I Don't Need You To Save Me

I expected things to be pretty awkward with Joe after my little breakdown that night, but surprisingly they weren't. He had been nothing but nice to me since that night. We had developed some kind of friendship from a night where one of us had shown weakness and the other had been there to comfort. I thought I would have scared him off originally, but the day after he had been completely fine with me. Better then fine even.

"So do you want to do something today?” He asked me one morning whilst I was cleaning up the bowl I had just eaten my cereal from. I looked up at him and smiled.

"It depends.” I replied. I did kind of want to get out of the house. I would have gone out and done something by myself, if I knew where anything was. I still didn't know my way round Wyckoff. At all. “What did you have in mind?” I asked.

"Well, and don't laugh at this.” He pointed at my playfully and smiled. “We're having band practice at Soffy's house because my Dad needs to get some work done and he needs the piece and quiet.”

"Wait. You're in a band?” I asked. Joe nodded with a large grin on his face. “Why did you not tell me?”

"I didn't know it was that important.” Joe shrugged. “So do you want to come?”

"It is important! Are you any good?” I asked, all my words seemed to combine into one. This was interesting for me. “I'm so coming with you!”

"Wow. Its really not that exciting.” Joe gave me a funny look and shook his head.

"Yes it is! I've never seen anything like band practice before!” I smiled and started drying my bowl with a tea-towel as I spoke. “It just really interests me.” Just then, Kevin walked into the room.

"What's interesting?” He asked looking really confused.

"The band.” Joe said simply, as if it was the most normal things in the world.

"Why did nobody think to tell me this?” I asked the two brothers.

"I didn't think it was really important. It’s just a little thing we started a couple of years ago.” Joe explained and I listened with all my interest. “We've got a show in a couple of weeks in a coffee shop in town, so we need all the practice we can get.”

"Yes, and to get all the practice we can get, we probably should set off soon.” Kevin pointed out. It was almost eleven after all. “We'll set off in about half an hour?” He asked Joe more then he asked me, it was clear he wanted him to hurry up. Joe nodded in a 'ok-whatever' kind of fashion and Kevin left the kitchen. I had long finished drying up my bowl, but I was still running the cloth over the smooth surface. My mind was somewhere else.

"So are you coming with?” Joe asked and ran his hand through his un-straightened hair. I nodded and moved to side my bowl.

"Was the excitement not enough clarification for you?” I asked with a laugh and Joe shook his head at me, smiling the whole time. “Well, I'm going to go change now, because I feel like a total slob.” I laughed and motioned down to my sweatpants and baggy t-shirt. “Half an hour, right?”

"Yup.” Joe nodded and then grinned at me. I started to walk out of the kitchen. “Oh, Hayleigh. You may feel like a slob, but you definitely don't look like one.” Joe winked at me when I glanced over my shoulder. I shook my head at him to show that I didn't agree, but I couldn't hide the blush that crept onto my face.

---

"Hey guys!” Soffy opened the door with a large smile on her face. She held the door open so we could all walk into her home, which was not that different from the Jonas's, maybe a little smaller and a different colour, but it had the same homey feel that made me long to be back in California. Not because my home felt homey, it was the exact opposite of homey, I just missed it terribly.

Kevin was the first through the door. Something told me it wasn't because he was excited about band practice. "Basement?” He simply asked and Soffy smiled and nodded. Joe and Nick followed their older brother further into the house whilst I stood and waited politely for Soffy. Kevin, Joe and Nick had known her for a while, and that gave them the right to waltz into her home like they owned the place. I on the other hand had only known the girl just over a week.

"So did they drag you along, or did you come willingly?” Soffy asked as she shut the house door and laughed.

I smiled. “Joe asked me if I wanted to come and I kind of jumped at the chance.” I laughed. “I've never been to anything like a band practice before.”

"It took me weeks to convince them to let me listen in.” Soffy explained as we walked down the stairs to what I guessed was the basement. “They take this very seriously, I think Kevin kept saying “We don't need any distractions whilst we're practising.” If that's not dedication then I don't know what is.”

