From GuitarGuy92 to xoJadeBabyxo

The Monday following family weekend, I found myself with a massive amount of schoolwork to get done. I had spent the entire afternoon in the library revising my paper for the individual reading assignment due the following morning. It was on my walk back to my dorm that I received a frantic phone call from Nick.

“Hello?”

“Legs! Thank God you answered your phone. Please tell me you have your copy of the requirements for our English paper,” he said into the phone.

“Yea, I just finished mine,” I replied.

“Cool, do you think I’d be able to borrow the requirements? I seemed to have misplaced my copy.”

“Yea, sure.”

“Cool, I’ll be at your dorm in ten minutes to get it,” he said, shuffling around in the background.

“Actually, I’m on my way back from the library. I could drop it off at your dorm if you’d like—save you the trip,” I offered.

I could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “I’d appreciate that.”

“Alright, I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I said before hanging up.

Standing outside his door five minutes later had me nervous. The last time I had been here, his girlfriend had slammed the door in my face. Pushing those thoughts aside, I knocked softly on the door. I heard some shuffling on the other side before it swung inwards to reveal Nick. He was wearing a plain white v-neck, his navy blue basketball shorts, and plain white ankle socks. His curls—which had grown out in the past several weeks—were a bit disheveled and I knew he had to have been running his hands through his curls in frustration earlier. I took in the sight of him as he smiled at me and tried to ignore the flops my stomach was doing as a result of it.

“Hey, come on in,” he said, opening the door a bit wider and stepping aside so that I could enter.

I took a few tentative steps forward until I was standing in the middle of his room. The last time I had been in here, it had been too dark to really see anything and I had been too preoccupied looking after a sick Nick to really even look around. But this time it was different, and that thought made my stomach do another flop.

Nick’s bed was pushed up against the wall to the right. At the foot of his bed was a keyboard and in the corner were two guitar stands—the electric guitar in its place and the acoustic laying on his bed—with an amp off to the side. The wall in front of me was made out of glass windows. He had a desk that was littered with papers and books, his laptop perched on top of the mess. Next to that was a pretty complex entertainment system—complete with a plasma flat screen, DVD player, stereo, and multiple game systems—not to mention hundreds of games and movies. He had a couple of bean bag chairs littered across the floor around the entertainment system and a couch pushed up against the wall next to the door. The wall to my left held two doors—one that led to what I knew was his bathroom and another one that folded in revealing his organized closet.

Allowing my eyes to rove around the room once more, I was amazed by it all. I couldn’t believe he had a double’s dorm all to himself. But then I remembered who he was—more importantly who his father was. The Jonas’ were wealthy and Nick’s room proved it.

“Nice room,” I stated, still a bit in awe.

“Thanks,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “So, uhm, about the English paper,” he started.

“Oh yea, here’s the requirement sheet,” I interrupted, moving to open my messenger bag.

“I lied,” he blurted, halting my actions. I looked up at him confused. “I used it as an excuse so that I could talk to you in private,” he confessed.

His words caught me completely by surprise and they had my heart racing like crazy. “What?”

“I kind of wanted to know what your grandfather thought of me without being completely embarrassed in front of people when you told me,” he said in one rapid breath.

I couldn’t help but smile at how adorable he looked when he was bashful. “You didn’t have to go through all of this. You could have just called and asked,” I said. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at me from under his lashes. “You have nothing to worry about. My grandfather loved you. The minute he called you ‘son’, you were good.”

Nick let out a sigh. “Good. He was pretty intimidating.”

“He was a Marine pretty much all his life. He’s always intimidating people,” I replied. “But he’s actually like a big ole teddy bear,” I assured.

“Somehow I find that hard to believe,” he mumbled.

I giggled at his statement after which a silence fell amongst us. I glanced once more around the room—my eyes landing on the instrument on his bed. “I didn’t know you played the guitar,” I stated, glancing curiously back at him.

He glanced at his bed and then back at me. “Yea, I’ve played for years. I just don’t play for many people,” he said, walking over and plopping down on his bed. He picked up the instrument and motioned for me to join him with a flick of his head. I released a small breath and walked over to his bed, gently sitting down next to him—but at a safe distance. “Do you play?” he asked as I sat down, his fingers fiddling with the strings of the instrument, producing a glorious melody.

