyways and stood there, watching me, until I disappeared around the corner.

[chandy]

CHAPTER TWO


"Penelope?" Dad asked as I let myself inside. I was still crying, but tried to pass it off as rain. I squeezed the water out of my hair on the porch and then shut the door. He was already in the foyer to meet me.

"Yeah, Dad." That annoyed me. Who else was it going to be? He stood, leaning against the wall casually, as if he wasn't suspicious. But he still eyed me with that look.

"Where have you been?"

"At Katie's..." I said slowly, looking up at him innocently. Thank God for my acting classes. He squinted, surveying me, as if to decide whether or not he actually believed me.

"You walked all the way home?" he smirked, as if he'd caught me in the middle of some terrible offense.

"Yes - it's not that far, Dad." I walked past him, focusing on the sound of my wet pant legs rubbing against each other as I walked. I hurried up the stairs to change before I could fall victim to any more interrogation.

I peeled off my soaked clothes and, setting out a towel, climbed into my shower. The water was steaming hot and helped relax the tense knots in my back. I hadn't realized how stressed out I had become about the tour until I finally got the chance to calm down. But my mind was still swimming with sorrow - I already missed them, and we had only been separated for - I looked at the clock - six minutes. But it seemed like a so much longer when in comparison to the many months that their house would be empty.

I shut off the water and dried myself off, secured the towel around me, and walked over to my dresser. At the bottom of my drawer, I found an old ratty t-shirt that Nick had lent me during the summer. He had pushed me into the pool at their house with my clothes on, so they gave me clothes to wear. I pressed my face into the soft fabric and could still smell traces of the fabric softener Denise used in their laundry. It was sweet and smelled better than their cologne, although that scent wasn't bad at all. Nostalgia creeping over me, I went in search for the old pajama pants Joe found for me to wear home, tearing my bedroom apart to find them. The were pushed back in the farthest corner of my closet; I couldn't tell if they were dirty or not, but I didn't care. I pulled them on anyway.

Climbing into bed clad in Nick's shirt and Joe's pants, however weird that seemed, calmed me. It made me feel like they were in the room with me, like I hadn't really lost them after all. I knew this was just wishful thinking - they would be gone for months. And I would be stuck in Wyckoff. And then, when they came back, they would be moving away to Los Angeles, leaving me in their dust. I knew they didn't want to leave me - but I resented the fact that they were even willing. But I loved them to much to take it out against them. Not when the memories we had left were few and bittersweet.

My computer dinged and I scrambled out of the covers to click the mouse.

AOL user OhNickyUrSoFine16 invites you to an AIM session.
Do you accept?

Grinning, I hurriedly clicked 'accept'. I recognized the screenname as the one Nick rarely used. I even came up with the username, because he really didn't care all that much.

OhNickyUrSoFine16: i miss you already.
penelopetheantelope12: you have no idea. =[
OhNickyUrSoFine16: you'd be surprised. how are you?
penelopetheantelope12: i'm okay, i guess, considering im not going to see you again until what? december?
OhNickyUrSoFine16: january.
penelopetheantelope12: not helping
OhNickyUrSoFine16: sorry.
penelopetheantelope12: its ok. its just that this is different from the school tour and the aly & aj tour and all that. This time... it's YOUR tour. and so you're gone longer and you're more busy. I know you guys aren't going to be able to call me everyday. youll be too busy rehearsing and performing and interviewing and doing photoshoots and... sleeping.
OhNickyUrSoFine16: we dont have to sleep. =]
penelopetheantelope12: haha! nick, you have to sleep. you of all people, i know, need sleep. i have seen you when you are tired, nicky and its just not pretty.
OhNickyUrSoFine16: lol fine
penelopetheantelope12: but you seriously need to call me at LEAST every other day. or i will come and hunt you down.
OhNickyUrSoFine16: i promise
OhNickyUrSoFine16: joe says hi
penelopetheantelope12: hi joe! =]
OhNickyUrSoFine16: and he said "you are the taco to my nachos, antelope"
OhNickyUrSoFine16: i dont want to know, do i?
penelopetheantelope12: hahah. prolly not. =] hold on, phones ringing.
OhNickyUrSoFine16: ok
penelopetheantelope12: nvm, my mom got it. omj (=]) my dad is driving me absolutely to the brink of sanity.
OhNickyUrSoFine16: (lol) why?
penelopetheantelope12: the second i walked in the door, he starts giving me a police investigation, like i did something wrong. he doesnt trust me
OhNickyUrSoFine16: for good reason. you WERE lying to him.
penelopetheantelope12: but im a brilliant actress, he couldn't have possibly known that =]
OhNickyUrSoFine16: yeah sure
penelopetheantelope12: hey! whats that supposed to mean?
OhNickyUrSoFine16: lol, nothing, i'm just kidding. wow. i really miss you right now.
penelopetheantelope12: i miss you too. ='[
OhNickyUrSoFine16: no, i really miss you. I can't see you!
penelopetheantelope12:what?
OhNickyUrSoFine16: window.

Beaming, I darted to my bedroom window. I looked down and saw Kevin, Nick, and Joe all grinning back at me, Nick with his iPhone in his hands. Nick and Kevin were waving. Joe was giving me a Klingon salute. I barely got the chance to wave back when my mom opened the door.

"Penny?" I scrambled to close the blinds, even though she'd have to walk over to me and look out the window to see them on the sidewalk. I flew over to my bed and pretended that I wasn't secretly trying to sneak out to meet three teenage rockstars outside without permission at eleven at night. Hey, at least it wasn't a school night.

"Denise just called," my mom sat on the edge of my bed. I looked at her; she had my attention, now. "She told me about how upset you were at dinner tonight."

I lowered my gaze to my pajama pants. I hoped my mom wouldn't notice that I was wearing boys clothes.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked me. I shook my head.

"It's not that big of a deal. I'm just going to miss them, that's all," I explained quietly, stealing a glance at my window, as if I thought they had magically poofed themselves inside the tree outside my second story window.

"Well, Denise made a suggestion that I wasn't even thinking of considering before I talked to you." My mom smiled and my heart rate kind of faltered for a second.

"What did she suggest?"

"That you go with the boys on tour-"

My face broke out into a huge grin - nothing less than that. I was grinning from ear to ear. There was nothing that I wanted to do more than leave with them. Not only could I escape the strict grasps of my Dad, but I wouldn't have to endure the long months that they were gone. I would be with them.

"There are conditions," Mom said. I shut up my babbling about how much that would completely rock and restrained a smile as she spoke. "You're going to be sharing Nick's tutor, so you don't get behind. If you have anything less than a B, you're on the next flight back to Wyckoff. Got that?" I nodded quickly.

"Yes, Ma'am. Absolutely."

"And you're going to be sleeping on the tour bus with them - no sharing bunks. Don't make me regret fighting your Dad about this whole sex issue. No hanky panky." I rolled my eyes at the word.

"Mom, they have purity rings, their not - "

"I know, I'm just reiterating it." She smiled. "And you have to call home at least three times a day so I know you're safe - once in the morning, during lunch break, and after the concerts."

"Of course. Yes, Ma'am." I beamed.

"But call my cell phone, because I don't want Dad to find out, okay? He'd bust a vein. I'm going to tell him that you're going to Pennsylvania to spend the semester with Aunt Jenny. He's not going to like it, but... I want you to go with the boys." She smiled at me. I leaped on her, hugging her tight around the neck.

"Thank you, Mom! Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Start packing." As she stood up to leave, she turned back to look at me. "And tell those boys to go home before your Dad gets out of the shower."


OhNickyUrSoFine16: surprise.

joejoescircus89: SURPRISE!!!!!!!

kevwantscoffeenow: surprise, pen. =)


I leapt down the stairs, skipping every other step in my haste, tripping every once in a while but not enough to phase me. I threw open the door (but closed it quietly so I wouldn't alarm my Dad) and tore across the yard in a sprint at the three boys. I screamed as quietly as I could manage and jumped on top of Joe.

