Sunshine in my Heart

Mishti played with the strings that were frayed at the edge of her bright comforter. She looked around the room and sighed. The girls had come home from the mall over two hours ago and Mishti had immediately dashed to her room. The minute she had stepped into her room, Mishti had attempted to formulate options.

Back at Jamba Juice, she realized that it was going to be up to her to make the mends between her and Nick. She couldn’t keep living in the fantasy world of hers where Nick would be the prince in shining armor ready to give up everything for her. She didn’t even know if that was even his intention.

It was obvious to Mishti that he was attracted to her. Why would he kiss her if he didn’t? Her heart churned at the answer to it and pushed it out of her head, determined to believe what she had originally thought.

Mishti knew what she had to do, but she was unsure how. The fact that that she would have to make the first move was already established. The only way that occurred to Mishti to achieve that was to talk to him. She hadn’t the slightest idea how she as going to get Nick to talk to her when he wouldn’t even say hello to her earlier today.

Mishti couldn’t blame him for not doing so, she had runaway from him. She tried to imagine the situation from his point of view. The way she was looking at it wasn’t coming out to be a bright and happy rainbow. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the confusion and hurt he had gone through. But the dark look he had given her wasn’t easing her thoughts at all.

A sigh escaped her lips as Mishti sighed and looked at the digital clock on her nightstand. She couldn’t keep putting this off. The longer she did, the more it was going to make her feel worse about herself, however selfish that may sound.

Her cell phone still laid in her lap as she opened it, closed it, and then opened it again. She stared at the wallpaper of her and Emily at the studio the other day. Her thumbs clicked the down arrow key as the highlighted bar made its way further down the address book.

A small smile tugged at Mishti’s lips as the bar went over Mr.President. The name seemed to fit the serious side of Nick but also the childish side which Mishti loved. Memories of the last few weeks flooded her mind as she continued to stare at the screen.

All the little tidbits of her life flashed through her head as she tried to stall just a little bit longer. She could do this. The only step left to do was to press the green call button. Her fingers tapped nervously on the slick surface as she let the seconds pass by. Without thinking, Mishti pressed the button down and shakily put it to her ear.

The dull rings started to echo in Mishti’s ear as it kept going on and on and on. Her heart jumped when she heard it stopped. She bit her lip waiting for Nick’s voice as the phone was picked up.

“Hey-” Mishti began to speak. But she was cut off by his voice.

“Hey it’s Nick. I’m not here right now but leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Nick’sangelic voice spoke.

Mishti brought the phone away from ear and gently let it click shut. She ran her fingers through the hair and debated what to do next. She didn’t know what to do now. He hadn’t picked up his phone and she didn’t know what other way to talk to him.

She turned around at the sound of her door opening. A happy Emily walked into the room and sat down on Mishti’s bed.

“You okay?” Emily asked.

Mishti nodded. “I guess. I tried calling Nick but he didn’t pick up. It went to his voice mail.” On the way back from the mall, she had told Emily that she was going to do at her best ability try to patch things up between her and Nick. Her best friend had been delighted that she was going to try to work things out.

But the frown on Emily’s face didn’t seem to match that. “He didn’t pick up?”

Mishti shook her head slowly. “No. Why?”

Emily bit her lip wondering if she should respond. She began twirling her hair with her finger trying to put her response in the most delicate way she could before realizing there was no other way to say it. “I just talked to Nick,” she finally said. “He has his phone with him.”

Her heart took a nosedive. Nick was purposely avoiding her. He wasn’t even giving her a chance to even talk to him. If he wasn’t even willing to talk to her, how was she supposed to fix everything?

“But,” Emily said slowly as she made eye contact with Mishti, “I am going over later tonight to their house to work with Joe on our dance number for the show.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I can’t do this,” Mishti said as she looked out the dark tinted window. The car was currently sitting on the Jonas driveway and had been so for the last five minutes. Mishti had been fine when they started going up the long curvy driveway, but the minute they actually stopped, she was in full panic mode.

“Yes, you can,” Emily said firmly as she tugged on Mishti’s arm. “You have to do this. You’re going to regret it if you don’t. And plus, I’m not going to have you dropped off back home.”

Mishti groaned but obliged and grasped the door handle. She pushed the door open and stepped out into the cool California evening air. She had opted to wear her dark denim skinny jeans paired with a solid light pink cami that barely covered her stomach. She played with the ring on her left hand and stayed close to Emily. Emily rang the doorbell and squeezed Mishti’s hand reassuringly as the door opened.

A surprised look on Joe’s face appeared once he threw open the door. “Hey Mishti!” Joe reached down and gave her a hug. “What are you doing here?”

She glanced at Emily who gave her a nod. “Actually, I came here to talk to Nick. Is he here?” she asked nervously.

Joe sighed. “You can try talking to him.” He paused before continuing. “You’re not exactly his favorite person at the moment.”

“I figured,” Mishti mumbled.

He gave her a small smile. “He’s actually out in the back. Good luck.”

Mishti thanked him and brushed past him with a smile. Every time she came into the Jonas mansion, she loved looking at the interior decorations of it. She would marvel at the furnishings and would wonder how Denise ever kept it like this. But today, Mishti walked right by everything. She was here for only one reason.

