From GuitarGuy92 to xoJadeBabyxo

The next morning Nick woke up disoriented by his surroundings. It took him a few seconds to remember all of the events from the previous night. The way his stomach flopped when he saw Allegra walk out of her dorm building. The overwhelming sense of comfort he felt seeing her sitting across from him at Casa Mancini. The worry that settled in the pit of his stomach when he saw the expression on her face after she received that message from her grandmother. The overwhelming sense of protection he felt seeing her puffy, blood-shot eyes. The need to hug her and assure her that everything would be alright.

She had gotten under his skin faster than he realized.

Rubbing his face with his hands, he let out a sigh. He sat up and took in his surroundings, listening to the world around him. The house was completely silent. He glanced at the clock sitting on the bedside table and saw that it was past 8:30 a.m. He figured Allegra would already be at the hospital at this time. Getting up, he walked across the hall to the bathroom and brushed his teeth with his finger. He then changed back into the clothes he was wearing the previous day and ventured downstairs. Half way down the stairs his stomach let out a loud grumble. Rounding the corner, he walked to where he assumed the kitchen would be.

The room had a cozy, homey feeling just like the rest of the house. The rustic wooden cabinets, the old, four-chaired table, the antique quirks hanging on the walls, and the spicy smell of apple and cinnamon—it sort of reminded him of his grandmother’s kitchen. But his grandmother’s kitchen was not as orderly as this one. This made it easier to spot the sheet of white looseleaf resting on the counter with his name scrawled across the top. He instantly recognized Allegra’s handwriting.

Nick,

By the time you wake up I’ll probably be at the hospital already. I just wanted to again, thank you so much for being there for me last night. Believe it or not, your presence calmed me. Feel free to prepare anything you’d like for breakfast and I’ll see you at school.

Thanks again,

Allegra

Nick read the note once more and furrowed his eyebrows. See you at school? No way. There was no way he would leave her when she still needed a friend. He wasn’t going back to Pacific Palisades without her.

With this notion in mind, Nick crumpled the note and threw it in the trash bin. He walked over to the refrigerator and looked around for some food items. Rummaging around some more, he found a pan. He made himself eggs, bacon, and toast. Just before eating, he went back out to his car and got his diabetic kit, checking his blood sugar and giving himself the necessary amount of insulin.

After breakfast, Nick found himself in a large, empty, unfamiliar house with nothing to do. Walking into the living room, he flipped on the television. The room had been consumed by darkness both times he had been in it the previous night, but now he had a full view. And the first thing he noticed was the mantle above the fireplace and all the pictures on top of it. The curiosity got the best of him. Walking over, he allowed his eyes to scan every picture frame on top of that mantle.

They started out with pictures of a young girl that looked a lot like Allegra but who had dull brown eyes instead of Allegra’s sharp, blue ones—her mother he guessed. Then there were some of her grandparents when they were younger. The rest were definitely of Allegra—as a baby, a little girl, and her recent school picture. He couldn’t help but smile at some of them. There was one where she was on a boat with a life vest up to her chin and a cute sailor’s hat on top of her black wavy hair—she couldn’t have been older than five years old. In the one next to that one she looked a bit older. She was sitting on top of a pony with her hair in pigtails and a cowgirl’s hat and boots on. Her nose was crinkled and she wore that look she got when she didn’t like something—she obviously didn’t like that pony. Then there was another one that couldn’t have been taken too long ago. She was standing in the middle of a river with water up to her knees. She was holding a fishing rod, and not focusing at all on what she was doing. Her face was transfixed on the man standing next to her—her grandfather. She was smiling widely up at him, a smile Nick himself had only seen a few times in the time he’s known her, and he was smiling back down at her with the pride of a father. In that one picture Nick could see that they truly held a deep connection and he suddenly knew why she was so much more affected by her pop-pop’s heart attack when her grandmother kept assuring her he would be fine.

Looking at all the pictures on the mantle, Nick got the feeling that behind the sweet, endearing, girl he had gotten to know, was more. There was more to her story and he wanted to know. He wanted to get close enough to her and be one of the people she could confide in and share her secrets with.