He managed to hold me up, but stumbled backwards a little bit. I didn't care. I held on for dear life and squeezed until his face could have turned blue. But no one said anything about suffocation - we were too happy.

I jumped out of Joe's arms and tackled Nick in a huge squealing bear hug, kissing his cheeks over and over and over again. He laughed. Then I turned on Kevin with a devilish smile.

"If you break any of my bones, I can't play the guitar!" Kevin laughed. I shook my head and lurched at him.

"I don't care! I'm so happy! You guys are going to get so tired of me, but I don't care! You're not leaving me!" Kevin spun me around a little bit, then set me down.

"You think we're going to get tired of you?" Nick asked me incredulously. I looked at him and couldn't help but lunge forward for another hug - he's just one of those huggers.

"Probably, but you won't be able to get rid of me. I'm your new stalker!"

"Can you really stalk someone if you have their permission?" Joe asked, picking up a big chunk of my hair and tugging it a little. I bit my lip and thought for a second.

"I guess not... I'm just your... groupie!" We all started laughing hysterically at that idea.

My heart was jumping for joy, I was cheering inside. I wasn't going to be away from them after all! The prospect of waking up every morning in a bunk bed by theirs was a thought I never wanted to let go of. In fact, I just knew I was going to dream about it that night. I slipped my hand in both Joe and Kevin's hands and squeezed tightly, pressing the side of my face against Nick's chest so he would be included.. Joe looked at me.

"Are those my pants?"

[chandy]

I didn't get a wink of sleep that night. I tip-toed across my room, closet and back, thousands of times, trying not to wake up my Dad downstairs. I couldn't quite decide on what clothes to pack. I didn't know why, but I wanted to look nice for the boys everyday. I don't know if I was afraid that if I didn't look cute they'd shun me or what, but I was intent on packing my best outfits for the tour.

And how many clothes would I need? I didn't want to just keep wearing the same outfits every day, did I? Would we have time to shop along the way? Obviously, seeing as the tour overlapped with Christmas. That meant I would have to pack extra money for their presents, and maybe pick up something to send Mom, Dad, Sarah, and Katie along the way. Thank God - goodness. I couldn't say that while on tour with the Jonas' - I had a credit card that tapped into my savings.

My hands were shaking with excitement the whole night - and it appeared I wasn't the only one who wasn't sleeping. Every now and then I'd get a text message or an IM from one of the boys reminding me to pack something stupid for them. At 4: 44 AM, Joe texted me asking that I pack a slinky for amusement on the road because I'd need it.

At 6:30 that morning, I was ready to flee our family property. I had, of course, packed everything I could possibly need and managed to cram it into two huge suitcases my Dad bought for me last Christmas. I almost felt a little guilty running off with the boys without him knowing - it made me feel a little rebellious and rotten.

But I sent that thought to the very back of my mind - this trip was about having fun with the people I loved unconditionally. And I wasn't going to let a silly thing like my Dad not knowing I was across the country ruin that experience for me.

My cell phone vibrating in my pocket sent me into a case of jumpiness. I pulled it out and looked at the cracked screen - stupid Nokia. Why couldn't I be a famous rockstar and have an iPhone, too?

Nick Jonas (555-505-0500)
ready to roll? tour bus is here.

I quickly texted him back saying I was on my way, and hurried downstairs. Luckily, my Dad left for work at 5:30 that morning, so I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally running into him with two suitcases in hand. Mom was downstairs trying to force a bottle of milk on little Sarah. She looked up at me with tearful eyes.

"You call me everyday, understand?" she set down the bottle and hugged me in a motherly way. When she let go, she smiled. The tears were gone, but I could see that she was going to miss me.

"Everyday," I promised, kissing her on the cheek. Then I set out for the Jonas' house - I ran there, which is not an easy task to perform when you're holding two montrous, heavy suitcases AND wearing flip flops that tended to fold over on the cement quite often. Nick and Joe helped me with my suitcases once they saw that I'd rounded the corner, after two very bone-crushing hugs that I happily returned.

After we loaded my bags in the bus with the other suitcases, we all headed inside, ready for takeoff. It was rather luxurious inside - there was a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, and more - I quickly discovered a whole area of four bunk beds for us, I assumed.

"Top or bottom?" Joe asked me. I looked at the two options. They were both identical beds, but the top bunk seemed brighter, because of the window with a steady stream of light filtering through. Sunnier. More optimistic. I told Joe I wanted the top bunk, so he nodded and threw me over his shoulder in response, heaving me up on the bunk. I rolled across the mattress and scowled at him playfully.

"I didn't mean right this second, Joe," I teased, sticking my tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out back and rested his chin against the wooden frame of the top bunk, looking at me.

"What?" I asked, smirking at him. Joe just shook his head and disappeared in his bunk.

"Nothing," he laughed.

"Well, then help me down from here, dummy!" Joe grabbed my arm and yanked me down. I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut, afraid that I'd hit the ground and snap my neck or something, but Joe had me covered. He smoothly caught me in his arms and set me down on the ground of the tour bus.

"Gee, thanks, best friend," I glared, restraining my smile.

"No problem, best friend," he grinned.

"Penny, you want a pop tart?" Frankie quipped from the kitchen. I shoved past Joe but he caught my arm and pulled me back.

"Sure, Frank!" I smiled. Joe took both of my hands and started tangoing with me, swinging and twirling me around until we were in the living room, everyone watching us with amused smiles, except for Nick, who had a tired frown on his face. Maybe he shouldn't have stayed up late to remind me to bring hair products so I could play with his hair.

"Joe," I laughed. "Quit it, let go of me." But I couldn't manage to stop laughing long enough to force him to let go of my hands. I just let him lead me around the dance floor (which was really the area in front of the sofa and chairs in the living room) until he got tired of it. That didn't take long, when he smelled my Pop Tart.

Joe grabbed it before poor Frankie had a chance and took a big slobbery bite out of it. I laughed and tore it out of his grasp as Frankie started whining for him to give it back to me.

"Thank you, Frankie," I said pointedly before taking a bite out of my Pop Tart. "I'll get you back for that one, Joe Jonas."

Kevin, Nick, Joe, Frankie and I passed the next two hours talking - well, Frankie mostly played a Spongebob video game, while the rest of us talked. Out of boredom, we resorted to drawing pictures on each others backs and guessing what the person behind us was drawing. Joe demanded that I be the one to draw on his back, seeing as how I was an expert at it.

"Uh... a cat?" Kevin asked skeptically.

"A house? C'mon, challenge me!" Joe cheered.

"Is it an alien?" Nick asked Kevin.

"Nick, I think you're just scribbling. No, wait, that was a heart! A BROKEN HEART!" I shrieked. Joe laughed and told me to calm down.

"Sorry," I coughed, grinning.

"Joe, what are you drawing?" Kevin finally asked.

"Don't you know your own mother, Kevin?"

"You drew Denise?" I laughed. Joe nodded, looking proud of himself for stumping his big brother.

"Let's do something else," Kevin suggested. Joe shook his head, saying, "No, I like this game..."

"Just because you have Penny," Nick challenged. Joe just shrugged and went, "She IS the best, you know." I blushed and shook my head, heading for the kitchen and coming back with a big bag of green grapes. I set it down in the middle of the small circle we had formed and the boys dove for the grapes instantly. I laughed out loud, and laid down in the floor with my head resting Nick's lap. He gently stroked my hair, pulling softly at different strands of bangs, a little like how I played with his curly hair. He was right; it did feel good.

"So... Kevin," I grinned. "How's your love life?" Joe and Nick both snorted and looked at Kevin for his answer. I knew I had put him on the spot, but what else was there to do, really?

"Um... Good. Yours?"

Joe coughed loudly, a muffled word embedded in the hacking sound. It sounded like "Emily".

"Who's Emily?" I asked. Kevin's face turned beet red as he looked around for a distraction. I told him that he was going to have to answer sooner or later.

"She's a waitress at Starbucks," he explained. I nodded with a smile.

"So that's why you love coffee." Even Kevin had to laugh at that.