Mishti finally came upon the glass doors at the back and gently pushed it open. The twinkling stars were starting to come into view as the night started to appear. She could see a few yards away the swimming pool and a barbeque set to the side. Chairs were everywhere and a small swing set for Frankie was built nearby.

Mishti kicked off her shoes and set them on the wooden patio and softly set her feet on the grass. She let out a giggle as her toes squished against the dew from the grass. The crickets were chirping off in the distance and neighbors dogs were barking somewhere else.

Her eyes scanned for Nick but she couldn’t see him anywhere. She slowly began walking, a little scared that the darkness was settling in when she had no idea where she was going.
It was only then, her ears perked as she heard the faint sounds of guitar playing. Her heartbeat increased, and Mishti started to walk in the direction of the sound. She turned around the corner and it was then she saw the dark wooden gazebo.

Nick was sitting on the stairs at the entrance of the gazebo with a guitar on his lap. She could tell he was just relaxing and was playing around with some chords. Mishti ran her fingers through her long straightened black hair, mentally hoping that she looked alright.

He didn’t seem to notice her at all as she quietly tip toed to the entrance. It wasn’t till she was standing at the foot of the steps that he looked up. Mishti saw for a moment a shocked look on his face before it went away. “Hey,” Mishti said quietly.

He set his hands on his guitar and looked at her with a curious look. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

Mishti leaned her left shoulder on the beam that was next to her and crossed her arms. “I came to talk to you because you’re avoiding my calls.”

“Well what do you expect me to do?” Nick asked harshly. Mishti blinked at the sudden mood change but kept going.

“You could have at least given me a chance, Nick.”

He stood up and laid his guitar on the floor of the gazebo. Suddenly Mishti felt overpowered as he stood a good three inches taller than her. She was afraid that it showed through her and tried to stand up taller. To her dismay, he still seemed to have some power of her.

“I did give you a chance Mishti,” Nick retorted. “I waited and waited till you would come explain to me what happened that night. But you didn’t. You left me hanging and I had no idea what I did.”

His words hit her like a brick. Everything he was saying was true. She hadn’t even attempted to talk to him. All the things she wanted to say to him were starting to get jumbled up in her head. The pressure to try to explain everything to him was starting to get to her and she could feel the back of her throat starting to close up. Briefly, she shut her eyes hoping it would stop the threatening tears. She hated that she was so vulnerable and couldn’t even defend herself.

“I-I’m sorry,” Mishti choked out. She swallowed trying to continue. “I was just so confused and I didn’t know what to do.” The tears were starting to brim at her eyes and she looked away hoping it would calm them down. “It wasn’t your fault at all. You did absolutely nothing.”

Nick’s face turned concerned and instantly softened once he noticed the tears. He lifted his hand to her face and let his thumb push away the tears that were starting to fall on her face. “Please don’t cry. I hate seeing you like this.”

Mishti brought her hands up to her eyes and rubbed the tears away from underneath her eye. “I know you’re wondering why I left you. It has nothing to do with you,” Mishti repeated.

She looked down at the ground avoiding his eyes. “I came out of a really bad relationship before I came here to California and it’s just been a lot more difficult for me to trust guys now.”

Nick searched her eyes as she lifted up her head. “What happened?”

Mishti let out a shaky breath. “I had a boyfriend who was a junior at my school. He was 17. He made a bet with his friends that he could get me to be his girlfriend and for me to fall for him. I found out after overhearing his actual girlfriend talking about it in the girls bathroom.”

“Mishti,” Nick started saying softly. “I would never do that to you. You mean so much to me and I would never deliberately do anything to hurt you.” He slowly set his hands on the small of her back as she gingerly stepped closer to him. His fingers settled on the skin that wasn’t covered by her cami.

“I know. But I don’t think my heart could take it if I got hurt again,” Mishti hesitated before continuing. “I really do like you Nick.”

A small smile played on Nick’s lips as he heard her say the last sentence. His arms tightened his grip around her as he leaned down and gave her a soft hug. Mishti wrapped her arms his neck taking in his Abercrombie cologne.

She felt so content and safe in his arms. The way she felt around Nick was nothing compared to Tyler. She knew Nick would never intentionally hurt her. He was too much of a gentleman to do so.

“I like you too,” Nick smiled. “But you have to trust me, Mishti. I’m never going to hurt you. Ever.”

“Okay,” Mishti whispered immediately. “I trust you.”

She froze when he reached up and slipped his hand underneath her hair. Her round eyes slightly widened as she stared into his eyes. “Do you still trust me?” Nick asked softly as his hot breath traveled down to her face. Mishti slightly nodded.

Night was fully upon them and the stars were shining at their brightest. But Mishti didn’t seem to notice as her eyes fluttered closed. A second later she felt Nick’s lips on top of hers. His lips were so soft and moist as they moved in sync with hers.

The sparks between them were undeniable as Mishti slowly began to smile into the kiss. Mishti gently pulled back as she began to run out of air. Nick’s grin matched hers as he looked down at her.

“Promise me forever?” Mishti asked.

“Forever," Nick promised and kissed her again.