From GuitarGuy92 to xoJadeBabyxo

February 14, 2009. For some people, this day was special for the obvious reason—Valentine’s Day. But for me, the day held a different meaning. It was the day everything changed.

The day started with me being woken up by someone jumping incessantly on my bed, the movements of the mattress making my body hop around underneath my covers. “Charlieee, stop it,” I whined into my pillow.

I heard Charlie’s giggle, but it wasn’t as close as I expected it to be. “Sorry Legs, but that’s not me,” came her voice.

I begrudgingly opened my eyes, squinting against the intensity of the sunlight filtering through the curtains. Once my eyes were open, all movements ceased and I found myself staring at Kenny.

“Happy Birthday!!” he exclaimed, yelling right into my face.

I groaned out loud and threw the covers over my head. “Kennnnyyy—” I continued to complain, “—it’s too early for this!”

I could only imagine the pout on his face as he grabbed onto my shoulders and started shaking them. “But Allegra, it’s your birthday! Aren’t you excited?”

I tried to swat his hands away, all the while keeping my eyes closed. “No. Now leave me alone. I want to sleep!”

I’ve known Kenny for years, so I don’t know why I thought he would give up so easily. Maybe it was my delusional state, but when he stopped trying to wake me up, I thought I would be able to fall back asleep. However, the occasional poke prevented me from doing that. “Come on Kenny quit it,” I said, squirming when he poked my side once more. This just provoked him to continue his prodding until he was full out tickling my sides. Figures he’d know my weak spot. “Kenny. Please. STOP!” I gasped between my fit of giggles.

“Nope, not until you wake up and get excited about your birthday,” he stated, continuing to tickle me.

“Charlie help me!” I pleaded, fully awake at this point. I picked my head up slightly to look at Charlie. She was sitting on her bed across the room from us, laughing hysterically at the sight before her.

“Sorry Legs, but I’m with Kenny on this one,” she replied, smirking at me. Kenny just took this as an invitation to tickle me even more until I thought I would for sure burst from laughter.

“Ok. Fine. You win. Now stop!”

Kenny’s fingers stopped moving along my sides and wrapped themselves around my wrists, pulling me up into a sitting position. “You suck. This was not how I would have wanted to be woken up on my birthday,” I pouted.

“Will this make it better?” Charlie asked me, plopping down next to me on the bed. She was holding a vanilla cupcake with pink frosting in her hand, a single candle sticking out of the middle.

I couldn’t help the tiny smile that formed on my lips as I nodded my head and took the cupcake from her. “Cupcakes make everything better,” I informed them, wiping some of the frosting off with my tongue.

“Wait!” Kenny blurted, making me stare confusedly at him. “Before you scarf that down—” he reached into his pockets, brought out a lighter and lit the candle, “—make a wish,” he finished, smiling brightly at me.

I smiled back at them. I have everything I’ve ever wanted, what more could I possibly ask for? Quickly thinking of something, I blew out the candle and watched the flame go out. “Happy Birthday Legs!” they both exclaimed before tackling me back down in a hug.

I couldn’t help my laughter. It was already turning out to be a good day. “Guys, you’re making me squish my cupcake,” I whined after a moment of uncontrollable laughter. They both got up, smiling at me. I got up off my bed and set the cupcake down. I then proceeded to give them both appropriate hugs. “Thank you both for my cupcake,” I said.

“Oh, it doesn’t stop there. We still have presents to get through,” Kenny said.

“Come on, you guys know I don’t like when you get me presents,” I said.

“Too bad. We already got them and you’re going to love them,” Charlie replied with a shrug.

“Tonight at dinner,” Kenny added with a smirk.

“You guys, presents and dinner? That’s just too much.”

“Allegra, stop complaining. We are going to dinner tonight to celebrate your seventeenth birthday and there you will receive your presents and you will love them, got it?” Kenny stated in a demanding voice.

I let out a fake huff and nodded my head. “Fine.”

“Good. Now I have to get going. I’ll see you guys later tonight,” he said with a satisfied smile.

“Wait, you’re not eating breakfast with us?” I asked.

“Nope, I still have some overdue assignments to get done before tonight. But have a great day Legs.” With that, he engulfed me in a tight hug, gave Charlie a quicker one, and left our room.

“Well, you should probably get ready so we don’t miss breakfast,” Charlie stated.