"Joe? What about yours?" I caught him off guard - he looked around at me, surprised, but then regained his cool.

"Oh, you know, girls chasing me. The normal." He popped his collar for effect, making me laugh.

"I see." I averted my eyes and looked up at Nick. "Your turn."

"Huh?" A look of horror crossed his face - had he really thought I was just going to skip over him completely? "Oh... uh..."

"Okay, boys, we're here," Mr. Jonas said, poking his head into the room we were in. He looked at me strangely, since my head was nestled in his son's lap, but let it go. It wasn't exactly abnormal. "Let's go."

"Okay, Dad." Joe snatched up the bag of grapes. "I'm taking this hostage." He smirked at me pointedly. I sat up and helped Nick off the ground, slipping my hand in his. We walked all the way through the radio station lobby hand-in-hand, ignoring the strange looks people were giving us as we passed. They probably thought we were seeing each other. Realizing this, I forced myself to let go of his hand. When he looked at me questioningly, I gestured with my head at the swarm of girls banging on the windows who were giving me the evil eye now. He nodded and smiled back at me, linking his arm in mine. That probably looked more friendly to passersby. Joe, Frankie and Kevin soon joined in, so we were a walking Barrel-O-Monkeys. Except, Frankie's feet were off the ground as his brothers carried him to the place where the live interview would take place.

As the boys were interviewed, Mama and Papa Jonas, Big Rob, Frankie, and I sat in some chairs and observed quietly. But, really, Frankie was letting me watch him play SuperMario on his Gameboy or something like that.

When lunchtime rolled around, I decided it was time to check in with my mom. She assured me that my Dad thought I was with my Aunt Jenny and that there were no problems at home. As I hung up the phone, the tour bus was pulling into - no way - a McDonald's.

"Yesss!" I scrambled out of my bunk with delight, tucking the book I was reading - Marley & Me - under the covers, so sticky boy fingers wouldn't discover it and gross up the pages. Joe gave me a piggyback inside and wouldn't put me down until we had our food - so I ordered my McNuggets, fries, and soda one the back of a eighteen year old rockstar. The cashier lady gawked at all three of them but still managed to glare at me at the same time - how many times was that going to happen today?

[chandy]

"First concert, tonight! Whoo!" Joe took my hands and whirled me around like a ballerina until I was dizzy. "Excited, Antelope?" I laughed and stopped the twirling by wrapping my arms around Joe's waist. He stopped and hugged me back, calmly for once, before we were interrupted by Kevin Posey, their makeup and hairstylist.

"It's Joe-time, kid, let's go." He tugged Joe away, and so I started looking around for someone to talk to. Nick was standing by the buffet, contemplating whether or not he should eat the powdered donut.

"Oh, no you don't. You're about to go on stage," I pulled the donut out of his mouth and took a little bite out of it, handing him a stick of celery. He smiled and shook his head at me.

"So, are you excited for your first show?" he asked. I rolled my eyes and placed my hand on his shoulder. I took a second, then, to look over what he was wearing - a black blazer. Very nice.

"Nicky, this is not my first show - I've been to your New Jersey shows." He grinned at me.

"Trust me, these are way different." I ruffled Nick's hair slowly and he closed his eyes. I rolled my eyes and gave him a look even though he couldn't see through his own eyelids.

"Nick, I can't play with your hair here. You're about to do a concert." I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged at a lock.

"What concert?"

I giggled, "Nicky..."

"Please? It will... relax my nerves." Nick took my hand and pulled me over to a chair, where he sat down. "Posey isn't going to appreciate this, you know. Me messing with his handy work."

"Posey can deal," Nick mumbled with a sly smile. I shook my head and surrendered, toying with his dark curls like I always did until the house lights turned off and The Jonas Brothers were expected to go on.

"You have to go now, Nicky. Prayer circle - go." I pulled him up by his forearms and had to drag him over to the circle the crew and band members had formed to pray - my massaging skills had managed to put Nick in a sort of trance.

The concert was nothing short of completely awesome - and Nick was right. It was like nothing I had ever seen them do before. The light were blinding and the songs were amazing. Joe looked right at me standing backstage several times while they sang "Hold On". Because that was one of my songs.

"Are you Penny?" someone asked from beside me. Alarmed, I looked over at her. I didn't notice Miley Cyrus creep up next to me, but she was just suddenly there. She grinned at me, like we were old childhood pals, and hugged me.

"The boys have told me so much about you -" she said with a huge, contagious smile. "You know, they're absolutely crazy for you." I laughed.

"Well, I'm crazy for them. We're pretty much all best friends."

"Joe keeps looking at you," she laughed. I nodded, rolling my eyes. That kid was such a goof sometimes.

"Weirdo."

"Yeah, you know, it really does make sense." And with that, she walked off to talk to one of her dancers, leaving me dumbfounded in the dark. What did that mean? What made sense?

I thought about it, trying to decode her message. So, we were talking about Joe looking at me. Joe looking at me made sense? Did I have something on my face?

I dashed over to the mirror Kevin used to get ready and took a look at my reflection. Nothing - just pale skin, big blue eyes and honey blonde hair. What was Miley talking about?

Did she mean me and Joe made sense? As a couple? No, that was ridiculous. For one thing, Joe and I were just best friends. He knew that and I knew that. And secondly, he was too old for me. There was a full two years and five months between us in ages. Joe was just my big brother.

That probably wasn't what Miley meant, I decided. I tried to forget about it, but there was still that nagging in the back of my mind - I wanted to know what the heck she was talking about! But it wasn't as if I could just go up and ask her, so I folded my arms and waited patiently for the boys to finish their set, for Hannah Montana to go out, so that I could congratulate them. When they finally did, I found myself scrutinizing Joe's every gesture, becoming hyperaware of his presence as I hugged each of them.

"Wow, you're all sweating. You need water-" I took Joe's and Nick's hands and pulled them away, Kevin following. I stole a glance at how Joe reacted to holding my hand - normal. It didn't seem to bother him or give him high hopes. Miley was wrong.

"So, what'd you think?" Nick asked me, squeezing my hand. I thought for a second, to hold up the suspense. Nick gave me a look when I didn't answer right away.

"That totally rocked." We reached a vending machine just outside the entrance to backstage and I bought each of them a cold water bottle.

"Especially that little walk you all do in Goodnight and Goodbye. That was pretty hot," I laughed, twisting the lid off mine and leaning against the white wall, taking a long sip. I didn't realize how thirsty I had become backstage.

"Yeah, I am pretty hot," Joe said. I laughed and reached up to mess up his hair. "Oooh, Posey's gonna kill you!" he accused with a smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, chill, I made it look even better. Right, Nick?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure." I looked at Nick and noticed he was a little distracted - kind of off in his own little world, thinking. I reached forward and held on to one of his dog tags, twisting the chain around my fingers absentmindedly. He looked at me.

"You okay?" I asked him quietly, so his brothers wouldn't hear. But they were too busy fighting over what was better - Dasani or Evian. Nick smiled and nodded quickly, assuring me. I linked my arm with his and we leaned against the wall, my head resting on his shoulder.

"Boys?" Mr. Jonas came looking for them. We all looked at him - he gave me that look again when he saw I was laying on his son. He probably thought me and Nick were a couple by now - that was twice today. But a faint smile crossed his mouth as he looked right at me - a little awkward. I pulled my head off of Nick. "Get ready, you're on in four minutes."

We all went backstage to watch Hannah Montana finish up her last song of the set. Just as they were about to go on, I stood up on the tips if my toes to plant a kiss on Kevin's cheek. I did the same thing to Joe ("Ewww, cooties!") and then turned to Nick, who was off in his own little world again. I leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek, but at the last second he became aware that I was close to him and turned his head to look at me. So I really kissed the corner of his mouth, awkwardly.

"Sorry," I laughed, using my finger to wipe my lip gloss off his lower lip. He gave me a funny look of surprise, but still laughed. I tried again, this time getting the center of his cheek, and pushed him away, towards the stage.