The brothers looked like they were already almost set up. Kevin stood in one corner tuning his guitar whilst Nick did the same to his own guitar at the other side of the room. Joe sat on the top of one of the larger amps set up in the room, looking down at his phone.

I waited patiently for them to start. I sat on a large couch, the kind that when you sit on it you sink right down so you feel like your almost sat on the floor, at the edge of the room closest to the stairs and watched the three brothers get ready to start rehearsing. It seemed like forever before they were properly ready.

The first notes hit me instantly. They were simple and repetitive, but still effective. The kind that easily become stuck in your head all day. I watched Nick step up to a microphone that stood pretty much dead centre of the room and take a deep breath before opening his mouth to sing.

After the final chords of the song echoed through the room, I stared at the three of them in disbelief.

I turned to Soffy, who was also sat on the couch to my right. “You didn't tell me they were that good!” I whispered, because the brothers had started the intro to another song. This time Joe stepped up to the microphone, catching my eye as he started to sing and winking ever so subtly. If I hadn't been paying attention I would have missed it.

"What were you expecting, for them to be completely tone deaf?” She asked. I shrugged.

"I'm not sure, maybe.” I sighed, “I've met many a band who can't sing live for the life in them. Trust me.”

"Yeah, well. They don't have the technology to make their voices pitch perfect like some mainstream artists use.” Soffy laughed and then tucked her dark curtain of hair behind her ear. Nick took over the vocals of the song, and I found myself tapping my foot along to the guitar riff. “Nick could be his own one man band if he wanted. I don't think there is an instrument he hasn't learnt to play yet.”

"Wow.” I watched his fingers fly over the guitar strings. “I never learnt to play an instrument. I kind of regret it.” I confessed. In all honesty, I never really had time to think of anything but my acting career, so learning an instrument wasn't even a possibility.

"It’s never too late to learn, I bet Nick or Kevin would love to teach you guitar.” Soffy smiled at me. “Once they've done this show, I'm sure.”

I nodded. The song soon came to a close and I smiled, clapping my hands together enthusiastically. “You guys are seriously great!”

"We know.” Joe joked and Kevin rolled his eyes. “Sofia tells us enough.” I glanced over at her and she nodded and shrugged.

"Well I'm not going to tell you that you're crap am I?” She asked and the three brothers laughed.

"Honestly though, why are you not signed yet?!” I asked and stood up from the couch. “Did you write those songs yourself?” I had so many questions.

"Well, Kevin and I do most of the song writing.” Nick laughed.

"I can't be smart and good looking.” Joe interrupted him and grinned.

"Yeah, like I was saying,” Nick rolled his eyes at his older brother, “Kevin and I write most of the songs, but Joe helps occasionally. When he's not looking in the mirror.” Nick laughed and was soon hit round the side of the head by Joe.

“Someone has to be the good looking one in the band.” Joe argued back and pouted.

A couple of hours later, the boys had finished their band practice, I had convinced Nick to teach me guitar and I had plans to go watch their show in two weeks.

"I'll be up at the front with all the screaming fans." I joked to Joe on the way home. He shook his head and smiled at me, like it was some kind of joke that we had been carrying on for years. It definitely felt like one.

"Yeah, all three of them." He ran his hand through his dark hair.

"Still, its better then having no fans at all." I pointed out and rested the side of my head against the headrest, looking straight at Joe. "I'll be fan number four. Just out of interest, who are the other three screaming fans?"

"Ok, so maybe there are more then four. There's Sofia, obviously, and a couple of her friends from school. And then there is Nicky's little girlfriend..." He started laughing before he had probably finished his sentence. Nick, who was sat in the passenger seat of Kevin's car, turned round and glared at his older brother.

"She is not my girlfriend; she is a good friend of mine." He continued to glare at Joe. "How many times do I need to tell you?"

"Sure, sure Nicholas." Joe nodded sarcastically. "Anyway, they're Nicks friend as well."He dragged out the word friend, mostly likely to annoy his brother. I laughed and smiled apologetically in Nicks direction. He rolled his eyes and turned back round in his seat.