NICK'S POV:
Wow...where can I start?! Having Ellie on tour with us has been the greatest. And also, since our appearance in the Hannah Montana episode aired two days ago, I'm sure our fan-base is just going to grow and grow. Put it this way: I'm feeling pretty amazing, myself... Let me just pause for a moment for a quick self-check: "Hey, self...are we good...?" Yep, we're good! I think it's been just over a month since we first brought Elise along on our tour with us, and I can definitely say that she's gotten really well adjusted! In almost three hours we're gonna be leaving for San Juan, Puerto Rico, to play at the "Centro de Bellas Artes." I'm so stoked about this, since we haven't ever played anywhere except for the typical states in the US, so it's really new to us to be performing there! After tonight, we only have eight more shows left to play for this tour...
Kevin comes over to me, and interrupts my thoughts.
"I finally got Joe's hat that he wears all the time! I totally teefed it!" Kevin grins with wide eyes, holding it out to me. "Ten bucks says the thing smells like feta cheese."
"Five bucks says it smells like cottage cheese..." I raise an eyebrow.
He looks at me and smirks, "...Deal."
We shake hands, and Kevin throws the hat on the hotel room's desk.
"...Nine more shows left to play," he mentions, as he drags Joe's suitcase off of his bed, and onto the floor. (Joseph is always the last one to get all of his clothes together!)
"Technically eight, if you don't count tonight's show," I point out.
Elise walks in our room, "Are you guys ready yet? Your mom's kind of getting anxious..."
"Yeah, we're good," Kevin shuts and locks the door behind us as we exit the hotel room. We get in the elevator, and I press the button with the big "1" on it.
"...So what are you guys gonna be wearing tonight?" Ellie asks over the elevator music. Lately, it seems as if she has an interest in what we wear on stage.
"Just what we have on, I guess," I tell her.
"Hmm..." She looks Kevin and I up and down, furrowing her brow. "Nick, you should wear a tie or something."
"Heh!" I release a small chuckle. "Thanks, but too late. You should've told me that before I packed my bag!"
"It's okay. At least your hair is good," she sends me a warm smile. "It sends sort of a subliminal touch-my-face message. Very effective."
"Thanks," I smile back. "For a while there, it felt like my hair had immunity to combs... It was like one big curly mess!"
"AKA poodle-hair," Kevin adds quietly."AKA the hair that legends are made of!" I give him a small punch in the arm.
"Yeah, like Jimi Hendrix!" Elise points out."Exactly!" I smile at her.
The elevator door opens, and Joe is standing there, waving his arms in front of his body like a worm.
"Ooohhh!" He says in a low, singsong voice. "I am the elevator monster! I eat people who come off of the elevator!"
"Now what if we were some other random people?" Kevin laughs, moving Joe out of the way.
Joe shrugs, "I would've ate them."Ellie laughs, exiting the elevator, "Joseph Jonas...you're hilarious."
"Joe is hilarious...he's funny," I tell her. "But he steals all his jokes from me...remember that!"
She laughs again, and we exit the hotel through the spinning front doors. (Needless to say, Joe gets carried away with the spinning doors!) We exit the building to find our tour bus out front; ready and waiting to take us to the airport.
Elise begins to shiver, "Maybe I should have worn something more than a t-shirt... I always do this!"
"Yeah," Kevin laughs, putting an arm around her shoulders. "The seasons are definitely changing!"
"Holy mother! Can you believe it's August 19th already?!" Joe exclaims, examining the calander on his Blackberry. "Where has the summer gone?"
In case you haven't noticed, the summer is fleeting as we speak. The season is almost over, but as it winds down, many are taking advantage of those last opportunities, trying to squeeze every remaining bit out of summer's final days. In my dad's words, "we might as well end the summer off with a few days away from it all," which is what we're doing by going to Puerto Rico! ...Plus, fall is still hundreds of hours away, so we're gonna rock on and summer it up!
Staring out of the bus' window, I begin to realize (yet again) how blessed I am. I mean...I'm on my own tour bus!
"This is awesome, you guys," Ellie tells us, dreamily, with the same look on her face as mine.