I nodded my head in agreement and grabbed the things I would need before going into our bathroom and getting ready. Thirty minutes later, I came out freshly showered, my hair blow dried into its natural wavy state, and in a pair of denim shorts, a floral chiffon top, and white canvas Ked sneakers. “Kay, I’m ready to go,” I said as I exited the bathroom. I grabbed my phone and keys and slipped them into my front pockets before following Charlie out the door.

The entire walk down to the Rec Center took longer than it should have just because several people stopped me to wish me a happy birthday. When we got to the dining room, I saw that our friends were all sitting at a table waiting for us. As we approached them, they all shouted their happy birthday’s and took their turns giving me hugs, cards, and presents. They had even bought me my favorite breakfast foods so I wouldn’t have to pay for them myself. Of course I couldn’t eat it all, so I shared.

Spending my morning with all of my closest friends just made my day better.

“So Legs, what are you gonna do for the rest of the day?” My one friend Aaron asked me towards the end of breakfast.

My eyes drifted over his shoulder to the group of people sitting behind him—the socies. I had noticed them there a while ago and I couldn’t help looking over every so often, expecting to see Nick there with them. But he never showed up to breakfast, which means there was one thing I knew I had to do today.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

Two hours later, I found myself in front of Nick Jonas’ dorm room for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. I had fought with myself on whether or not I should come down, but in the end, my kindheartedness won the battle. So now I was standing in front of his room with a can of Ginger Ale, waiting for him to open his door. I heard some shuffling on the other side and took in a deep breath in preparation to see him again. However, when the door swung inwards, I wasn’t met with the king of the socialites. Oh no. I was met with the queen of the socialites.

Dawn Denato swept her eyes over my body, glaring at me when her eyes locked with mine. “Who the hell are you?” she asked in a condescending tone, scrunching up her face as if she didn’t like what she saw.

“Uhm its Allegra,” I stated in a small voice, averting my eyes from hers. I hadn’t been expecting to see her here, but then again I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all she was his girlfriend and it was Valentine’s Day. Oh boy, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.

“Are you lost?” she asked, crossing her arms across her chest and staring me down.

I snapped back to reality, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. “Uhm, no. I was, uh, here to see N-nick,” I replied trying not to show intimidation.

Her perfectly waxed eyebrows raised in an arch as she pursed her lips. “What do you want with my boyfriend?” she asked, moving out of the doorframe and into the hallway.

“H-he was sick yesterday and I-I just wanted to make sure h-he was okay,” I answered, taking a few steps away from her.

The scowl on her face quickly changed to a smirk. “Aww, that’s so cute,” she cooed, clasping her hands together and giving me a fake smile and obnoxious giggle. Her face then suddenly dropped and she started walking forwards, pointing her finger threateningly at me. “Listen, I don’t know who you are or how the hell you know Nick, but the fact that you’re visiting him in his room “checking to see if he’s okay” doesn’t sit well with me, so you better get your little ass out of here. And leave my boyfriend alone,” she said jabbing at my shoulder with her perfectly manicured finger. With one final scowl, she turned around and went back into Nick’s room.

I could do nothing but stand in the middle of the hallway—dumbfounded.

That certainly didn’t go the way I planned.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

“Allegra, you need to hurry or we’re going to miss our dinner reservations!” I heard Charlie call from inside our bedroom. I glanced at myself once more in the mirror before closing the tube of lip gloss and tossing it inside the small clutch I would be taking with me to dinner. I flipped the light switch in the bathroom as I stepped out into our room. Charlie, who had been sitting on her bed drumming her fingers impatiently against her knees, glanced up at me and smiled. “Aww, Legs you look so cute. I love your dress!”

I twirled around once for the effect and smiled back at her. “Thanks, I’m pretty fond of it myself,” I admitted. I had decided on a short, teal, gauze dress with a deep v-neck in the front, and an open back trim with embroidered stitching. I had paired it with a pair of metallic silver flip-flops, accessorizing with a pair of silver hoops and several silver bangles. Instead of doing my hair all over again, I decided to just tie it in a side ponytail, braiding my bangs and clipping them to the side. I added a bit more make-up than usual—making my eyes look darker and smokier—to complete the look. “You look super cute too!” I gushed once I got a good look at her. She was wearing an ivory, knit dress with a lacey racer back, along with ivory wedges, and diamond studs, her hair and make-up done to perfection.