Now that she had allowed him to get this far, Nick had a new goal in mind.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

It had been a long, excruciatingly emotional day. I had woken up at 6:00 a.m. and gotten ready to go to the hospital. I grabbed coffee and a scone at the Starbucks across from the hospital and had prepared myself for what lay ahead. My pop-pop was already awake and starting his breakfast when I went in. The tears hadn’t stopped since I saw his weak smile. It didn’t feel right. It wasn’t my pop-pop’s smile. The smile that showed off all his teeth and that glowed with all the joy and life in him. This smile tore at my heart.

I was able to talk to him for a while, helping him eat his breakfast, and just catch up on the last few weeks since I last spoke to him in person. For a moment he made me forget where we were and why we were here, but during late morning his doctors and nurses came in to take him down to get a few tests done. I cried some more then.

I got a worried call from Kenny, telling me that Charlie had told him I didn’t go back to our room the previous night and that I hadn’t answered my phone when she called. They were both extremely worried that something had happened to me. I explained to him the situation and after he offered his condolences and asked how I was feeling, he asked about Nick.

My thoughts flashed back to the previous night. I found great comfort in Nick and I knew that he would be someone I could trust and confide in. And that was saying a lot. Even I knew that I had trust issues, but I didn’t feel like I needed to be guarded around Nick. He was a good listener and knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. Usually I was the one people went to when they needed a shoulder to lean on, and while I loved my friends dearly, it was nice to find someone else who would be there for me the way I was there for others.

I told Kenny about the note I left Nick. He was probably on his way back to school.

But when my nana convinced me to go back home at the end of the night and I pulled her car into the drive-way, I saw Nick’s mustang sitting outside the house. Walking inside the house, the delicious aroma of garlic and tomatoes welcomed me home. Venturing back into the kitchen, I saw Nick standing over the stove with the clothes he was wearing last night (minus his jacket which was still strewn on top of my desk chair) and one of my nana’s apron’s on. I threw my bag on the kitchen table, making Nick aware of my presence.

“Hey, your home,” he said, wiping his hands on the apron and turning to fully face me. “How’s your grandfather doing?” he asked in a gentler voice.

“He’s okay,” I answered.

“Good.”

I stared at him for another second before asking, “What are you still doing here? I thought you’d be back at school by now.”

He let out a sigh and advanced slowly towards me. “Allegra, after last night, I thought we had established we were friends.”

“We are friends,” I hastily stated.

“Well friends are there when their friends need them. And you may not want to admit it, but you want me to stay here. You need me,” he said softly, placing his hands gently on my shoulders and giving them a reassuring squeeze.

My eyes instantly started to water and a few tears slipped out as I said, “You’re right. I’m glad you stayed.”

Nick instantly pulled me into a hug, rocking my body back and forth until my crying stopped. When my sobs turned into soft hiccups and sniffles, Nick pulled away gently and cupped my face in his hands. His slightly calloused thumbs brushed softly against my cheeks, wiping away my tears. “Please don’t cry Legs. I don’t like seeing you like this. You’re supposed to be happy all the time. Not like this,” he said softly.

I let out a tiny laugh and wiped at my own tears, removing myself completely from his arms. “Sorry, it’s just been an emotional day for me,” I whispered softly.

“I’ll bet,” he mumbled. “Well, I bet you probably haven’t eaten anything all day and you must be hungry. So I made you dinner. Although I was kind of expecting your grandmother to be here too, but no matter, we can bring some food for her later, we’ll tell one of the nurses to sneak it in for us.”

I smiled up at him and gave him another quick hug. “Thank you,” I whispered into his ear.

“Honestly, it’s no big deal. You need to stop thanking me.” With those words he turned back around and finished preparing dinner. Tying my hair back into a low pony tail and washing my hands, I decided to help. I pulled out a few ingredients from the refrigerator and prepared a salad to go with whatever he had made. When the salad was made, I grabbed a few utensils and plates and went to set the table.

“Hey, do you want to eat outside?” I asked abruptly.

“Sure,” he said with a small smile. I brought everything outside and set the table out on the patio. I then brought out the salad and bread sticks, going back into the garage and bringing out two drinks. By the time I went back outside, Nick had a steaming bowl of pasta set in the middle of the deck table. “Alright, since we didn’t get a chance to eat Italian last night like I had planned, I made us some Italian.”