I stared in amazement as his fingers worked the instrument and shook my head in response. “No, photography is more my thing,” I added.

“Yea, I’ve seen your stuff in the yearbooks and school paper. You’re really good,” he said with a smile that made my stomach do anther flop.

“Thanks,” I said, looking down at my shoes as the soft melody filled the silence between us. Then something occurred to me. “What are you doing tomorrow night?” I blurted.

The room grew silent as Nick stopped playing and looked skeptically at me. “Nothing. Yet. Why do you ask?”

I angled myself on his bed so that I was facing him and he did the same. “Okay, well, do you remember Cassie? The—”

“Little girl from the shelter,” Nick finished for me. I smiled to myself at the knowledge that he remembered.

“Yea. Well, tomorrow is her birthday and we’re throwing her a small party. I was just wondering if you wanted to come. She’s been asking about you since the day you went and I know it would mean a lot to her if you were there,” I said in one rapid breath. “So, will you come?”

He chuckled to himself and leaned in closer to me. “You had me at ‘it’s her birthday’.”

“Great,” I squeaked, the realization of how close we were making my heart rate increase. I shifted a bit and lightly cleared my throat before saying, “I know you said you don’t play for many people, but would you mind bringing your guitar? The kids would probably all enjoy that.”

When I looked back up at Nick from under my dark lashes, I found him looking back at me with a soft smile pulling on the corners of his lips. “I’ve already got my set list in mind,” he said, tapping his temple with his pointer finger.

I smiled softly at him before getting up from his bed. “Well, it’s getting late. I should get back to my room before Charlie decides to send out an Amber Alert,” I said. I was just kidding, but she told me she was seriously considering doing it last week when I didn’t come home from my dinner with Nick and wasn’t answering my phone.

He threw his head back and let out a genuine laugh that revealed his teeth—something I noticed didn’t happen often. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, getting up from his bed and giving me a one-armed hug. The smell of him—a mixture of faded soap and cologne—was too much for my stomach to handle. I quickly pulled away and rushed to his door, mumbling a ‘good night’ as I ran, hoping to leave behind the emotions that were growing stronger with each minute I spent with Nick.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

The week after family weekend was a difficult one for Nick. After his brothers’ statements, he found himself thinking more and more about Allegra. He found himself more curious about her and wanted to know more about her. This new found interest led him to one conclusion—he might have more than just friendly feelings where she was concerned.

But there was one thing keeping him from doing anything about this realization—xoJadeBabyxo.

He’d been talking to this girl since October and had developed a close relationship with her. Even though he’s never met her before, he found it easy to confide things in her. He’d told her things about himself that not even Kevin or Joe knew. And she never judged him. She’d give him her opinion on things but never forced them upon him. He felt he could trust her with anything. And he knew—no matter how crazy it sounded—that a part of him had a crush on his internet acquaintance.

But, as far as he could tell, Allegra shared some of JadeBaby’s qualities. She genuinely cared about everyone and was the nicest person he’s ever met.

Which means Nick had a problem. There were two girls he potentially liked.

He knew Allegra and what she was like. She was easy to get along with. Not to mention she was gorgeous. Seeing her at Cassie’s birthday two days ago gave him more ideas of what it would be like to be with her. He was also eating lunch with her and her friends lately and he found himself at ease around them.

But despite everything, he couldn’t bring himself to act upon his feelings until he met JadeBaby. He just knew her longer and felt a stronger connection with her than with Allegra. All week long he had been thinking of a way to ask JadeBaby to meet him. It wasn’t until the previous day that the perfect way fell into his lap.

JB—JB

“Okay, so let me get this straight; Erin is going out with Aaron, Connor is dating Aubreyanne, and Evan is going out with Leah. You, Charlie, and Kenny are the only one’s that are single. Charlie likes Kenny and won’t tell him because she thinks he likes you. But you see him as a brother and assure her he sees you as a sister?” Nick asked for clarification.

Allegra nodded her head as she fumbled with the Snapple bottle in her hands. She glanced at Nick with pursed lip and knitted eyebrows before smiling softly to herself. “It sounds totally crazy when you say it like that,” she said after a while, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and giggling as the explanation she’d given him ran through her head.

“Yea, just a bit,” Nick teased, chuckling as well. “Nah, but it’s cool. You and your friends all seem to be kind of close. I think that’s cool.”