“Yea, I do. God I can’t believe how unbelievably gorgeous we are,” she said, running her fingers through her long blonde tresses and shaking them up a bit. I giggled a bit at her and shook my head. She was honestly too much sometimes.

“Alright, well we should probably get going. I’m sure Kenny is downstairs waiting.” Agreeing, we gathered our things and exited our dorm building. When we did, we saw Kenny leaning against his Honda Civic with his arms crossed against his chest. He was wearing a pair of black dress pants, a plain white button up with a skinny black tie wrapped around his neck. His hair was gelled into his signature spikes and his smile was as welcoming as ever. When we approached the car, he moved away from it, greeting us each with a hug and a compliment to our attire.

We then got into his car (where they proceeded to blind-fold me) and drove for about twenty minutes. When we arrived at our destination, I was led by them both into a building. I instantly heard the chatter of people and knew we were at the restaurant. Then I got a whiff of the air and knew exactly where we were. They had brought me to Olive Garden, my absolute favorite restaurant ever.

After confirming our reservation, we were led through the restaurant to our table. Once seated, we enjoyed our never-ending bread sticks (yum) and salads. Right before our dinner was served, Charlie decided to use the bathroom. I was still engrossed with finishing my bread stick, so I declined her offer of going with her. About fifteen seconds later, I found myself wishing I had gone with her.

Kenny and I had been continuing our conversation, laughing at each other when the hostess led a young couple past us. I didn’t think anything of it until the male back tracked and stopped in front of our table. “Allegra?”

Looking up, I realized it to be Nick. I’m pretty sure my eyes widened in surprise when I saw him, but I quickly recovered from the shock and said, “Hey. Nick. How’s it going?”

I saw him glance at my companion, then back at me, and smile. Unfortunately for him, I was good at reading people, and I had seen his genuine smile. This was definitely not it.

“I’m doing good. I didn’t expect to see you two here,” he stated. “On a date…”

I knew my cheeks were definitely flaming red at his comment. “W-we’re not on a d-d-date. We’re h-here for m-m-my birthday,” I stuttered, looking down at the table quickly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nick’s stance relax. “I didn’t know today was your birthday,” he said in a much softer voice.

“Yea, Kenny and Charlie decided to bring me out for dinner,” I replied, hazarding a glance back his way. I could see a tiny smile pulling at the corner of his lips, whereas his girlfriend looked about ready to rip someone’s head off. “How about you two, out for Valentine’s Day?” I inquired.

“Yes, actually, we are,” Dawn replied, snaking her arms around Nick’s waist. “Babe, the hostess is waiting to seat us. Let’s go.” With that, she dragged him away. But not before he sent me a small wave and a smile.

I waved back at him before turning my attention back to Kenny. He was wearing his contemplative face, looking between me and Nick, who was seated a few tables away from us. “I thought you said you guys weren’t friends,” he said after a moment.

I shrugged and picked up a crouton off his salad. “We’re acquaintances,” I replied, plopping the crouton into my mouth.

Right then Charlie came back and resumed her seat. “Oh my goodness did you guys see who’s here?” she asked, trying to discreetly look over her shoulder at Nick and Dawn.

Kenny and I glanced at each other then laughed at her. “Yea, we did,” Kenny replied as the waiter came out with our meals. As we continued eating, we forgot about Nick and Dawn and just continued having a good time together. When it came time for dessert, I got a complementary slice of tiramisu cake with yet another candle atop it. After I blew out that candle, Kenny and Charlie decided to give me my gifts.

“Okay, you have to open mine first,” Charlie said, eagerly reaching into her purse and bringing out the gift. She placed a small envelope in my hand. I opened it up, reading the card first and then opening the envelope that was inside the first envelope. I pulled out a $500 Visa gift card and stared open mouthed at it.

“Seriously, Charlie?” I asked, gaping at her. She had a giant grin pulling at her lips.

“Shopping spree!!! You and me. Next time we can get up to LA.” I set the cards down and embraced her in a tight hug.

“Oh my goodness! Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is awesome!” I exclaimed. Charlie knows I don’t like accepting expensive gifts (though I know it’s no big deal for her to shell out a couple hundred dollars in one day), so she reluctantly gets me gift cards for my favorite stores. I’ve come to expect them each year, but I always get really excited when I receive one, just because I know that there will be a girl’s day in our future. Just me and my bestie. And that’s the best gift ever.

