Crawling Back To You

Nick’s POV

“Okay you two, so the bottom line of this conversation was?” Kevin asked, pacing back and forth on the opposite side of the kitchen table. Kevin made Joe and me sit down to give us a lecture about the upcoming events of the next week.

“Don’t tell Dina we are going to New York,” Joe and I repeated, slowly and in sync.

“And why not?”

“Because you want to surprise her,” Joe and I said together.

“Excellent. You boys are free to go.”

“Thanks, Kevin. You successfully wasted…five minutes of our time. You could have told us that in thirty seconds.”

“Whatever. Just don’t screw this up, got it boys?”

“Yes, master,” I joked.

Tomorrow my family is leaving for a few days of promotional things in New York City. Kevin plans on showing up and surprising Dina while she was out at a club or something. Personally, I think it’s a bad idea. Seeing Dina isn’t the bad part of the idea—it’s the surprise aspect that makes the plan faulty. I didn’t say that to Kevin of course, because I don’t have a reason why I think it’s a bad idea. There’s just something telling me that he shouldn’t do it.

It’s been two weeks since Megan and I had our little issue, putting us in the middle of March, and we’ve been going strong ever since. Joe and Pamela are great, however Kevin and Lexie are not. A few days after Kevin threw Lexie out of our house, she started calling. Kevin ignored the calls, which led her to start calling not only me, but Joe and Megan as well. Finally, Kevin answered a call from her and told her they needed to take a break. Of course, Lexie threw a fit and begged him not to do it. Kevin wasn’t bothered by her fit and it only pushed him away from her even more. This secretly made the family very happy. None of us like Lexie. Sure, at first we did, but now, she’s too clingy. Even Frankie noticed it. I held my tongue about her though, because Joe said enough negative things about her for the both of us.

Megan is currently in Kansas. The team played a friendly match against the women’s team from Argentina in Kansas City two days ago. Instead of flying back with the team, Megan went with Heather to visit Heather’s aunt in Wichita.

Speaking of Megan, “Hey girlfriend,” I said, attending to my ringing phone.

“Hi boyfriend! How are you?”

“Missing you. How are you?”

“Missing you more,” she laughed. “Ready to go tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Kevin just gave Joe and me a lecture about how we’re not allowed to tell Dina that we’re going into the city because he wants to surprise her. He’s going to use his ‘celebrity ways’ to find out what club Damien is going to be at tomorrow night and just show up and find her.”

“Is that such a good idea?”

“Not really, but, if he wants to do it, I’m not going to stop him.”

“Yeah. It’s not our place to interfere.”

“Exactly. So how’s the middle of nowhere?”

“Oh, stop it. Kansas isn’t that bad,” Megan said, placing emphasis on the that. I didn’t say anything as I simply waited for her response. “Okay, okay, it’s a little boring. I haven’t seen a hill the entire time I’ve been here. It’s so flat here, which I guess is the reason there are farms everywhere—literally everywhere. No disrespect to them or anything, but I’m definitely a city girl. This is almost like culture shock to me.”

“I guess Dorothy experienced culture shock when she was taken away from her farm life.”

“I asked Heather’s uncle if he knew where Dorothy lived and he yelled at me!”

“He yelled at you?”

“Jokingly. He said Kansans hate it when people talk about the Wizard of Oz.”

“Well how were you to know? You’re not a Kansan!”

“Exactly! The waiter at the restaurant also laughed at me when I asked what kind of soda they have.”

“Oh no, do Kansans say pop?”

“Yes!”

“That’s the worst. So what did you do after dinner?” I questioned, curious about her day.

“Oh my gosh, Nick. You’ll never guess where I went.”

“Where did you go?”

“Cowtown!” she yelled. I couldn’t help but laugh at not only her eager tone of voice, but at the name of the place she was excited about.

“Cowtown? What on earth is that?”

“It was like nothing I’ve seen before, that’s for sure. It was kind of like an outdoor museum. It’s a reenactment of what Wichita was like back in the day.”

“What did you do there?”

“There was a glass blower guy and a blacksmith. There was this old farm house and an old dance hall. And there were can-can dancers in a saloon!”

“This sounds awfully like an old western film.”

“That’s exactly what it felt like, Nick! It was hilarious.”

“So am I dating a cowgirl now?”

“Would that be a problem?” Megan asked. I could hear the challenge in her voice, so I gladly accepted.

“No, I actually think that would be kind of hot. Boots and short jean shorts, Daisy Duke style. That could be a good look for you.”

“Too bad all the women I saw today were wearing long, puffy skirts with floral print. I couldn’t see any ankles.”

