Turn Right

I called Nick and got him, Joe and Kevin to come meet up with us because I felt they would all get along so well…and I was right. We all went out for some coffee and they were all joking and laughing and getting to know each other. Honor Society acted like my big brothers, they were all so great…but Nick hasn’t really said much to me. So it was hard to feel happy about Honor Society when my boyfriend hasn’t acknowledged me much.

“Hey, Earth to Rachael,” Mike sang, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“We’re going to the mall, are you coming?” Alex asked.

“Umm, go ahead, we’ll catch up,” I said as I grabbed Nick’s hand.

“Okay, we’ll leave Big Rob here then,” Kevin said and they all walked out. Nick looked at me. I looked back. We both sat back down…

“Nick…what’s up? Why are you acting so weird,” I asked.

“Nothing, I’m not acting weird…” I gave him a look. “What you told me on the phone Rachael…what you said…you know Joe and I aren’t alike, we’re different people…”

“I know that…but it doesn’t mean it cant happen…”

“Look…” he put his hands on the table, like he was going to grab mine…but he stopped himself and smirked. I laughed lightly. Stupid bet.

“No couple is perfect…we’ll have our ups and downs…but we love each other…doesn’t that count for something?”

“Of course it does…”

“Then there shouldn’t be a problem…come on, why don’t I take you out on a date tonight,” he suggested.

“Nope, don’t think so hon, cause then you’ll just find some kind of loop hole and you’ll cheat again,” I said as I stood up.

“I didn’t cheat…”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” I said as we walked out and to big Rob.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Honor Society was having a small concert, opening for Boys Like Girls and we were all invited. I couldn’t say no to Boys Like Girls! They said I could even bring a friend or two, but we had to get there early with them. I asked Demi and Selena if they wanted to go and they said yes. But before they came over…my mother showed up.

“Mom, you aren’t supposed to be here tonight,” I said with a shocked tone.

“My movie audition was moved to tomorrow because the director got stuck in New York,” she answered.

“We haven’t hung out in a while, want some mother daughter bonding tonight?” she asked.

We haven’t had mother daughter bonding ever since we came to California.

“We haven’t hung out in a while because of how busy you’ve been…I cant hang out tonight anyway because Demi and Selena are coming over and we’re going to a concert with the guys,” I said.

“You’re going out to a concert like that?” she asked.

I looked down. I thought I looked kind of cute. I had a pair of jeans on and a loose, light blue shirt that might have been found in the 70‘s, it was a tad on the low cut side but not too much.

“Since when do you acknowledge what I wear,” I glared.

Before she could snap back, on cue, the door bell rang. I answered it. “Hey,” I smiled. They were about to reply but looked around me at my mother.

“Hi Ms. Lewis,” they said politely.

“Hello girls,” she said back. “I know Anna’s off today, are you all going to be okay going there alone?” she asked.

“Oh so now you know when Anna works and when she doesn’t,” I mumbled so she couldn’t hear.

“What was that Rachael,” she snapped.

“Nothing,” I sighed and Selena and Demi gave me sincere looks.

“They wont be alone,” Joe said as him, Kevin and Nick popped up next to Selena and Demi. Where did they come from?

“We’ll be with them,” Kevin added.

“And Big Rob will be coming with us too,” Nick finished.

Then they all smiled their Jonas smile that no one can resist. “Hello boys,” mom laughed lightly. “Hello Ms. Lewis,” they all said in unison.

“We’ll be back later mom, Demi and Selena are sleeping over,” I said and motioned for them to go inside. So they both ran upstairs to put their stuff in my room.

“When did you ask me if you could have friends sleep over,” she hissed at me.

“I stopped asking when you stopped listening…Anna said it was okay,” I said and added the last part, just to get her heated up.

“I never stopped listening Rach…”

“May of 2007, right when things started to take off for me…that’s when you stopped listening,” I said and we just continued to glare at each other.

Selena and Demi came back running down and mom recomposed herself. She only ever argued with me in front of the guys, but when it came to other friends or anyone else, she didn’t.

“Have fun kids,” she smiled but I saw her emotions hidden behind her eyes. “Do you have money,” she said stiffly.

“Yes…I’ll be back later” I said and we all left.

Joe soon brought the energy level back up but it wasn’t all the way there. While Joe, Kevin, Demi and Selena were laughing about something, Nick bumped into me with his shoulder.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Yep…never better,” I muttered and he saw the lie right away but didn’t say anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We got to the concert and I met the members of Boys Like Girls! We mostly hung out with Honor Society though. Soon enough, people crowded around the outside arena and Honor society kicked off the concert with their song The Takeover as Demi, Selena and I were jumping up and down and cheering like the girls we are and we got the guys to do some kind of jumping…Joe did the most jumping.