“Wow Charlie, way to totally steal my thunder,” Kenny said from across the table. “How can my present ever compete with a shopping spree?” he asked with dry humor.

I giggled at him. “Kenny, it doesn’t have to compete. I’m pretty positive I’m going to love whatever you got for me just because it came from you,” I told him.

“A diplomatic answer,” he mumbled under his breath. I shook my head at him, though I did nothing to hide the smile on my face, as he reached into his pockets—I’m guessing to retrieve his gift. He laid a small box wrapped in shiny ivory wrapping paper in front of me. “Now, it’s no shopping spree—” he started, sending a fake glare at Charlie who returned it with a cheeky grin, “—but it’s a little something.”

I glanced wearily at the small box in front of me. There’s only one thing that can fit in that box…jewelry. I slowly unwrapped the paper only to have my heart beat accelerate when I saw the turquoise box that lay underneath. I glanced up at Kenny and I could see the expectant look in his eyes—Charlie was stiff still next to me. I glanced back down at the box and licked my dry lips, slowly lifting the lid. I let out a gasp when I unveiled the classic Tiffany’s heart tag charm bracelet in sterling silver. I couldn’t do anything but stare at it in shock.

“Well…do you like it?” Kenny asked, worry in his voice.

“Like it?” I asked. “I absolutely love it,” I replied, smiling up at him.

“You do?” he asked, relief washing over his face.

“Of course! I can’t believe you would get me such an expensive gift though. You know how I feel about that,” I said, now getting over the shock of his present.

“Yea I know. But I figure we’ve been friends for a long time, so I’m entitled to splurge once in a while.” The comment was met with his warm smile and I knew there was no point in arguing with him over it, so I just accepted it.

“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “Both of you. You truly spoil me too much.”

They both laughed and said, “You’re welcome.” We didn’t stay in the restaurant much longer after that. Right before we left however, I told them to go ahead without me and that I’d meet them at the car. I then went into the bathroom, hurrying so that they wouldn’t have to wait long.

When I came out, I was surprised to see Nick sitting on one of the benches set out for those waiting to be seated. “Oh, hey Nick,” I said, having forgotten that he was here too.

He glanced up and gave me a genuine smile. “Hey Allegra.”

“What are you doing?” I questioned, glancing curiously at the clutch and bouquet of roses sitting on his lap.

“Waiting for Dawn to come out of the bathroom so we can leave,” he said with an eye roll. By the tone of his voice I could tell he wasn’t exactly happy.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

He let out a long sigh. “Yea, just some drama, but it’s whatever,” he stated.

“Oh. Okay,” I replied. I stood there for another second. “Uhm. Are you feeling any better? I stopped by your dorm this morning, but Dawn answered the door,” I trailed off.

He cocked his head up at me and knitted his eyebrows together. “You did?” he asked, seemingly surprised.

I nodded my head. “With a can of Ginger Ale and everything,” I added.

I saw his lips twitch in a smile. “That was thoughtful of you.” I gave him a weak smile as I shrugged it off. “I’m fine. I think it was just the stomach virus. Ya know, only lasts 24 hours or something. My mom told me to keep hydrated and I should be fine.”

I nodded my head, accepting his explanation. “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better,” I stated.

“Me too. Oh, and thanks for helping me out yesterday. That was really nice of you,” he said in a small voice.

“No problem,” I replied, allowing a short silence to follow. “Uhm, I should probably go. They’re waiting for me outside,” I said, motioning towards the door behind me.

“Yea. Okay,” he said. I gave him a small wave before turning towards the door. Before I got too far however, the sound of his voice halted my departure. “Allegra hold on.”

I turned to find him standing up from the bench. He walked towards me, pulling out a rose from the bouquet he had been holding for his girlfriend. “Happy Birthday,” he said, handing me the single red rose.

I stared in shock, blindly taking the rose, and subconsciously bringing it up to my nose. “Thanks,” I whispered, bringing my gaze back to Nick. We stood in an eye lock for a few seconds until the sound of my phone ringing in my clutch broke our daze. I knew that it was probably Kenny or Charlie wondering what was taking me so long, so I didn’t bother answering. I just smiled at Nick and exited the restaurant.