“What?! No! Don’t let them influence you. Get them out of your head. Think Daisy Duke.”

“You’re such a jerk,” Megan laughed.

“You love me,” I assured her.

“Yeah, yeah. Believe what you want.”

“Ouch, that’s rough.”

“You’ll be okay,” Megan snidely stated. After a few seconds of silence on both ends of the phone, Megan spoke up. “I’m just kidding.”

“I know, sweetie. I was, too…kind of.”

“You’re lucky you’re so cute. Otherwise I wouldn’t put up with you.”

“Aww, I love you, too!”

“Alright, Heather’s aunt and uncle want to watch a movie, so I’m going to go join them. Have a nice flight tomorrow. Call me when you land, okay?”

“Of course I will. Have a good night. I love you, Megan Rose.”

“And I love you, Nicky Jerry. Night hun.”

“Night baby.”

Hanging up the phone with a smile on my face, I crawled into bed. The house was settling down early tonight, due to the five o’clock plane we have to catch. Plus, with the time difference and the upcoming schedule we have, exhaustion was bound to happen. I needed all the sleep I could get, starting now.

Dina’s POV

“Damien, I’m ready!” I called out, walking quickly out of my room and down the hallway. When I reached the living room, Damien was sprawled out across my couch, checking his watch just as I walked in.

“Are you ever ready on time?”

“It’s like two minutes after I said I’d be ready!”

“And therefore, two minutes late.”

I huffed, slipping my pea coat over my deep crimson dress. Grabbing my purse and slinging it over my shoulder, I turned back to Damien. “Ready. Happy?”

“I would have been happier three minutes ago, but whatever. Let’s just go.”

The walk out of the apartment and down to the waiting car was uncomfortably quiet. I could tell Damien was annoyed with me, but did he really have a reason to be? Three minutes late for a girl is rather impressive in my opinion. It’s times like these that make me think of Kevin. One time, I was running so late that we missed our dinner reservation. Did Kevin mind?Nope. Did Kevin tap at his watch? Nope. Instead, he took me to another place.

Do I love Kevin? Absolutely. Do I love Damien? Absolutely not. Sometimes the thought crosses my mind that I am only putting up with Damien’s ways to get myself over Kevin, like I’m trying to teach myself that there aren’t many guys in the world like Kevin. There is only one guy like Kevin and that is Kevin Jonas, my Kevin Jonas. Then it’s times like these that I need to correct myself. He is Lexie’s Kevin Jonas, despite what Joe tells me about how Kevin feels about her.

“Earth to Dina?” Damien’s rough voice brought me back to reality. I looked out the car window and saw we had already reached our destination.

“That was a quick ride,” I commented, climbing out of the car and planting my feet on the cement sidewalk.

“You were zoned out half the time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You were too busy in your own little world to notice me on the phone the entire ride.” I rolled my eyes, knowing he threw that little detail in there just to annoy me.

Entering the dark club was an experience that was now all too familiar to me. Clubs had never been my scene until New York. This lifestyle wasn’t mine, it was Damien’s. I was just along for the ride.

Hugging the friends already waiting at our table, I took off my coat and placed it on the bench on top of my purse. I looked up to see Damien already at the bar with Nolan, laughing the night away like I wasn’t there, like he didn’t drag me out to this club in the first place.

“Dina!” Kyra yelled over the music, approaching the table with two drinks in hand. “I heard you were close, so I did the honors of buying you your first drink of the night—it’s your favorite!”

“Thanks, Krya! I definitely need this!” I replied grabbing my “girly” drink, as Damien deemed it.

“Everything okay?” Kyra asked, as concerned as her already digested alcohol would allow her to be.

“Everything is just super,” I lied, downing my drink before slamming the empty glass onto the table.

Two hours later, I was still relatively sober. Damien, on the other hand, was not. I always know when he’s had a lot—too much—to drink when he becomes excessively flirty with me. As Damien tried to convince me to move to the dance floor with him, he slightly pushed me off his lap. As he grabbed my hand tightly, I had no choice but to follow him. I began moving to the music as Damien began moving in response to me, my back pressed firmly against his front. Nolan and Kyra were right next to us, mimicking our actions in their own style.

“Dina!” My head snapped up immediately at the sound of the voice. I contemplated even looking, thinking it was just a figure of my imagination. Deciding to take the chance, my head slowly turned to the left, bringing me face to face with one of the last people I ever thought I’d see in a club, let alone in a club in New York.

“Kevin?” I asked, still in disbelief. I studied the man up and down, trying to prove to myself that he was really standing there. Standing next to Kevin was Garbo, who was also smiling widely in my direction.