"I know," I smile at her. "I was just thinking the same thing!"
"And you guys do this, like, every day?!"
"Pretty much," Kevin informs her. "Let's see... A generalization of our average day would pretty much be, like...we wake up early, do radio interviews, then some more interviews, either in person or over the phone. Then a meet and greet with fans, then sound check, and then play a show! We then drive to the next city and do it all over again!"
"That's crazy!" She shakes her head in disbelief. "So it must be sort of like your perfect day?"
"Haha, you might think so, but it isn't, really," I tell her. "I guess on our days off we have this thing that's kind of set in stone, where it's kinda like the perfect day for us."
"What would that be, then?"
"Well, we're big golfers, right? So we would wake up, then play a game of golf right away. After that, we'd go have some lunch with our friends, and go see a sporting event or something. Then we would go eat some dinner, and then," I shrug. "Go see a movie, I guess."
"It does sound fun!"
"Yeah, it's all pretty awesome."
"What about recording, though?" She continues to ask. "Where do you find the time to do stuff like that."
Joe jumps in, and answers this one, "Well, with our last two albums, we made time for the studio, no problem. But now, since we have such a busy schedule, I don't really know what we're gonna do... I guess we still have a lot of time to figure that kind of stuff out. After all, our self-titled album just came out, right?"
"Yeah... Haha, sorry I'm asking so many questions... I'm just really curious about your lifestyle!" She sends a smile my way. "It has changed so much since I last knew you guys...just like you all have..." She shakes her head to get rid of her random thoughts, "So what's better; playing live, or making a new record?"
"Umm, we really like to be creative, so the studio's a lot of fun for us, and writing our songs is fun," I say. "But then, also when we're done doing that, we're always ready to get back out and, you know, go play them. So, umm, you know, I think we couldn't really chose one over the other, but in a way they're both equally good."
"Ten minutes to the airport," our father informs us from the front of the bus, where he is seated with our mom, Frankie, and Simon, Ellie's dad.
Ellie squeals, "Oh, man, this is so exciting! I've never been to Puerto Rico before!"
Joe smirks at her, and gives her a quizzical look, "You seem really...different lately. I don't know what it is, but I like it... You're much more talkative it seems."
"Hmm...I guess I am! It's probably just that I've finally warmed up to you. I'm definitely more comfortable around you guys now!"
"That's for sure!" Kevin smiles at her, and pats her arm. "It's great to see you so enthusiastic and happy, Elise!"
"Heh, I'm glad you feel that way."
ELLIE'S POV:
I mean, it's good to hear that Kevin cares about me, and I know he means the best...but I don't like being talked to like a child, and I hate being constantly reminded of how depressed I was not too long ago. I don't want to say anything, but I wish they could just hear me out. I don't think it's too much to ask...or is it? Anyways, I don't want to think about that anymore, or else I'll just end up re-thinking about my depression, and possibly even fall back into it. So for now, all I will think about is the present and the future...how I am on tour with the Jonas Brothers...how I am going to Puerto Rico...and...how suggestive that look is that Joe is giving me?! Whoa, am I ever confused! I can't think of boys right now... I mean, I just got out of a depression! Right now, I can only think of my life, and how well it's going... Ahh, now I'm thinking about my depression! I honestly don't know if this is good or bad...
"Mom said two minutes 'till the airport!" Frankie runs from the front seat towards us. He sounds really excited!
"I bet the airport is fan-central, hey?" I ask.
"Yeah, a lot of the time it is!" Kevin laughs. "For example, you'll be looking at magazines at an airport, and you'll see a girl, like, holding up a magazine and your face is on the page, and you're like, 'okay, I'm just walking away now!' It's a little, uhh, strange!"
"Wow, have you ever actually been mauled or anything?" I laugh.
"Well, not at an airport... But this one time, Nick was backstage after a show and the doors just burst open and then, like, 30 girls just rushed in and were grabbing him and hugging him! We were freaking out; we didn't know what to do! We had no security!"
"Holy moly! That sounds intense!" I gasp, wide-eyed.
