Never Easy

The sounds of soothing music flowed from her radio as Callie opened the door to her room and immediately collapsed onto her bed. She tossed her phone on the bed beside her and closed her eyes. The thoughts in her head were like a tornado and she couldn’t even begin to think straight. The music was the only thing at the moment that was calming her down.

Joe had dropped her back off at her house after the successful dinner with his family. Callie managed to finish the dinner with the Jonas family even though thedreadful realization had struck her halfway through their meal.

She hoped that she hadn’t let Joe in on anything during her visit. She was having such a difficult time comprehending it on the inside that she wasn’t so sure how much she was revealing it on the outside.

Every time that Joe had kissed her, or visa versa, Callie hadn’t really thought about what it had meant to her. It was just another little detail in her plan to win the bet and she figured that it was just part of the things that she would have to do in being successful.

But tonight was different. This time when Joe kissed her, it took all of Callie’s willpower not to push herself against him and take him right there. The way his lips had brushed gently against hers never had had the effect on her it like it had tonight. And that was when knew she had dug herself in a hole that was way too deep to climb back out.

There were so many things wrong with the fact that she had fallen for him. She never should have accepted the bet with Ashley but just like always, her temper had gotten the best of her and she had let her heart, and not her head, speak for itself.

This was never supposed to have happened. The plan had been fool proof. All it was supposed to have been was to get together with Joe, win Junior Homecoming Queen, and dump him a few days later saying things weren’t really working out. Or better yet, find a way for him to dump her instead. She could suffer the blow to her ego if it meant winning the bet.

Callie knew that if she started to have more feelings than what she hoped was a tiny crush, she was going to be in an even more mess than she already was. It was going to be even harder to deal with all the consequences she knew she was already going to have to face.

But now, everything was screwed up. Callie hadn’t realized that during this huge ordeal she would actually end up falling for him. However, the more she thought about it, the more she wondered how it had taken her this long for her to come to the conclusion that she had feelings for him.

There were so many little things that Joe did that were just icing on the cake. He opened doors for her, always made sure that she was okay and taken care of, random kisses which he didn’t mind giving in front of his friends, and last but not least, his killer looks that factored into his stunning body.

A memory from a few weeks ago slipped into her head. She couldn’t remember why, but Joe was laughing at her about something she had said. She had to admit, it had been amusing but even now that memory involuntary formed a smile on her face. It was the small things that he did that made her smile.

Callie groaned as she turned over to her left side. Everything was so confusing to her right now. All her thoughts were jumbled up inside her head making it overwhelming for her. It was slowly starting to dawn on her everything that was happening to her and the feeling in her heart and stomach were the effects of it.

After a few more minutes, Callie swung her feet over the side of her bed and sat up. Her bare feet touched the carpeted floor as she removed her grey cardigan. A small sigh left her lips as she started to change out of her sundress and into a set of comfy pajamas.

She was pulling her hair into a low ponytail when her phone buzzed on her dresser beside her. Her eyes were diverted towards it as it continued to buzz indicating that it was an incoming call and not a text message.

Butterflies started to enter her stomach as she saw the name that was flashing on her screen. Callie bit her bottom lip as her thumb nervously tapped on the screen. Without thinking for one more second, she hit accept and brought the phone up to her ear.

“Hey,” she said softly. Callie walked over to her bed and sat down gingerly. The fingers on her right hand began to play with the end of her comforter as she slid under it and pulled it over her lap.

It was only the night before where she had been in the same position of in her bed talking to Joe, but this time it had completely new and different factors involved. Her feelings were starting to get in the way of even trying to calm herself down to talk to him. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this way.

“Hey!” Joe’s voice startled Callie out of her thoughts causing her to quickly focus her attention back onto him. It wasn’t too difficult. “So I have to say, tonight was a success.”

“Really?” Callie questioned. “Your parents liked me?”

“Are you kidding?” Joe asked surprised. “Of course they did. Right after I dropped you off and came home, they were all over me about how you’re such a great girl and that they’re finally glad that I met somebody who’s good to me and cares about me.”

Callie’s heart sank. If only everything his parents had thought was true. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what they would think of her if they found out the truth. Their opinion of her would change so drastically in under a second and just the thought of that happening pulled a knot in her stomach.

The guilt that she was feeling towards Joe’s parents was only the beginning of it. Callie was almost too afraid to think of what Joe would say when he found out. She hadn’t thought that far yet. He trusted her and believed they truly loved each other. She didn’t know if she could face him and tell another lie to his face again.

“That’s-that’s great Joe,” Callie stuttered.

“It is,” Joe affirmed. He paused for a moment as if he was thinking something through. “Are you busy tomorrow?”

Callie frowned slightly as she racked through her head to check if she was. After she made sure she wasn’t, she answered. “Nope, nothing that I know of. Why?”

“Nick got these free passes to the carnival tomorrow and there are four of them. I haven’t been to one in awhile and I was thinking we could go with him. He has two extra passes since he’s going with his girlfriend Kelsey. Do you want to go tomorrow?”

“Sure, I’d love to,” Callie replied almost too quickly. She was going to take any chance that there was now to spend time with him before the scandal took even a bigger step.

“Alright, I’ll text you tomorrow with the details and everything. We’ll probably leave a little after fourish so be ready by then. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

After hanging up on each other, Callie set her phone down on her night stand and plugged it into her phone charger. She let out another huge sigh and lied down on her bed. Tucking her hands behind her head, Callie let all the events from the day replay through her mind. It had been a long day and not necessarily for the better.