I took a seat across from him. “What did you make anyway?”

“Chicken Alfredo. I hope you’re not a vegetarian,” he said quickly, a look of worry flashing briefly on his face.

“Nope. This all looks good,” I answered.

“Good, well, uh, my family always does grace before we eat, I hope you don’t mind.”

I smiled at him. There was something else I didn’t know about him. “I pray before every meal too.” I bent my elbows on the table and folded my hands over each other, bowing my head. Once Nick had done the same, I closed my eyes and started. “Lord, please bless this meal we are about to eat and the hands that prepared them,” I said.

During my pause, Nick added a few words of his own. “And please give the Cole family strength to get through these hard times.”

My throat tightened for a moment but I cleared it quickly and said, “Amen,” Nick saying it right after me. We each served ourselves and dove in. “Mmm, this is really good,” I said after my first bite.

“Thanks.”

“I never knew you could cook.”

“Yea, my mother and my nonna taught my brothers and me how to cook. They felt it was important for us to know our way around the kitchen. I’m nowhere as good as they are, but at least I don’t burn water.”

“No, this is good, really good.” I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was, but now that I had had the first bite, I just wanted more.

“I’m glad you like it. I don’t cook for many people.”

I don’t know why, but that comment made me blush.

Dinner continued with light conversation. He told me more about his family and his life. He had two older brothers (whom I already knew about) and a younger brother named Frankie. His father was a producer at Hollywood Records (again, already knew that) and his mom was a pre-school teacher. He was born in Dallas, lived in Jersey, and then moved out to California when his dad’s job transferred him to the West Coast. He told me about his childhood friends Mia and Aida and how the three of them had been inseparable until he had to move. Mia still lives in New Jersey, but Aida and the Mancini’s moved out to California just a few years ago. He also told me about his love of sports, but we didn’t stick to that topic for very long because I knew nothing when it came to sports.

By the time we got to dessert, we had moved to the porch swing out back, and I felt like I had gotten Nick Jonas’ entire life story. “So tell me, what’s your family like? Do you have any siblings?”

I looked down at the bowl of ice cream in front of me. “No, I’m an only child,” I said. Even I heard the sadness in my voice.

“I’m sorry. Is this a sensitive topic for you?” he asked tentatively.

“No, no, it’s okay,” I assured. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what I was about to tell him. “My mom, she had me when she was really young. She was in her junior year in college. But, uh, she passed away when she gave birth to me. So my grandparents raised me as their own,” I said, a few tears slipping out. I wiped away at them hastily.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” he said, a torn look on his face.

“No, it’s okay. They’ve really been the greatest. I never once take for granted everything they’ve done for me.”

“It still must suck though. Have you ever met your father?”

I shook my head. “My mom never told my grandparents who my dad was, so there was no way for them to find him once she was gone.”

Nick slowly moved closer to me and when he saw I was making no movements to counter his, he wrapped one of his arms around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. “My grandparents are all I have Nick. My mom was an only child so it’s not like I have aunts, uncles, or cousins to count on. It’s just me, my nana, and my pop-pop,” I choked out. God, where are all these tears coming from?

“You’re really close to them huh?”

“Yea, they’re the best. My pop-pop is like my best friend,” I whispered.

“Yea, I saw the pictures on top of the fire place. I can tell you guys mean a lot to each other.”

I smiled softly to myself. “Yea, I’m his princess. And he’s my handsome.” I felt my throat close up again and the tears spring to my eyes once more.

I guess Nick must have felt my tears soaking through his shirt because he pulled me closer and wrapped both arms around me. “Shh, don’t cry, Legs.”

“I’m s-s-sorry. It’s just t-t-that—nothing b-b-bad can happen to him Nick. He h-h-has to be o-o-okay.”

Nick rubbed my arm softly and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “He will be Legs. Nothing bad is going to happen to him.”

With those comforting words, Nick held me close the entire night, never letting go, not even when my tears had subsided and I told him I would be alright. He was forced to when we both made our way upstairs and to our respective rooms. Nick even walked me to my door! He gave me another tight hug and kiss on the head.

“I’ll always be here for you Legs. Anytime you need me.”