My father comes to the back of the bus from one of the front seats, as we're pulling up into one of the largest driveways I have seen in my life. It looks like we're here!
"Okay," he pulls the four of us together; Nick, Joe, Kevin and I. "This is how it's going to work out; we are going to have three different groups so we can navigate the airport quicker. We will all meet up in exactly fifteen minutes at security. Listen carefully, so you know which group you are in. Group one will be Frankie and Denise, and they will be getting the plane tickets for everyone. Group two will be Kevin Sr, Kevin Jr, and Nick, and you will be in charge of the luggage, and getting it all through the baggage check. And finally, group three will be Joe, myself, and Elise, and we will be going to the small airport shops to get whatever is on the list that Denise has for us."
"Fantastilistic!" Joe grins cheesily.
"Alright!" My dad claps his hands. "Let's go!"
The whole family files out of the bus, quickly getting all of our belongings, and sorting ourselves into the three groups my dad just told us about.
"See you at security," Nick says, giving me a quick hug.
"It's only fifteen minutes, Nick!" I laugh.
"Yeah," he blushes. "I know..."
"C'mon, Ellie, ma smelly jelly-belly," Joe somewhat raps. "Err...that came out way wrong..."
"Haha, I was hoping so!" I start walking with him and my dad into the building.
"Okay! Elise and Joseph!" He says, while we're coming up to the shops. "We only need a couple of things, so I'm going to have the both of you pick out one book or toy for Frankie to have on the plane in this shop, and I'll be right next door."
"No problem," I wave to him, and Joe and I enter the tiny toy shop. "It's so colourful in here!" I remark.
"Hey, look at this!" Joe shoves a clown toy right in front of my face.
"Ahhhh!" I scream, and jump back a little. "Oh, man! Major shivers running down my spine from horror right now!"
"Oh, crap, I'm so sorry!" He laughs a little.
"You know, it would be funny if it wasn't so gut-wrenchingly terrifying!" I let out a little laugh as well. "So, to change the topic, I bet you're used to travelling so much by now, huh?"
"Sort of...but it still hasn't lost its fun!" Joe tells me, as we walk down the aisles of the toy shop. "Like, we were all born in different states, because our parents liked to travel a lot, so we've lived in a lot of different places... But I've never been to Puerto Rico before!"
I pick up a cute little toy off one of the shelves, "Aww, cute! Turn this toy upside down, and it giggles...how can you resist?!"
"Naw, it's too childish."
"Hey! I like it!" I laugh.
"Then get it for yourself!" Joseph laughs at my inner childishness as well.
"Maybe this, then?" I show him a puzzle book. "It's full of puzzles and games that will keep any kid busy at least for awhile. I'm sure Frank would be amused for an hour at the least! ...Oh, nevermind!" I rapidly change my mind as I spot a small stuffed polar bear sitting on a shelf with multiple other stuffed animals. "How about this?" I ask, picking it up in my hand.
"Oh, he'll love you forever if you get him one of those!" Joe smiles. "It's called a Webkin."
"Hmm...cool, I've never heard of it before. Let's get it!"
NICK'S POV:
It made me sad to watch her go with Joe. I hate it when I get shy around girls I like. I'm almost 100% sure that Simon was the one who made the list of the airport groups. I'm only saying that since if it was one of my parents who made it, they would've known to put me with Ellie... Thank goodness my mom is the one who is going to be giving us our plane tickets!
I sigh. It's really starting to seem like Joe is beginning to feel something more for her, too. This really isn't good. He's always the more confident one around girls. Knowing me, this is going to be in my mind until something else happens. And knowing me...that something else probably won't be something that I do. I sigh again.
"What's wrong, bro?" Kevin asks. "You've just been standing here the whole time...you haven't even taken in a single bag yet!"
"Mmm...just thinking..." I mumble, still zoned out in my thoughts.
"Well, put your thoughts on hold for a few minutes," Kevin tells me as he lugs another bag from the under-side of the bus. "We need to do this quickly, remember? We need to meet at security in less than 10 minutes now, and we don't want any hold-ups, like...*cough*...fans!" He laughs, and walks away, lugging the bag by his side.
