Never Easy

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Callie smiled as she read the text from the one and only Joseph Jonas. She snapped the phone shut after she texted back asking where and when. The soft breeze of the night only added to the chilliness of the air causing Callie to tug her jacket closer to her body. She ran her fingers through her hair as she began walking towards the parking lot.

Only the football team and some of the cheerleaders were still left at the high school football stadium. Callie knew for sure that there was going to be a victory party within a couple hours. The team had just won one of their toughest games and it was going to be one of the highlights of this year’s football season.

A murmur of voices buzzed in the air since only a few people were left. Callie knew the football team was probably in their locker room getting changed and heading out for the night. Normally, Callie would have gone straight to her car and headed home but apparently tonight’s plans were slightly different.

She wasn’t exactly sure where to go now since Joe still hadn’t texted back. Callie was currently now in the parking lot as cars slowly backed out of the high school lot. She shoved her hands in her jacket pocket hoping to keep herself warm. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Callie turned around and tried to find the one person she was looking for.

The buzzing in her pocket indicated that she had a new text and stopped her from her search. Callie pulled out her cell phone and slid it open to read the text.

Sent: 11:13pm From: Joe Jonas
Meet me at the locker rooms behind the field. I’ll be outside.

Callie sighed before turning around retracing her footsteps from where she has just came from. Leave it to Joe to make her waste about ten minutes of her life when instead he could have texted back sooner and spared her some time. Boys and their wonderful sense of time.

Instead of taking the same route she taken to reach the parking lot, Callie walked around behind the bleachers and into almost a one hundred and eighty degree turn. After walking for about five minutes or so, she finally saw the white building of the locker rooms. It was close enough to the field where that they boys could run out the back entrance for the beginning of the football game.

Walking closer, Callie could hear the low rumble of voices of the football players who were still left. The door swung open every few seconds as each guy exited the locker room. There were small groups of guys standing around talking before finally one would leave and the rest would follow.

Callie scanned her eyes around the scattered guys and frowned when she couldn’t find Joe. He was no where to be found. Callie turned around and checked to see if maybe he was behind her but still no Joe. She was sure she must have looked like a complete idiot standing by herself, but what was she to do?

“Hey.” Callie jumped at the sound of the voice behind her and took a step back in the process. There behind her was Joe Jonas himself. His wavy hair was blowing in the breeze and he pushed his bangs out of his eyes while looking at her. His football jacket covered the top part of his body as he shoved his hands into his jean pocket. He leaned over slightly and looked at her expectantly. “You ready to go?”

Callie blinked but didn’t say a word as she nodded. The two of them proceeded to walk away from the locker room in silence. It would occasionally be broken with Joe saying bye to his teammates and Callie doing the same. She was surprised that Joe hadn’t said a word to her yet. It was as if he was a different person, but Callie wasn’t so sure she was complaining.

For the second time that night, Callie reached the parking lot and followed Joe. It occurred to her then she had no idea what car Joe owned at all and had to follow him like a lost puppy. She almost walked right past Joe once he had stopped in front of his car.

“Snazzy car,” Callie commented. It truly was a nice car. The dark blue shined in the street lights and from looking at the back of the car, Callie could see it was a 2008 Honda Civic.

“Thanks,” Joe said simply. Much to her surprise, Joe found his way in front of her and opened the car door for her. Callie raised an eyebrow at this gesture but didn’t say a word.

She set her bag down underneath the seat and reached up to snap her seatbelt in. Callie watched as Joe opened his own car door and slid inside. He pushed the keys into the ignition and Callie could immediately feel warm air blasting on her cold toes. Turning around, Joe slowly backed out of the parking lot and entered onto the road.

The humming of the radio in the background filled up the quietness, but Callie still felt the need to start a conversation. “So I have to give you props for the game today. That was an amazing last play.”

“I almost didn’t think Mark was going to catch it. Everything was riding on that one throw,” Joe took his eyes off the road for a second and turned to her and gave her a smile. “Did you know there were college scouts here today?”

Callie looked at him amazed. One, because she had no idea college scouts were going to be there, and two, that was not what Callie expected to hear Joe say. She was sure that he would have gone on some rant how he knew Mark was going to catch it because of his own incredible football skills. “College scouts? I didn’t know that. You must have been a nervous wreck before.”

Joe laughed. “You have no idea.”

Callie paused for a second as she debated in her head whether to make the comment that was swirling through her mind from her previous thoughts. After a couple seconds, she finally decided too. “You seem different right now.”

“Different?”

Callie nodded. “Yeah. Like, I don’t know, it’s like you’re a totally different person than the Joe Jonas I met at the party or at school.”

Joe let a few seconds pass before replying to her comment. “Maybe you’re right. First of all, I’m a little tired after the game, and secondly, I don’t have to put up an act around you. That’s why I’ve been bugging you so much for the last few days. You’re not like the other girls who are throwing yourself on me.” That was the plan Jonas.

“And I didn’t get that. Actually, I still don’t know how you resist my amazing charm,” he teased with a laugh.