“And what, your friends aren’t?” Allegra probed.

Nick took a bite of the burger he was having for lunch and chewed it slowly, a thoughtful expression on his face. Allegra took a sip of her Kiwi-Strawberry Snapple while Nick thought over his answer. Once he had swallowed, he looked back at her and said, “They’re chill and all, but somehow I don’t think I’d ever tell them my deepest secret.” Allegra didn’t ask any questions—she knew what his friends were like, she could see where he was coming from. Nick broke their gaze, dabbing his french fries in the puddle of ketchup as he made his next statement. “You probably know more about me than any of they do and we haven’t even known each other that long.”

Allegra didn’t know what to say to that. Nick was staring intently at the meal in front of him, but that didn’t stop the blood from rushing to her face, making her naturally rosy cheeks a bit more flushed. Before she could think of something to say, one of her friends, Aubreyanne, walked up to their table and sat with them.

“Hey legs, hey Nick,” she said, smiling at them both. Aubreyanne had been more welcoming towards Nick, always making sure to include him in their group discussion whenever he joined them for lunch—which he had been doing all week. But Allegra knew it was mostly because of the massive crush she used to have on him before she started dating Connor. Being able to talk to him now was like a dream come true for her.

“Hey Aubrey,” Nick and Allegra greeted simultaneously. What’s up?” Nick added.

“Nothing really. Just got back from a student council meeting,” Aubreyanne replied.

Allegra took in her friends stressed expression. “Spring Fling still giving you guys a hard time?” Allegra asked with a sympathetic smile.

Aubreyanne nodded. “Yea, but things are being put in motion now that everything is in.”

“What theme did you guys agree on anyways?” Allegra asked, remembering how exasperated Aubreyanne had been during one of their conversations a few weeks ago.

“Masquerade Night,” Aubreyanne replied with a triumphant smile on her face.

“That’s a cool theme,” Nick said joining in on their conversation.

“I know! And it was my idea too,” Aubreyanne said, her smile growing wider. “The guys are putting up posters right now to advertise it.”

“I’m sure it’s gonna be great,” Allegra said encouragingly.

“Are you gonna go?” Nick asked, turning towards Allegra. She shook her head in response, missing the frown that formed on Nick’s face when she averted her eyes. “Why not?” he questioned.

Allegra shrugged, still not looking at him, but Aubreyanne decided to elaborate for her. “Legs had a bad experience at a dance once. Since then she hasn’t really gone to any.” Allegra’s face turned into a scowl as she turned to look at Aubreyanne. That wasn’t something she liked to remember.

She dated a lacrosse player back in ninth grade named Manny. She thought he was a nice guy, but at homecoming that year, he took a few drinks and got a serious case of the grab hands. She tried to push him off and she struggled for a while until Kenny found them and forced Manny off her. Needless to say that was the end of that relationship. Since then she didn’t like dressing up and going to dances where she was exposed to potential drunks.

Again, not something she liked to remember.

“So wait, you don’t go to dances at all?” Nick asked surprised.

Allegra let out a tiny huff. “Not usually,” she answered.

“And there’s nothing that will make you change your mind?” he continued to ask.

“Nope,” was her reply.

“Not even to see all my hard work pay off?” Aubreyanne joined in the persuading.

Allegra frowned again. She didn’t appreciate being ganged up on. “Sorry Aubrey, but you know I don’t do dances. I’m sure it’s gonna be great, but I just won’t go,” she stated firmly. With that, the subject was dropped.
JB—JB

That was the day before. That conversation had given Nick an idea. And now he found himself staring blankly at the blinking cursor on his screen as he scrounged up the courage to send JadeBaby a message.

He released a breath and cracked his knuckles. “Okay,” he whispered to himself, resting his fingers on the keyboard. He thought for a second of something to say before typing it down.

GuitarGuy92: so I was thinking…

xoJadeBabyxo: should I be concerned?

GuitarGuy92: lol, no

xoJadeBabyxo: okay then, what’s up?

GuitarGuy92: okay, so, we’ve been talking for a few months now, right?

xoJadeBabyxo: yea…5 months or so…

GuitarGuy92: yea, well, I was thinking its time you and I met

GuitarGuy92: in person

He didn’t get a reply right away the way he had hoped. In fact it was several minutes before his computer beeped again.

xoJadeBabyxo: are you sure?