Kevin is right, like usual. Sometimes I just get too caught up in my thoughts, and have trouble focusing on anything else. I really need to fix that. I grab a semi-large bag from the side storage space of the bus, and roll it through the automatic airport doors.
My heart sinks even deeper into my chest when I spot Joe and Ellie laughing together, and walking towards where I'm headed. For a reason unknown even to myself, I pretend like I don't see them, and keep my eye straight ahead.
"Nick!" I can hear Ellie call my name. I pick up the pace, walking a little faster, while continuing to stare straight at the "Baggage Check" sign.
"Nicholas!" Joseph yells in a harsher tone. I can see that people are starting to look over. I turn around...only so we won't cause a commotion and attract unwanted attention from people.
"Oh, hey guys," I act as if nothing is wrong.
"Is that the last bag you're taking in?" Joe asks, walking beside me.
"Uh, no. Dad's just about to bring the last two in."
Am I overreacting?
We reach the security gates, and my father soon joins us, along-side Simon, Frankie, and my mom. Kevin glances at our mother, and I can hear him whispering to Elise.
"Oh, man! Our mom has, like, a whole pharmacy in her bag," he sighs to her. "It'll take forever to get through security with all that going through the scanning devices!"
She laughs, and I smile at that. My mom hands me my plane ticket. First Class, Gate A12, Seat 14B.
"Guess who's seat 14A," my mom tells me gently, and smiles softly.
I think I am overreacting...
She can probably tell that I had been upset a little because of Ellie and Joe going off together and having a good time like they did... My mother's like that. She can usually tell how I'm feeling, and it's great. It's one of the many reasons why I love her.
"Alright," my mom says to all seven of us. "We have to be on the plane in fifteen minutes, so I want all of you to get through security quickly, and board the plane through Gate A12."
We spread ourselves between two security gates leading to Gate A12. My mom, dad, Frankie, and Kevin are making their way through the first security check, as Simon, Joe, Ellie, and myself are going through the second one. Now that we've been travelling by plane quite often, this whole ordeal is kind of like a routine to us now!
"What seat are you, Nicholas?" Elise asks me as we are in line. She peers over my shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of my plane ticket.
I quickly stuff it into my chest pocket so she won't see, "I dunno...!" I say in a flirty tone. "I guess you're gonna have to find out!"
"Sir, I am going to need that ticket," the female security guard holds out her hand.
"Oh, uh...sorry," I mumble, awkwardly, fumbling with my carry-on luggage to get the ticket out of the pocket I had just put it in. After handing the paper to her, she examines it briefly.
"You may step through, sir," she hands it back to me, and I can hear Ellie giggling behind me...probably at how strict the security guard is...or at how awkward I must have seemed.
Once we all get through all of the security systems and scanning devices, we briefly gather around the entrance to Gate A12 and, making sure everyone is present, we board the plane. We all make our way to the First Class area of the cabin, and I find my seat without a problem. Ellie, however, is still boarding after us with her father. From my seat, I can see her enter First Class. She continues to look around the cabin, then look back down at her ticket. From what I can see, Simon is telling her where he will be seated, then points towards me to where her seat is located on the plane. I quickly turn my head so she won't notice me watching her. A few moments later, Ellie appears in the row beside my seat.
"I knew it!" She puts her hands on her hips. Laughing to myself, I stand up to let her get into her seat beside the window. Once she is seated, I sit back down beside her.
"Knew what?" I ask plainly, still smirking.
"That you were going to be my plane buddy!" She laughs at the term she uses, but still insists that I give her a straight remark with the look she gives me.
"Oh?" I hold in another laugh. "Really?"
"Well, it's kind of simple... Your mom is with Frankie, and my dad is with your dad. That left me, you, Joe, and Kevin."
"Exactly," I state matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow, unsure of what she means.
"Exactly."
"So you could have been with Joe or Kevin."
"Or I could, just as easily, have been with you," she smiles, looking straight at me.
I look at my reflection in her eyes. My face is blank, but filled with questions at the same time. I can't speak.
She lowers her voice, "...Exactly."
prev chapter
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Subscribe
Flag Writing