"Don't break a leg, kids. That would be bad," I reminded them with a smile. Joe gave me a thumbs up before skipping out on stage. He purposely tripped on a cord and made all the girls scream. He gave me a look offstage, as I was shaking my head at him. He leapt over to the microphone and muttered.

"Oops. Don't want to break a leg." All three of the boys laughed, and the audience did, too. But they didn't really understand the joke.

I loved my boys.

[chandy]

"Tell me a story," I said, climbing into Joe's bunk and laying down beside him. I used his arm as a cushion as he wrapped it around me, while he thought.

"Hmm... okay," he said. I closed my eyes and snuggled up close to him. I could hear Nick strumming softly in the opposite bunk, but refused to open my eyes to look at him - I was too relaxed. "Once upon a time... there was a princess named... Pennerella."

"Interesting name," I noted. Joe shushed me and told me that I couldn't talk during storytime. I agreed with a small smile.

"And... Pennerella... was kind of weird." I tried not to break out into fits of laughter. I heard Kevin chuckle below Nick's bunk. "One morning her evil dad, the king, told her to go get some... pico de gallo from Albertsons. Because, as we all know, evil kings love Mexican food."

"Joe, that makes no sense--"

"Shh! So, anyways, Pennerella went off to get her dad's pico de gallo and ran into a handsome prince along the way named... Boe Bonas." I stifled my laughter and listened closely.

"Another interesting name."

"What did I say about talking, Pennerella?" Joe continued. "Well, Boe was incredibly attractive, you know. And very funny and sweet and chivalrous -"

"We get the idea, Joe," Nick said from his bunk. I giggled and peered over at Nicky. He was sitting, cross-legged in his bunk with a pad of paper, a pen, and his guitar. He was writing, a thoughtful frown on his face, but still managed to listen to Joe's little fairytale.

"Pennerella asked Boe if he could give her a ride to Albertsons on his galiant white... ostrich. The ostrich was named... Revin Ronas." I was shaking with laughter at this point, trying not to burst out, howling. I cuddled up closer to Joe, resting my hand on his chest, trying to contain myself. He held me closer and rubbed my arm with his warm hand.

"Revin took them all the way to the Albertsons in Minneapolis, instead of just going to the one in Tennessee. Good job, Revin." Joe scowled over at Kevin, making me start shaking even more.

"Joe, does this story have a point to it?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No... And they all lived happily ever after!"

"Of course they did," I mumbled, sitting up in his bunk. He groaned.

"You should just sleep in my bunk tonight, Pen." I shivered and shook my head with a small smile, pulling Joe out of his bunk.

"Can't. My mom's Number Two Rule - no sharing beds. So help me up, Boe. It's sleepy time." Joe laughed and let me stand on his back so I could pull myself into my bunk. I climbed under the covers and turned on my side to watch Nick. He didn't know I was looking at him as he wrote his song. I had to strain to listen to his words.


And everytime I go to sleep
She is in my mind
and everytime I try to think
I can't let the thoughts slide
She's everything I'll ever need
The only reason that I breathe
Oh, I just want her to know
But I'll never let it show
[/pink]

I smiled. How was Nick so good at writing songs? Every time I heard some of his music, his words gave me chills - I wish I was that good when it came to anything I did.

"That's good, Nicky," I whispered, closing my eyes and turning off the light in my bunk. He shuffled for a second, surprised that I had been listening, then mumbled, "Thanks." He didn't sing anymore after that.

"Goodnight, Penny!" a small voice came from the living room, where Frankie was sleeping. I smiled.

"Sweet dreams, Frankie!" I could hear him chuckle a little bit. Maybe he was getting too old for sweet dreams. I sighed. Soon even Frankie was going to be a really weird teenager, like his brothers. That thought was quite frightening.

"Goodnight and Goodbye, JoBros," I yawned. Joe laughed in the bunk below me.

"Night, Antelope. Sleeeeeeeeep tight."

"Night, Penny."

"Goodnight, Pen."

"I love you," I whispered, before drifting off to sleep.

---

"Let her sleep, Joe."

"Oh, come on, she'll want to see this."

"She's tired."

"I'm waking her up."

"No, don't..."

"I'm awake now anyway," I muttered, rolling over. I opened my eyes to see three pairs of brown eyes staring back at me. "What do I want to see?"

I yawned and looked over at the window in my bunk - it was still dark blue outside, and we were parked somewhere. "What time is it?" I asked, before anyone could answer my first question.

"A little after five."

"In the morning?" I croaked, rubbing the sleep out of my eye. Nick nodded at me. "What's so important?"

"We're stuck in traffic, come outside with us."

"What is it?" I asked, closing my eyes and trying to fall back asleep. They didn't answer me, but I felt two arms under my body tugging me out of my comfortable bunk. Joe cradled me against his chest like I weighed twenty five pounds instead of one hundred and five. Normally I would have demanded that he put me down, but I was too tired. So I just leaned against him, dead weight, but he didn't act like he was bothered.

"Watch her head."

"I am!"

"Get the door, Nick."

"This better be really frickin awesome," I mumbled into Joe's neck. He chuckled and my whole body shook while he did.

"You have cute bed hair." I didn't respond, just tried to contain my smile. I was fully awake now, but was content resting in Joe's arms. Why was he always so warm? Once we were outside, Joe set me down on my feet in the grass outside. I looked at the traffic - it was completely packed, bumper to bumper. We weren't going anywhere any time soon.

Then I felt Nick lock his hand around my wrist, and I looked around at what they had woken me up for. I gasped.

It was possibly the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen - not that I was enough of a morning person to see very many. There were streaks of every color imaginable somewhere on the horizon, but mostly it was a mixture of burnt orange and a pale magenta. It was absolutely gorgeous. But what made it even better was that it was still dark enough outside that I could see some stars in the sky - the colors and the bright stars in coalition together were enough to send chills up my spine.

"Holy crow!" I exclaimed. The boys all laughed at my outburst and came closer to me. I put my arms around both Nick and Kevin's waists while Joe hugged my torso from behind us. Everything was perfect.

Just me, my brothers, and the most beautiful view in all the world.

[chandy]

CHAPTER SIX


After traffic started clearing, the four of us were forced to get back on the bus. While Joe and Kevin fell fast asleep almost instantly, Nick and I laid in his bunk for about ten minutes, talking. We were very close next to each other, and his arm was laying on my stomach, face up. I was drawing little invisible circles with my fingertips on his skin until we both fell asleep. That wasn't against the rules, was it? It wasn't as if I was spending the night in his bunk - we were only sleeping for an hour or so. That's more of a nap than anything else.

What my mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"Pen, wake up," someone whispered in my ear - it was the quietest whisper I'd ever heard. Practically non-existent. I felt someone move a lock of blonde hair out of my face and tuck it behind my ear slowly, and my eyes fluttered open to see Nick staring at me.

"What time is it?" I asked quietly, curling up in a ball against Nick - we'd fallen asleep in his bed on top of the blanket, so I was freezing cold. He looked at his watch, "Almost 7:00." I nodded and forced myself to climb out of his bunk, with him after me. I stretched my aching limbs and sauntered into the kitchen, with Nick following close behind.

They had rehearsal almost all day. First it was from eight to twelve, then a short hour-long lunch break - and then back for more rehearsing until four. After that was a dinner break and then a 30-minute sound check at the venue, followed by wardrobe, hair, and make-up. Then show time, and we wouldn't be back on the bus until about midnight. And I thought yesterday was tiresome.

After getting that charming breakdown of the day from Kevin, I took a quick shower and pulled on my favorite gray Jersey dress and a pair of brown suede cowboy boots. I kept my hair in their natural curls and ran some product through my gold locks, instead of straightening it like I usually did. "Well, hello!" Joe whistled at me as I scooted into the booth with them. I laughed. He put his arm around my shoulders and gave me a kiss on the cheek and a half-hug, keeping his arm there as Kevin passed me a Toaster Strudel.

"Mmm, cherry. My favorite," I said, taking a small bite out of it.