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The smell of popcorn and cotton candy filled Callie’s senses as she sat down in a wooden bench. The scent of cotton candy became even stronger when a huge pink cotton candy was placed in front of her. She licked her lips as she looked up and made eye contact with Joe.

“Here you go, I think I got the last one from the guy.” Joe smiled as he handed her the cotton candy and shoved the excess change into the back of his jeans pockets.

“Gosh, this looks so good!” Callie claimed. “I can’t eat all of this, help me eat it.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Joe stated with a laugh. His long fingers reached into the fluffy sugary candy and plucked a small section out before shoving it into his mouth. Callie let out a giggle at the action but proceeded to do the same.

They had arrived at the carnival almost two hours ago with Nick and Kelsey. Soon after entering the colorful carnival, both couples had separated ways and decided to meet up again after a few hours. Callie had gladly agreed to that proposition if it meant more time to spend with Joe.

At the start of their adventure, Joe and Callie had tackled the game booths that were set up all around the carnival. Thanks to Joe, Callie now had in her possession two stuffed bears and a new pair of earrings. Slowly they had shifted gears towards the small carnival rides and the corn maze that had been put up.

All evening, a glow had glimmered on Callie’s face. She had pushed all the previous day’s thoughts to the back of her head and was enjoying the time she was spending with Joe. A smile had been involuntarily plastered on her face from their evening spent together.

It was the first time she had actually felt the sparks when they held hands the entire evening. His hug he had given her made the butterflies reappear in her stomach, even if it was for just a few seconds. Conversation flowed easily between them just like it usually did. Callie found herself more at ease with him ever than before and she loved every minute of it.

Callie was distracted from her thoughts the second that Joe’s arm slipped around her waist and pulled her closer towards her. He gave a gentle squeeze to her hip and leaned down to give her a small kiss on the cheek.

She looked up at Joe with a sweet smile and rested her forehead against his. “Thanks for bringing me here today. I’m having so much fun,” she said softly.

“Good,” Joe said as his lips curved up into a small smile. He pressed his lips on hers and Callie could taste the sweet sugar as both their lips collided.

The innocent kiss turned into much more as their lips moved in synch with each others. Callie pulled back first but regretted it the instance she did. The look in Joe’s eyes seemed to make up for the lack of contact between their lips though. She gave him one more kiss before standing up and urging him to do the same.

“Come on, I want to see the magic show that we passed on the way here.” Joe grinned at her and stood up as he tossed the stick into the trash can and followed Callie.

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Callie pushed open the entrance doors and walked inside the cafeteria. She was met with the loud chatter and buzz of a normal high school social area. Walking over to her normal table, Callie sat down her books.

Her lunch table that she usually sat at consisted of a couple of the cheerleaders who actually befriended her and a few other girls whom were in some of the same classes with Callie. She easily got along with all the girls and she was plenty grateful for that. Joe was in the same lunch with her, but Callie was more comfortable sitting with her friends than the rest of the football team most days.

Miranda and Jess were already sitting down at the table and Callie quickly sat down across from them. The rest of the girls were up in the lunch line buying their lunches while Callie opened her packed lunch. The three of them jumped into the topic of Homecoming which was right around the corner.

“You’re going with Joe, right?” Miranda asked.

Callie nodded. Joe had asked her a few days ago, like any boyfriend should. The second part of her plan was slowly starting to come into action. Last week had been Homecoming nominations for the people who would actually be on the ballot for the school to choose who their sophomore, junior, and senior Kings and Queen’s would be.

As if right on cue, the cafeteria atmosphere was interrupted by a tapping of the microphone to grab everyone’s attention. Most people turned their heads towards the front of the cafeteria where the Student Government president was standing.

“The last round of Homecoming nominations is in the Annex. Go there to vote on who your class King and Queen will be! Voting will be during the entire week!”

Callie turned back around to her friends who were looking at her excitedly. “Let’s go see who’s up for Court!” Jess suggested eagerly. The other two girls nodded and all three of them stood up and began to walk towards the Annex where a large amount of people were already headed.

The doors to the small annex were already crowded with people who were in line to vote that it took a good five minutes for Callie and her friends to get up to the front where the table and the poster of running candidates were.

“Look, you’re up for Homecoming Queen for the junior class!” Miranda exclaimed. “And Joe’s up for King!” Callie’s heart and stomach sank as she heard her friend beside her. Glancing to the Junior poster, she scanned the list of ten girls that were up along with the ten guys and sure enough, there in bright red marker was Callie Ryans and Joe Jonas.

Her hands were starting to become clammy as Callie inched closer and closer to the voting table. She wasn’t sure if she could do this. Did she really want to be part of the effort to win? Did she really want to win this bet so bad?

A little ahead of her, Callie saw the person she wished that she had never met. Ashley was a few people ahead of her and was laughing at something one of the other girls on the squad had said. It was as if they had telepathy because right then, Ashley turned around and made eye contact with her.

The two girls stared at each other before Ashley turned back around after giving one final smirk. Callie furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance. Her hands reached out in front of her and she grabbed the ballot that was sitting on the table.

Taking one of the pencils, Callie quickly filled in scantron bubbles 14 and 16, Callie and Joe, respectively. With one final glance, Callie stepped up in front of Ashley and looked her straight in the eyes as she dropped her ballot in the box.