Nick let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. She hadn’t said no yet.

GuitarGuy92: yea

GuitarGuy92: don’t you?

Worry suddenly settled in the pit of Nick’s stomach. He had been so quick to suggest they meet; he never stopped to think about her. Did she even want to meet him? What if she preferred their secret relationship?

His worry was settled with her next response.

xoJadeBabyxo: yea, I guess so

xoJadeBabyxo: what did you have in mind?

Nick smiled to himself before typing in his response.

GuitarGuy92: Spring Fling

GuitarGuy92: meet me in the middle of the dance floor

GuitarGuy92: 11 p.m.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

I stared blankly at my computer screen in shock. After months of talking to GuitarGuy, he finally wanted to meet. And at Spring Fling no less! He just had to pick the one place I wouldn’t go to as our meeting point. But then again, I couldn’t very well turn him down. Who knew if he’d change his mind about wanting to meet me?

In a state of panic, I closed the conversation and signed out of AIM without even giving him a response.

I had some serious thinking to do.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

“Hey Nick, do you have a pick I could borrow?”

Nick glanced up from his guitar and saw Joe standing in his doorway with his own guitar. “Yea, sure,” Nick replied, reaching into his bedside table and producing the pick. “Here you go,” he said with a sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Joe immediately asked, sitting next to his younger brother. They were each other’s best friends—he knew when something was up.

All three boys were home for their mother’s birthday but Nick hadn’t been able to get JadeBaby out of his head. She hadn’t said yes to his request, but she didn’t deny him either. He didn’t know what to make of that. As a result he had spent the majority of the weekend in his room with his guitar.

“Nothing,” he replied after he realized Joe was waiting for his reply.

“Nick, you know that won’t work on me. Now tell me what’s up,” Joe said firmly. Nick released another sigh. “Does this have anything to do with Allegra?”

“No! Yes. I don’t know,” Nick stated, pushing his guitar off his lap in frustration.

“Talk to me bro,” Joe demanded, positioning himself comfortably on Nick’s bed.

“Do you remember a few months ago when I told you about that girl I started talking to online?” Nick started.

“Yea,” Joe trailed off, allowing Nick to continue.

“Well, I finally asked her to meet in person.”

Joe’s bushy eyebrows met in confusion. “I’m not seeing what the problem is.”

“The problem is she didn’t say yes or no. I have no idea what she’s thinking!”

“I’m sorry dude,” Joe said sympathetically.

“Yea, but it’s gotten me thinking. I mean, should we really even meet each other? What if I’m not what she expected? Is it really even worth it?”

“There’s something else you’re not telling me,” Joe stated cautiously.

“You’re gonna think I’m crazy,” Nick said, looking down at his lap.

“Try me,” Joe challenged.

“Well, I think I have a crush on her,” Nick admitted sheepishly. “But I might also like—”

“Allegra,” Joe finished for him, realization settling in.

“Yea,” Nick said, the word coming out as a breath.

“So you want to meet internet chick and see the connection you have with her before making a move on Allegra. Am I right?”

“Pretty much.”

“Wow dude.”

Nick groaned and fell back on his bed. “What am I gonna do?”

Joe clapped his younger brother on his shoulder as he shook his head. “Do you want my opinion?” he asked. Nick turned his head towards Joe and gave him an expectant look. “Allegra is a pretty cool girl. You like her, we all like her, and she’s a sure bet. With internet chick, you can never be too sure. For all you know she could be a total flake. If I were you I’d stick with Allegra and forget all about internet chick.”

Nick turned to look up at the ceiling once more as Joe got up and left the room. Joe had a point. He couldn’t be too sure about JadeBaby like he was about Allegra.

But he had already asked her to meet him and a few hours later, he would be receiving an e-mail confirming her attendance.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

“This looks like a good spot.” Dropping all our bags, Charlie and I plopped down at a table. We had decided to have our shopping spree today and it was time for lunch. I wasn’t exactly too excited for the meal however. It’s been two days since GuitarGuy asked me to meet him at the dance. It’s all I’ve been able to think about for the past two days. Therefore I hadn’t been myself during the shopping spree and Charlie had definitely noticed. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind she would spend the entire meal grilling me about my mood.

“Alright, what’s wrong with you?” Charlie asked, dropping her fork onto her plate.