"I know," Kevin grinned. I smiled gratefully at him and continued eating my breakfast while the rest of them - having eaten while I was getting ready - just talked with me while I finished. Everything was unfolding so perfectly - I had been dreading this tour all summer, and now I was loving it, because I was with them. And plus, I was getting closer to Joe, Nick, Kevin, Frankie, Mama and Papa Jonas and even Big Rob every day. Especially those first three.

I didn't know why, but just over the last day I had grown even more attached to Nick and Joe and Kevin. Maybe it was because I wasn't afraid to get closer to them anymore, because I knew I wouldn't have to spend a long time away from them. Before, I was hesitant to show too much love towards them because I knew it would become harder to say goodbye - now, those boundaries were gone. It was easier on myself to love them so much. So I decided to stop trying to hide how much I cared about them and just let them know it.

"So I was thinking about doing some shopping today. Maybe take Frankie to the toy store or something. You think he'd like that?" I asked the boys as I took a swig out of my bottle of Diet Coke. I promised Nick that since he shouldn't drink regular soda anymore, because of his diabetes, then neither would I. He seemed to appreciate it.

"He'd love that," Kevin nodded and then smiled. "Remember when you were his babysitter?" I nodded, laughing. "He was in love with you. Everyday it was 'Penny took me to Six Flags!'"

"'Penny let me get a double scoop!" Joe added in his shrilly imitation of Frankie.

"Penny took me to Build-a-Bear, look! I named him BERTIE!" Nick joined in. By this time I was quaking with laughter, almost to the point of tears. I definitely remembered how much Frankie loved spending time with me.

"So, Frankie, how's the mall sound to you?" I asked him with a grin. He eagerly nodded and started jumping around with excitement.

Basically, Frankie and I shopped until three-thirty, so we could meet everyone for dinner break at four. I bought some new things for myself, mainly clothes. The rest was either spent on Frankie or Nick's birthday present, since he was turning fifteen that weekend. I asked Frankie what he thought I should get Nick, but I really didn't think Nick was as big on Webkinz as Frankie was. So, Frankie helped me pick out the perfect present, and I was pretty confident that Nick was going to love it.

I was ecstatic when I spotted the wallet - it was made of stressed black leather with a silver magnet clasp. The best part was that we could get the store to engrave anything we wanted on it. Frankie and I decided it was obvious - Nick's wallet would say PONED in white graffiti. It was possibly the most amazing wallet either of us had ever laid eyes on.

I also let Frankie pick out a present for him to get Nick, but suggested that Webkinz probably wasn't the best idea. Frankie was dead set on giving Nick a vintage Beatles t-shirt that was actually pretty perfect for him.

Then I bought Frankie about a million different Webkins and toys and some ice cream, and he was completely content with his haul on the way back for dinner. I also had bags and bags of new dresses and shoes, some of which were designer that I was completely convinced I had to have. I modeled them all for Frankie, who surprisingly didn't pitch a big fit while I shopped. He told me honestly what he thought of the outfits I tried on and pretty soon I'd spent almost a thousand dollars on the mall trip. Yikes.

When we met everyone back up at the tour bus, the boys were pretty much shocked that we had gotten so much. It took two trips to get all the shopping bags out of the taxi, and that was with the help of Joe, Nick, and Kevin, too.

"You are absolutely out of your mind," Joe said, rifling through one of the bags from Nordstrom. He picked up a pink bag. "Ooh, is this Victoria's Secret?"

"I needed clothes!" I said defensively. "Plus, I'm a girl and I have money... What else could I have done? Hey, hey, drop the lingerie!" I ordered. Joe snickered as I tore the bag out of his grasp.

"Holy crap, these are awesome," Kevin said, pulling a pair of Steve Madden boots out and examining them up close. I grinned, satisfied. "Are those diamonds on the buckle?!" I snatched them up, laughing, and told everyone they should stop worrying about my wardrobe, just as Nick picked up the one bag he couldn't look at.

"What's in here...?" he asked, peeking inside. I grabbed it quickly.

"Oh, no you don't! Those are your presents, Nick, you can't see them yet." He rolled his eyes and gave me a disapproving look.

"Penny, you didn't need to-"

"Yes, I did, Nicky," I said simply, giving him the hand. He grabbed my arms and yanked me across his lap. I shrieked, kicking my feet up in the air.

"Someone tag me!" I yelped as he started tickling me unrelentingly. Then Joe AND Kevin AND Frankie joined in.

"Mercy! Four against one! This is not fair! DENISE!" I howled with laughter and tried to wriggle out of their grasp, but they just weren't having it. "I surrender! I surrender!"

"Let's tie her to the roof!" Joe shouted. My eyes bulged because I could tell he wasn't kidding.

"No!" I gasped, still laughing. I punched Joe in the thigh, but I was too weak to do any damage. "If you don't let me go, I will never touch your hair or back or hand or arm ever again!"

They immediately jumped two feet away from me and Nick held his hands up in an "I give up!" sort of way. I giggled and sat up in Nick's lap. "Finally I know the secret on how to be in control of you kids. Heck yesss! You are my slaves." I teased. I looked at Joe, who had that mischeivous glint in his brown eyes.

"Bring on the shackles!" he hollered before pouncing on top of me and Nick.

I was the filling in a Jonas Brothers sandwich.

[chandy]

CHAPTER SEVEN


Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Nick!
Happy birthday to you!

Nick bent his head over the cake and blew out all fifteen candles in one breath, an amused smile on his face. I was really excited for after the concert, when Nick would open all of our presents - I just knew he was going to like my wallet. At least, I hoped he would.

The girls in the audience all screamed bloody murder as the smoke from the candles billowed out into their faces and Denise took the cake offstage for later. Then Kevin struck up a loud chord on the guitar and they were singing another song for the fanatic girls. I smiled and felt a little lucky.

Those girls were dying to just touch Joe's hand. They screamed every time Nick flexed his muscles in that tank top. They nearly fainted when Kevin started doing his little SOS dance. And I was sharing a bus with them, drinking out of their Gatorade bottles, hugging them every chance I got. As vain as it sounded, I loved being best friends with the Jonas Brothers just as much as I loved being best friends with Nick, Joe, and Kevin. But those two loves couldn't even compare sometimes, because I wasn't one of those crazy stalker girls. I genuinely knew all of them and loved every cell in their bodies.

Miley and I hung out backstage when we could, as we waited for the boys to finish up their sets. She was sitting in her make-up chair while people fretted over her brown hair and I sat in Nick's chair beside her. And we just talked. She really was a sweet girl, and I wanted to continue the mindless chatter about lip gloss and clothes, but I had to know. What made sense?

"Miley," I said, clearing my throat at the same time. She looked at my reflection in the mirror with a patient smile. I smiled back, a little anxious and nervous, although I had no idea why. "You know the other night, at the first concert. We were talking about Joe looking and me and then you said 'it really does make sense.' But you didn't really explain... what did you mean by 'it really makes sense'?" I found myself rushing my words, because they boys were on their last song. Miley's face changed as she gave me an almost sympathetic smile.

"You really don't know what I meant?" she asked. Her hair stylist told her not to move her head hastily and snapped her head back in place. I shook my head at her. "I mean..." Miley began.

"You and Joe. You make sense," she said. "You know, together."

My heart stopped. Surely she wasn't serious. Joe and I weren't romantic; not even close. Why did she think that?

"But, how...?" I asked. She gave me that sympathetic look again as her hairstylist finished and left. She spun her chair around to look at me.

"Because he talks about you. A lot. And he's always giving you those looks, you know. And you're kind of giving them back. I don't know, maybe I'm looking to far into it, but--"

"Maybe you are," I cut her off a little harsher than I'd meant to. It just... bothered me, what she was saying. I didn't understand the overwhelming emotion that was clouding my focus, but it was annoying. It upset me.

"Look, Penny," Miley said softly, standing up and touching my arm comfortingly. "I know it's probably hard to even think about Joe like that, since you've been friends for so long... But, I mean, is it possible that over the years you've developed feelings for him that were... different?" I thought about it for a second.