“Hey!” Kevin responded in a shout, his gentle voice battling with the overpowering music.

I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. My lungs were begging for the air that I was lacking to find. As I stared at Kevin, I contemplated whether to ask him what he’s doing here or not. I knew what I wanted to hear—“I came here because I can’t live without you anymore. My life isn’t what I want it to be if you’re not in it.” Get real, Dina—Kevin is probably in NYC for promotional stuff and this is just a coincidence.

“Well, if it isn’t Kevin Jonas. It’s about time we met face to face,” Damien slurred, finally realizing that we had company.

“Damien Keller. Nice to meet you,” Kevin replied, extending a hand.

“I don’t shake hands,” Damien coldly spat in Kevin’s direction. Feeling defeated and slightly embarrassed, Kevin slowly lowered his hand back to his side. “Excuse us for a second?” Confused, I looked at Damien as he placed his large hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him.

“So you invite your ex here and choose not to tell me?” I didn’t respond. His tone of voice scared me and I knew if I spoke, my voice would shake and Damien would feel the satisfaction and victory he was aiming for. My eyes carefully adverted the other way, instantly locking with Kevin’s. His gorgeous face, framed by those irresistible curls, had confusion written all over it. “Not even going to deny it? This is great, Dina. This is just great.”

“I didn’t invite him here,” I said, redirecting my focus to Damien.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth!”

“Yeah, I’m sure it is. Let’s go, we’re out of here.”

“But—”

“No buts. Kyra will grab your shit. Let’s go. Now.”

Damien placed his hand on the small of my back and gave me a push in the direction of the door. I looked at Kevin one last time before staring at the floor in front of me. My body was instantly washed over with humiliation and embarrassment. Kevin knows me as the strong, independent girl that I used to be. Thanks to Damien, I’m now a weak pushover.

Damien opened the door and exited through it first, barely holding the door for me. I stayed a few paces behind him as the paparazzi went crazy outside the club doors.

“Are you trying to make me look even more stupid that you already have made me?” Damien forcefully whispered into my ear. “Well guess what? I could easily cause a scene here right now and then the only one looking stupid will be you in every magazine in America tomorrow.”

Damien linked his hand with mine and smiled down to me, putting on a façade, trying to tell America that we’re a happy couple, although we both know we are far from. The nerves from Damien’s threat made me stop dead in my track. I tried to release my grip from his hand. I wanted to run back to Kevin and jump in his arms, the one place I know I can always find comfort. But as I looked back at the door, I saw Kevin wasn’t there. Why didn’t he run after me? Realization hit me and it hit me hard—Kevin doesn’t want me anymore like I want him. Joe lied to me.

“Start walking and get in the cab. Now,” Damien whispered again. Nodding slightly, I silently got into the cab with a fake smile on my face. Slamming the door shut, Damien informed the driver of our destination.

“Inviting your ex to the club we were at. Wow, that’s low,” Damien hastily stated, turning away from me.

Kevin’s POV

“No buts. Kyra will grab your shit. Let’s go. Now,” Damien yelled. I stared down Dina’s face, curious of her next move. After making eye contact for a split second, Dina quickly moved her eyes to the floor as Damien pushed her further away from me.

“What has happened to her? Why is she letting him push her around like that?” I asked Garbo, who was just as stunned as I was.

“I have no idea, but that guy is an asshole.”

“What should I do?”

“I don’t know, man. Think about it. This club is probably full of Damien’s guys. This is his city and he seems to run a good portion of it. Creating a scene with him is probably not the best idea, especially because you love more than you fight.”

“Yeah but,” I stopped, letting my mind catch up to my heart, “I’ll fight for the one I love.”

Pushing my way through the sea of bodies, I kept my eye on the door. I could feel Garbo hot on my trail as I ran after Dina. Whether my girlfriend or my friend, Dina deserves to be treated with the utmost respect, not to be walked all over like she means nothing.

My momentum took over as I flung the door open with my arm. Flashes were going off from every direction as each photographer tried to catch a glimpse of the movie star inside the cab. I was the only one on the sidewalk who didn’t care about the movie star inside—I was interested in the other occupant of the cab.

Deciding it was better that the paparazzi didn’t notice me running after my ex, I headed back into the club. I could feel Garbo’s eyes on mine, waiting to react off of my next move. With that being the least of my worries, I replayed the last few minutes in my head. The look on Dina’s face was engraved in my brain. The worry, the yearning for comfort and love was all I could see. Why is she with him? I just don’t get it.

“Kev, you okay?” Garbo questioned me with immense apprehension. As the question settled in my mind, I called upon my heart to answer it.

“I need a drink.”