And that’s when it started. That’s when the guilt started to seep through Callie’s heart. The little annoying voice in the back of her mind was pushing its way to the front of her mind. You’re using him, Callie. He’s falling for that stupid trick of yours and it worked! Are you happy now, Callie? Are you? Look what you’ve done to him! You’ve made him fall for you and look where it’s got you!” If Callie’s heart could talk, the one thing it would have said to the damn annoying voice, it would have been “Shut up!”

“Wow,” Callie stammered. “Did not see that coming.”

“Sorry,” Joe apologized running his hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean to dump all that on you. You asked, and I wanted to give you an honest answer. I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what got over me.”

It was only then that Callie noticed up ahead was Coldstone. Joe pulled into the parking lot and shut off the ignition. He sighed and turned to her. “Can we forget about this for now? Let’s just go get some ice cream.”

Callie smiled. “Okay, let’s go.” She pulled open the handle of the door and stepped out into the bitter cold of the night. The two of them walked quickly to the entrance of the store to escape the cold and entered the ice cream shop. The store was deserted except for the two teenage workers who were texting behind the counter. If Callie didn’t know any better, they were probably texting each other.

“Which one do you want?” Joe asked. He drummed his fingers on the glass counter as he pondered over the choices.

“French vanilla with Oreo, cookie dough, brownie, fudge, and caramel,” Callie stated.

Joe laughed. “Are you serious?”

“Very much serious! It’s what I always get here,” Callie proclaimed. “It’s delicious, you should try it!”

“I think I just might.” Joe repeated Callie’s order to the worker who quickly got to making her ice cream. “Make that two, please,” he added. He turned to Callie and smiled cheekily. “Let’s see if your ice cream lives up to its hype.”

Callie reached above the counter as the worker handed both them their ice creams. She licked her lips as the sight of the high amounts of sugar in front of her. Taking a bite, Callie sighed contently at the taste of chocolate and plenty of other wonderful things that contained way more calories than needed for an average day.

Callie walked over to the small round tables and sat down in one of the chairs. Joe pulled out the chair across from her and joined her at the table. “I don’t know how you thought of this, but this is amazing,” Joe acknowledged with a laugh.

And from there, conversation seemed to run smoothly. Callie was curious to know the real Joe, or however she wanted to call the way he was tonight. Occasionally he would slip up and make comments which reminded Callie of his cocky, arrogant self that she knew oh so well.

He told her a little about his own family as Callie did the same with hers. She learned that his family of three brothers, plus mom and dad, were tightly knit. His dad was a pastor at a church nearby while his mom was a teacher who taught impaired children.

It hadn’t taken her that long to finish her ice cream while Joe was taking his time devouring his own. He offered more of his own ice cream to Callie which she sheepishly accepted. Callie liked this Joe. A mix of the obnoxious Joe she knew before and the new, kind one who was actually nice towards her. When this whole mess finished, she hoped she would come out with at least a friend.

After they had finished, Joe and Callie headed back to his car. “Do you want me to drop you home?” Joe asked as he started up the car.

“Actually, is it okay if you drop me back off at school?” Callie asked as she bit her lip. “My car is still there.”

“Sure,” Joe said with a shrug. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

For some reason, Callie felt that if the car ride back to the school parking lot took place in a shorter time lapse than on the way over to Coldstone. They continued their conversation about the classes at school in the car as the drove over. Her car was the only one left in the parking lot and Joe pulled up in the parking space next to her.

Callie gathered her jacket which had fallen underneath the seat along with her bag. It only occurred to her then she probably could have just left her bag in her car before she left instead of having to go through the hassle of taking it out of Joe’s car.

Callie took a deep breath before turning to Joe and stumbling out her words. “I didn’t think I was going to say this earlier, but thanks for taking me out tonight. I enjoyed meeting the ‘New Joe.’”

Joe smiled. “I enjoyed it too. And don’t get used to the ‘New Joe’ because he’s not going to be around for long.” He pushed his bangs out of his eyes as he continued to talk. “The least I could do was to be civil to you didn’t exactly agree to come out with me tonight.”

“You won the football game, and I said I’d go with you if you won, and that I did,” Callie reminded him. “But really, thanks for everything.” She opened the door and instantly wished she hadn’t. The dipping temperature of the night hit her all at once.

Callie smiled once more before shutting the car door close and waving goodbye. Turning around, Callie fished out her car keys from her pocket and tried to find the key hole in the darkness of the night. “Wait!” Joe called out. She almost dropped her keys when she heard Joe’s voice behind her.

Looking back, Callie saw Joe standing outside the driver’s side of the car with his hands resting on the top of his car. She tilted her head and waited for him to continue. “What is it Joe?”

“Will you go on a date with me tomorrow night?” Joe rushed out. He likes you! He really likes you!” the annoying voice in the back of her head screamed.

Callie ignored the voice and instead smiled. “Sure, Joe. I’d love to.”

A huge grin broke out on Joe’s face as he heard her answer. “Great, I’ll text you the details later. Goodnight, Callie.”

“Goodnight, Joe.” Callie said softly.

Have Joe Jonas fall for Callie’s hard to get plan? Check.