It was possible, of course. Possible like winning a scratch-off was possible. Just not likely. I didn't want to believe that I could like Joe anything more than what he was to me - a friend. And I didn't want to think about him liking me romantically. It was strange and alien. Uncharted territory. We were just best friends, right?

Just best friends.

The phrase meant less to me now than it had before. Maybe Miley was right, somehow. To an extent, at least, but maybe I had grown too attached to Joe. I didn't want to date him or anything, but I might have become more attracted to him over the past weeks or so than I had before. I couldn't deny that Joe was good-looking - in fact, as I looked at him on stage, he was quite handsome. Almost exotically beautiful. And I remembered back when we were younger, I was quite enthralled by him.

As Miley went onstage, the boys came off. My palms went all clammy and so I hid behind a nearby curtain and spied on them as they searched for me. I watched Joe's face as he asked one of the crew people if they'd seen a really short blonde girl and didn't have to try as hard as I normally would have to hide my laughter. I was too serious now, too antsy to think about laughing.

"Penny?" Kevin whispered. He hadn't seen me, but he was coming closer, like he sensed I was nearby. Knowing that he'd probably find me and make a big scene about me cowering behind a thick curtain, I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back in hiding with me.

"Pen, what are you--"

"Shh! Joe will hear you," I hissed. He shut up, but still had a skeptical look on his face. "What?" he whispered. I looked up at him, letting my true emotions shine through now. I was worried, almost upset. He tilted his head sympathetically and wrapped me up in a hug.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly. I sighed and told him the whole story, with all the gory details of me and Miley's conversation. He didn't say anything, just listened to what I had to say intently, thinking about it.

"I don't know, Pen. Honestly. Joe hasn't said anything like that, really. He usually doesn't, though... Do you like him like that?"

"No!" I said. "I mean... I don't know. If I do, it's been subconsiously. This is just all really confusing me. Dumb Miley," I pouted, folding my arms. Kevin laughed and hugged me again.

"Don't worry about it, Penny. She's probably just saying that to keep you occupied so you're not into Nick," he laughed. I smiled faintly and peeked around the curtain. Nick and Joe were sitting in their chairs, probably dumbfounded at why I wasn't backstage waiting for them like I usually was. They even looked a little hurt - like abandoned puppies. "Just go out there so they don't send out a search party and... see what happens." I smiled at Kevin and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before exiting my hiding spot.

At first, Joe and Nick didn't see me. I walked over to them with a small smile and, without saying anything, plopped onto Nick's lap. At first, alarmed, he jumped. But then he saw it was me and his face softened.

"Where have you been?" Nick asked.

"We've been looking all over for you," Joe said, leaving his chair to kneel down beside us. I smiled.

"Sorry, I went to the bathroom." I leaned over and hugged Joe around the neck. "You guys were sooo awesome! I'm really proud of you," I grinned. I'd deal with that whole Joe fiasco later. Now was time to hang out with my guys. I leaned my head back on Nick's shoulder and we just sat there for a moment, all four of us in silence.

This was how it was supposed to me. No romance. No benefits.

Just best friends.

---

"Fifty-five bottles of pop on the wall! Fifty-five bottles of pop on the wall, fifty-five bottles of pop! Take one down, pass it around! Fifty-four bottles of pop on the wall! Fifty-four bottles of..." We had been at it for hours, singing that stupid song in our hotel room. Since we were planning to stay in this town for the next week for interviews and concerts, we all decided it would be fun to splurge and get hotel rooms. To cut cost, Denise reluctantly agreed that I should share the boys' room, because it came with four beds anyway. Anything was better than staying alone in a strange, empty hotel room. And it was really no different than our bunk area.

"Dude, this is awesome. Why didn't I get one of these for my birthday?" Joe teased me. I gave him a look.

"Because I got you seat covers for your car that had the Jonas Brothers logo on them, that's why! Don't start with me, boy," I said, pushing Joe in the arm with my hand. I'd really almost forgotten about the whole disaster back at the concert - almost. But it did feel different every time he touched me or I touched him; different from before, now that I was more aware of him.

"Where have you been all my life?" Nick asked his wallet as he stuffed his cash and cards inside. I laughed and beamed, watching him as he enjoyed his birthday gift, when I felt Joe's hands snake around my waist and pull me back into his lap. I squealed and laughed some, when I felt someones eyes on me. I looked up to see Kevin staring intently at me.

'What?' I mouthed. He just shook his head.

'Nothing.'

[chandy]

CHAPTER EIGHT


Weeks passed. Weeks quickly turned into months. Time was passing by too quickly for anyone's liking - mine especially. I knew that it was eventually all going to come to an end - I would have to go back to Wyckoff eventually. Back to my mom. Back to my strict dad. Back to school, and off the road. And the Jonas' would move to LA. That idea alone was terrifying enough.

Things had gone relatively back to normal. I'd nearly forgotten all about the possibility of Joe as something more than just my best friend. Sure, every once and a while I'd remind myself of it, or Miley would, and sometimes Kevin would even slip up at the breakfast table and we'd both have to stammer and stumble over our words so neither Joe or Nick would get suspicious. I suspected they would get the hint eventually, which was frightening.

The four of us were even closer now - ten times closer than when we first started touring. I almost felt like part of the band, now - when Nick was writing something and he got stuck, he'd start firing off questions at me like "If your best friend made out with your boyfriend, what would you do to her?" and I'd say "Simple. Wring her neck." And something along those lines would show up as a poetic lyric in one of their songs. I felt important to their success, now, which was a good feeling.

"Let's go see what Nick and Penny are doing..." Joe's voice came from the kitchen. Nick and I were sitting on his bunk, studying for tutoring the next day. Nick was trying to help me with a question when Joe came in with Kevin's trusty video camera.

"Hey, kiddos!" Joe said. Nick and I both looked up and laughed. "Whatcha doin'?" I rolled my eyes and held up a book.

"School! Yaaaaaaaay," I said in a monotone, then turned back to the book.

"For all of you who don't know, that's Penelope, our sort of neighbor and BEST BUDDY! WHOO! Come and give me a hug, Antelope."

"I'm good," I laughed, not looking up from my work.

"Fine. Be that way. I don't need you!" Joe said. I laughed and ignored him, and let Nick try to explain to me for the third time what an epithet was.

"Hey, Kevin! My man. What ya doin'?" Joe zoomed in on Kevin, who was on the computer.

"Oh... you know... stuff." Joe turned the camera so it was on him.

"AWKWARRRD." He turned the camera back on us. "Do something. You guys are boring."

"Shouldn't you be studying something?" I countered with him. Joe shrugged at me.

"I'm a senior. I can slack." I laughed and shook my head, and continued working with Nick. Joe eventually shut off the camera and sat down in the floor in front of me, so I could scratch his back while I worked, which isn't exactly easy, but I managed.

"So, who else is psyched for the concert tonight?" I asked nobody in particular as I packed my schoolwork back up, having just finished the dumb packet. Nick raised his hand.

"Texas is insane! Remember the State Fair?"

"That was awesome," Joe agreed. And it was awesome - despite one single facter. The girl in the third row and her group of friends weren't exactly Jonas Brothers fans. I could tell as I watched them booing and then laughing, joking around and horse-playing as if they were just there to make fun. I knew there were some people out there who disliked the Jonas Brothers - but this girl was just one of those people that I didn't understand. How could she be so cruel?

I kept my eye on her throughout the sets, watching her every gesture. In comparison to the gyrating girls around her who were sweating from dancing to the music, this girl hadn't perspired one bit. She wasn't enjoying the concert and the music; she was enjoying poking fun at Nick and Joe and Kevin. And I knew something wasn't quite right every time she glanced mischeivously at her friends - they were sharing an inside joke through the stare. They were going to try something.

When the boys came off stage after the first set and Miley went on, I pulled Nick off to the side to tell him.