“Hmm?” I hummed, playing around with the food on my plate.

“You’ve been really quiet all day. I know you well enough to know something’s bothering you. Talk,” Charlie demanded.

Man did I call that or what? I stopped all movement and looked up at her. “GuitarGuy asked to meet me.”

Charlie’s jaw fell in shock. “Seriously?” she squeaked.

I nodded my head. “At the dance,” I added.

Her eyes widened. “What did you tell him?”

“I didn’t tell him anything. I freaked and signed out of AIM. I haven’t logged on since Thursday.”

“What are you thinking Legs?” Charlie asked in a gentle tone.

“I don’t know. I mean, I want to meet him, but the dance? He had to pick the dance?”

“It might not be so bad,” she said with a shrug. I shot her an incredulous look. “Think about it, the theme is Masquerade Night—everyone is gonna be wearing masks. You can meet him, have a conversation in person, and if he’s a total creep you can bail without him having to see your face. And if he doesn’t turn out to be so bad, then it’ll be up to you to reveal who you are,” she explained.

Her explanation made sense, but I was still reluctant. “What if he pulls a Manny?” I whispered.

Charlie’s face hardened in a scowl. “Manny was a douche bag. I still can’t believe you dated him. But it doesn’t matter. I’m gonna be there. If I see him so much as look at you the wrong way, I’ll break his fingers so he never types again.”

I stared at her in shock. “Violent much, Charlie?”

She shrugged it off before smiling softly. “Okay, so maybe we’ll just come up with a signal or something.”

I shook my head at her. “Deal,” I said with a giggle.

“So, you’ll go?” she questioned in surprise. I nodded my head, receiving a smile from her. Now that I had gotten that off my chest, lunch continued with lighter conversation. Towards the end of the meal, Charlie brought something else up. “Hey Legs, what about Nick?” she asked.

“What about him?” I questioned back.

“Won’t it be awkward for him to see you there with online dude?”

“Why would it be awkward?”

“Because you guys like each other,” Charlie answered as if she were stating a well known fact.

I nearly choked on my drink. “What?” I croaked out once my coughing had subsided.

Charlie, who had gotten up to pound my back, sat down again, a knowing smirk pulling at her lips. “Legs, we’ve been best friends for years and yet you still manage to underestimate me. I see the way you look at him. You have a crush on Nick Jonas and don’t you dare deny it.”

“Am I that obvious?” I asked, frowning as I slumped my shoulders.

“Only to your bestest friend ever,” she said, patting my hand reassuringly. “So, Nick Jonas huh?” she asked with a smirk, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Shut up, it’s not like that.”

“Uh huh, that’s why you’re blushing right now, right?” I stuck my tongue out at her. “Hey, I’m with you on this one,” she said, raising her hands in surrender.

“Wait a minute; I thought you didn’t like him.”

“When did I say that?”

“When I told you I wanted to be friends with him. You warned me it wasn’t the best idea,” I retorted.

She shrugged her slender shoulders. “I was wrong. He’s pretty cool. And hello—have you seen him?” I couldn’t help but laugh at her. “No but seriously, he has the best friend stamp of approval if you ever decide to make something of it,” she added.

“Yea, don’t count on it,” I said.

“Why not?”

“Because he’s Nick Jonas. King of the socialites. Big man on campus. Way out of my league,” I listed off the reasons.

I wasn’t prepared for the smack that Charlie gave my hand. “Ouch. What was that for?” I asked, rubbing my hand.

“Allegra Jade Cole, I don’t ever want to hear you talk like that again. You’re a way better person than the socialites and Nick would be the luckiest guy ever if he were to date you,” she chided.

“Still, I don’t think we’d ever happen, so why ruin my friendship with him by making him aware of my feelings?” I said, my mood changing again.

“Wow, you really like him, huh?”

“Mhm,” I replied. I had realized it during the weekend we were in San Clemente. I had confided things in him that not even some of my friends knew. But I felt a sense of comfort around him and that’s when it hit me that my feelings might not be platonic. After family weekend I knew there was no turning back. But he was Nick Jonas and there was no way I could ever be romantically involved with him. My best bet was to remain friends with him, meet GuitarGuy and see where things went from there.

“So you ready to go?” I asked Charlie so that she’d stop giving me that sympathetic look.

It worked.

“Yea, let’s go. We have a dress we need to go find you.”