"See that girl? Third row - with the brown hair. She's wearing the black, kind of emo?" I pointed her out to him as she and her friends started making fun of Miley. Her freckled face glared up at Miley as she and her friends just laughed and laughed at some secret joke. I scowled at her.

"Yeah, I saw her. She's not a fan, obviously," Nick said bitterly. I knew he wasn't angry because she didn't like them or the music - she wasn't the only person in the world, and he knew that. What upset him - just like me - was that she had the nerve to show up just to make them feel bad.

"I think she's gonna try something. I just got this feeling, I don't know," I said, folding my arms. Nick wrapped his arm around my shoulders, seeing how upset I was about this. I glowered at the girl in the audience - the girl who didn't deserve to be in the same room as the Jonas Brothers.

"I'll tell Big Rob to watch her - don't worry about it, Pen. Once she has her fun, she'll leave."

But not before she caused a scene. I never took my eyes off that girl throughout the entire show. And when she reached into her bag, my heart stopped. What did she have? A gun? Was she crazy? Then I spotted a large red orb in her hand - an apple.

I started hissing Nick's name, trying to get his attention, waving my arms over my head, even though he was onstage. The girl raised the apple high over her head - she was going to throw it at one of them. How horrible was this girl? Did she have no conscience?

"Rob!" I shouted. Big Rob looked at me and I hurriedly pointed at the stupid girl in the third row.

"HEY!" his deep voice boomed. Joe and Kevin and Nick hadn't noticed Rob's shout. The girl froze and looked over at Big Rob, who was now shoving his way through the crowd of girls. She then turned back to the Jonas Brothers, who still had no idea. And she chucked it on stage with a heavy force.

The apple flew through the air for what seemed like a year. The music faltered; the boys had stopped singing as realization hit them. But they hadn't been fast enough to move out of the way. The apple hit Joe square in the face, hard. I could hear it rebound off the bridge of his nose.

"Joe!" I shouted, almost running out on the stage.

"Run!" the girl laughed. She and her friends bolted to the exit, with Big Rob and some other security guards running after them, as the boys hurried off stage, Joe grasping his face. I hurried over to him.

"Did you see that?!" Kevin shouted angrily. "Uh!"

"Joe, let me see. Let me see," I pulled his hands away from his face. There was no blood or swelling, but his face was still pink. "Are you okay?" His eyes were upset - like the face of someone who's close to crying, but not quite there. He didn't cry, but he was bothered.

"How could someone be so heartless?" I fumed as I pressed a pack of ice against Joe's face, five minutes later. The crown was becoming restless, chanting. But I wouldn't let Joe go back out there until I was sure he was alright.

"Penny, I'm fine, really-"

"I mean, how can she sleep at night?"

"Antelope-"

"And she didn't even look guilty! I mean, who does that?!"

"Penny!" Joe laughed. I looked up at him and felt a sudden urge to reach out and touch his still troubled face - I stopped myself by using both hands to set down Joe's ice pack. What was going on with me?

"I'm sorry, Joe..." I muttered, sighing. "It just made me so mad... I don't even -" I groaned in frustration. There weren't even words to describe how furious I was that someone could do something so terrible to such a great guy.

"Penny, I'm alright - not a scratch. In fact, I think I look quite pretty, don't you?" Joe teased. I smiled and gave him a hug. "Don't worry, Antelope. Not everyone loves me like you do."

Like I didn't already know.

[chandy]

CHAPTER NINE


I woke up in the middle of the night nestled comfortably under the covers of my bunk with Nick beside me. I was so tired after the stressful concert that he had to carry me all the way back to the bus, while I was fast asleep. I didn't even remember how he'd ended up in my bed, but was grateful for his company nonetheless.

I looked at Nick's wristwatch - it was 2:00 AM. I slithered my arms under Nick's arms and hugged him tightly, pressing my face against his bare chest. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, listening to the smooth sound of Nick's heartbeat, contentedly. I was vaguely aware of the world around me as Nick stirred.

"Penny?" he mumbled groggily.

"Yeah?" I said into his chest. He was silent for a very long time, just hugging me.

"Nothing," he finally said, though I could hear the smile in his voice. I felt his lips on my hair and tried to remember how to breathe steadily - it was difficult.

"I love you, Nicky," I whispered.

"I love you, too, Pen."

I kissed his jaw lightly and fell back asleep.

---

The next day we had to get ready for an early radio interview, which we had to be ready for at 7:00 - even though the boys weren't going to be interviewed until eight or so. After the interview, where they'd sing two songs, the boys were supposed to meet a radio contest winner in one of the lobby rooms. So we wouldn't make it back to the tour bus until ten thirty that morning. Then we only had three hours to ourselves until it was time for another interview and photoshoot.

Right after the radio interview, during the three unscheduled hours, Nick was laying down pretty much on top of my stomach as I ran my fingers lightly through his hair. Kevin, Nick, Joe, Frankie, Miley, her little sister Noah, and I were all hanging out and watching a movie in the middle of the living room. Noah and Frankie were off in their own little corner, playing with a huge mountain of colorful Webkinz, while the rest of us watched National Treasure, of all things.

"Ooh," Joe once mused. "That was witty, Nicholas Cage. You sly fox."

I laughed, "Joe, be quiet."

"Nick, are you even awake?" Kevin asked. I looked down at Nick, whose eyes were closed and wasn't moving, except for the rise and fall of his chest every once and a while.

"Nick?" I whispered. He didn't even stir and I chuckled quietly, catching Miley's eyes and grinning. "This kid." I shook my head as Miley turned back to the movie, barely acknowledging what I had said. She was probably too engrossed in the movie.

"I think I'm going to marry the guy that plays Riley," I said when the credits started rolling. Nick was still laying across my abs, fast asleep under my hand. Even though he was asleep, I kept twirling his hair around my fingers. Joe looked over at me and gave me a look.

"He's like, thirty."

"So? He's adorable." Joe scrunched up his nose and crawled over to me.

"He has glasses."

"So do you!" I exclaimed.

"At least I have the decency to get contacts."

I rolled my eyes, "Joe, you are one wild child."

"And you love it."

"That I do," I looked down at Nick. I nudged his shoulder softly, trying to get him to wake up. "Nii-iiiick?" I sang. I tugged on his ear slightly. "I can't feel my stomach anymore, Nicky."

"Hhhnnnnnnnnnngggghh," Nick grumbled, rolling over so his face was pressed into my t-shirt. Everyone started cracking up hysterically, including me. Even Frankie stopped his Webkinz obsession to point at his big brother and laugh.

"Charming, Nicky." I poked him in the shoulder blade. "Nick. Niick. Nick!"

"What." He furrowed his eyebrows, eyes still shut. I shook my head. "You're on me."

"Huh?"

"Nicky, I can't breathe."

"Wha? Oh! ...Sorry." He rolled off of me.

---

"Hey, Joe Bro the JoBro! Come help me," I hollered throughout the tour bus. I didn't know where he was, but the crossword puzzle I was working on was asking a Superman question and there was only one person I knew that knew Superman better than Tom Welling - and that was Joe Jonas.

"With what?" he yelled back from somewhere at the other end of the bus.

"Superman!" I felt a slight rumble as Joe jostled the bus around, running to come find me. That was the magic word. I shook my head and clicked my pen a couple of times. When I looked up again, he was flying across the room to sit by me.

"Joe." I looked at him. "Why aren't you wearing clothes?" I tried not to laugh at the Many Faces of Spongebob boxers he was wearing and looked down at my crossword.

"You said Superman." I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Okay, help me out here," I said, finding the question I had called him in for. "Okay, who is the supervillain who kills Superman? Wait, Superman died?"

"Oh, I dunno," Joe shrugged, putting his arm around me and flipping on the TV. I gaped at him with a smirk.

"You are useless sometimes." Joe looked at me with that crooked grin he got sometimes, before leaning over and giving me three big, wet kisses on the cheek.

"Ah, Joe, gross!" I laughed, wiping them off. An offended look of mock horror crossed his face.

"Did you... did you just wipe off your cheek? Bad choice," he grinned. I shook my head. "No, no, no, Joe!"

As he pounced on me, pinning my against the couch with his strong arms and covering my entire face with slobbery Joe kisses, realization struck me like a sudden bolt of lightning.

Miley's right. I thought. I'm in love with him.

[chandy]

CHAPTER TEN


My palms were itching with excitement as I gazed into the full crowd of music stars - they were all dressed in their most glamorous dresses and suits and everyone was there. Beyonce, Lenny Kravitz, Timbaland, Akon, Carrie Underwood, Maroon Five and, best of all, The Jonas Brothers.

I was beyond proud of them. Everytime I thought of them up there singing on the American Music Awards like the rockstars they were, a tight knot formed at the bottom of my throat and my vision became slightly blurry. My boys, my best friends, famous. It was the best feeling in the world, waiting for them to step out on stage through the red glass panes.

Honestly, the glass thing made me pretty nervous - The boys were supposed to break out of the glass - physically break it - and then sing SOS as a sort of irony deal. It's like I'm walking on broken glass... It sounded interesting, but made me cringe. I knew those guys - they had too much energy, something could go wrong. Sure, it wasn't real, hard glass but it wasn't exactly dull, either. Still sharp enough to cut them. And what if a shard flew out into the audience and plunged straight into Adam Levine's jugular? That would be horrible.

"You're gonna do great, Nick," I promised, pulling him close to me in a long hug. I squeezed my eyes shut and hugged him as hard as I could manage, so he would know how proud I was of him. How excited I was for him. He hugged back, but I could feel his hands shaking with anxiousness. "It's going to rock. Don't worry about it." I reached up and ruffled his hair so it fell into his face clumsily, but it still looked good. I don't think it's possible for Nick not to look good. Same with all of his brothers, for that matter.

Speaking of Nick's brothers, Joe and I were still just friends, as usual. But now that I knew how I felt about him truly, I suddenly became hyperaware of how much I flirted with him unintentionally. Intentionally, I was an idiot, but he didn't act like he noticed any change in me.

"Good luck, Kevin!" I called over to him, as he was busy strapping on his guitar. He winked at me and gave me a thumbs up. I looked around frantically for Joe, now - they were supposed to go on stage in three minutes. I had to wish him luck before he went out there. Finally, I saw him talking to a gorgeous light-haired girl near the stage entrance. My fists clenched slightly as a pang of jealousy struck my heart - this whole thing was driving me crazy. Why, of all people, did I have to love Joe? Why did it have to be one of my best friends?

"Joe!" I said, rudely ignoring the girl he was chatting with to wrap my arms around his waist and press the side of my face against his chest. I know I was being slightly mean, but the acid look the girl gave me made me forget any guilt I had formed. It was a full-out venomous, white-hot glare. There were no other words to describe it. I grinned at her and her face transformed into a smile - conveniently right when Joe looked back at her.

Joe introduced the girl to me as Kayslee, a good friend of Vanessa Hudgens', apparently. She smiled warmly as she shook my hand, but her gaze was fierce and cold. I knew that she was angry because I'd interrupted her chat with Joe Jonas. That was the only reason she could have hated me so suddenly.

"Good luck," I said to him as we walked over to where he'd enter the stage. He smiled at me. "Please don't break a leg. I'm serious," I warned him. Joe pressed his hand against the small of my back and brought his eyes level to mine, like I was a little child being comforted.

"I'll be fine." It seemed out of place that he should be reassuring me that he'd be okay - he should have been the nervous one, like Nick. But, then again, Joe had been gyrating on the stage for a while and was already hyped up on his Red Bull fix from lunchtime.

"Do good, Superman," I told him, before pushing him toward Kevin and Nick, a small butterfly fluttering around in the pit of my stomach. I was more nervous than Nick was, now. I pulled one of my hands out of my pocket and observed it - I was shaking quite violently. It was the AMA's, after all.

I snuck out into the audience when it was time for them to sing SOS. A entire swarm of girls had sprinted to the stage (as planned at rehearsal) and were going crazy. Nobody would notice if I just slipped in to watch the boys sing for four minutes.

The drums started. The chords started the quick, upbeat pattern that started off SOS. And then, I could just barely see their shadows behind the pale red glass - then, crash.

The glass practically dissolved onto the stage, leaving little crystalized shards all over the black ground. I grinned - it was turning out cool. And then, something horrible happened in the slowest second. Joe tripped.

It was one of those falls that I normally would have found hilarious and laughed at - but I couldn't, because I saw dashes of red against the knee cap his white suit. Blood. Wonderful.

I shook my head as Joe jumped back up, like an energetic jack-in-the-box, covering the fall pretty well as a strange Joe-move. The crowd still cheered throughout the song, the girls around my screaming and reaching out to touch Joe's hand. I cringed as I saw the nasty gash along the skin of his palm.

I separated myself from the crowd and hurried around backstage, so I could be there when they came off. Denise looked mortified, while Frankie found it really amusing. I wasn't sure - I wanted to see if he was okay first.

When he came off stage, Joe was smiling - he didn't get a chance to poke fun at himself for falling, because I cut him off immediately.

"Joe, you're bleeding," I said, grabbing his hand to look at it. He hadn't known he was bleeding - he had only felt the pain. "Come on, we need to clean this up."

"Should I call the medic?" Kayslee asked Joe, resting her manicured hand on his shoulder without even glancing at me. I hastily told her no and lead Joe to the bathroom.

"You can't be in here -" he joked, covering my eyes with his good hand while I dragged him through the men's restroom, to the sink. Luckily, there was nobody inside to see me, a girl.

"You're bleeding and I don't care," I chuckled, turning on the warm water and putting Joe's hand underneath the faucet. The water cascaded across his palm, over the bleeding slice in his skin where the glass cut him. "Have you ever gone through a whole tour without hurting youself, Joe?"

"No," Joe laughed. "But not like this." I smiled and turned off the water, pulling his hand close to my face to examine it. The cut was clean and I couldn't see any glass, but there was still blood seeping out. I went into a stall and brought out a roll of toilet paper and dabbed at the cut. Then I started unrolling the paper, wrapping it around and around Joe's hand until I couldn't see the cut anymore.

"Okay, let me see that knee," I told him. Joe rested his leg on top of the sink while I looked over his knee - it wasn't as bad as his hand, but I washed it off anyway, to make sure it wouldn't get infected.

"Feel better?" I laughed as I tossed the paper towels I'd used on him in the trash can. Joe nodded, pulling himself up to sit up on the sink.

"Thank you, Nurse Penny," Joe teased in a shrilly little boy's voice. I couldn't help but laugh and look up at him.

"You're welcome. Try not to hurt yourself anymore this month, Joseph. I'm running out of first aid skills," I laughed, clasping my hand over his arm and staring at him - he really did have the prettiest eyes I'd ever seen, especially with the eyelashes that even I - a girl - would kill for.

"Thanks, Penny," he said quietly, leaning in to hug me. I chuckled and told him he already thanked me. "I know. I wanted to say it again." I hugged him back, squeezing his torso tight. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, catching the faint smell of Joe's cologne. I nearly melted in his arms right there. My stomach knotted up in a stranglehold and it took me a second to remember that I had to breathe normally and not start hyperventilating.

Joe pulled back, but then stopped as our eyes locked. He was two inches away from my face, if that, gazing back at me silently. Neither of us said anything or had any emotion on our faces. When I saw Joe's glance shift to my mouth for a split second, I knew what was going to happen.

As our lips crashed together, we both tensed up, not sure what to do. The ultimatum was apparent, hanging over our heads like a storm cloud. Something like this could ruin the wonderful friendship we shared - neither of us wanted that to happen. However, I wasn't sure about him, but at that moment I wanted nothing more than to kiss him back.

His lips softened against mine, as if he had just made up his decision. He wanted it too. The kiss deepened, and I felt him brush my hair out of my face and behind my neck. Chills ran up and down my arms and my blonde hair bristled at his warm touch and he pulled away, very, very slowly.