“Now for our next song, we made up a dance for it…some of you might know it from our you tube videos…it’s called The Honor Roll,” Mike said into the microphone and everyone started to cheer and clap like crazy.

“But we’ve had a request…and now would Nick and Rachael come up here please,” Mike said. “What?” I asked. “Come on,” Nick said as he grabbed my hand and led me to the stage.

I was really hoping just to watch for once...I guess that wasn’t happening. “Nick what are you doing?” I hissed. But he didn’t respond.

As we walked up the steps onto the stage, the crowd started to scream, cheer and clap non stop as soon as they realized who we were.

“Okay, I have a proposition for you…if I can out dance you in the honor roll, we call off this stupid bet between you and me and you come on a date with me tomorrow night, once you finish your table reading” he said to me and I just stared at him.

“Come on Rea…please? You gotta learn to just take chances”

“Coming from the Nick Jonas?” I questioned and he just smiled and went to talk to the others.

“Okay, we have a little competition here! To see who can dance the Honor Roll the longest…” Mike said and he said some other stuff but I was lost in my thoughts to pay attention. The music started and I looked over at Nick and he winked at me.

Then the chorus came and Nick and I both started doing the Honor Roll and I made it through the first chorus but I almost messed up because so many thoughts were in my head. Then it came down to it again and we started dancing again, but they kept playing the chorus so I screwed up, thinking we were done when we weren’t. I looked over at Nick and I couldn’t help but laugh so I had to stop to catch my breath. He laughed too but kept going. Everyone was cheering and clapping for him…including me. Then at the end, he stopped and just smiled at me. He bowed to the crowd and then opened up his arms to me so I rolled my eyes and gave him a hug as the crowd awed.

“You owe me a date,” he whispered in my ear.

Then the music started up again and this time Demi, Selena, Joe and Kevin were all up on stage with us and we all started doing the Honor Roll together.

When we were done, we all clapped and cheered with the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen! Our new friends…” I started. “Honor Society!” we all finished together and everyone got louder.

We said our good byes to the band and got off the stage. We signed a few autographs and took some pictures with fans on our way back to our spots. We were near the front and we didn’t want to stand out. They finished up and then Boys Like Girls came on. They were amazing of course. They started playing Thunder after a few fast songs.

“Now we’re gonna slow it down a bit, we encourage all of you out there that is here with a boyfriend or girlfriend, so grab them and started dancing!”

I looked over at Nick and he smiled lightly as he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer as we started slow dancing.

My POV
I know Rachael loved this song…and I wasn’t going to just let her pass this dance up. So I grabbed her hand and pulled her close to me. She put her arms around my neck as I rested my hands on her waist and we began slow dancing. We both hate showing PDA of any kind but right now? I didn’t care.

Today is a winding road
That's taking me to places that I didn't want to go
Whoa
Today in the blink of an eye
I'm holding on to something and I do not know why
I tried

I tried to read between the lines
I tried to look in your eyes
I want a simple explanation
For what I'm feeling inside
I gotta find a way out
Maybe there's a way out

Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer
Do you know you're unlike any other?
You'll always be my thunder, and I said
Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors
I don't wanna ever love another
You'll always be my thunder
So bring on the rain
And bring on the thunder
I looked into her eyes and they shined more than ever. She tilted her head to the side in the way that I grew to love and I felt my breath get caught in my throat.

Today is a winding road
Tell me where to start and tell me something I don't know
Whoa
Today I'm on my own
I can't move a muscle and I can't pick up the phone
I don't know

And now I'm itching for the tall grass
And longing for the breeze
I need to step outside
Just to see if I can breathe
I gotta find a way out
Maybe theres a way out

Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer
Do you know you're unlike any other?
You'll always be my thunder, and I said
Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors
I don't wanna ever love another
You'll always be my thunder
So bring on the rain
She started singing the words quietly and it made me smile at her in awe.

Yeah I'm walking on a tightrope
I'm wrapped up in vines
I think we'll make it out
But you just gotta give me time
Strike me down with lightning
Let me feel you in my veins
I wanna let you know how much I feel your pain

Today is a winding road that's taking me to places that I didn't want to go

I started leaning in toward her. “Nick…there are people around who will see” she whispered. “I don’t care,” I whispered back. Then I placed my lips on hers…

Whoa
We pulled away and her eyes were still shut…then she opened them and I saw her beautiful blue eyes. We both smiled and then she leaned her head on my shoulder.

Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer
Do you know you're unlike any other?
You'll always be my thunder, and I said
Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors
I don't wanna ever love another
You'll always be my thunder
So bring on the rain
And bring on the thunder, and I said
Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer
Do you know you're unlike any other?
You'll always be my thunder
So bring on the rain
Oh baby bring on the pain
And listen to the thunder

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Rach you really have to calm down,” Anna laughed.

“Sorry,” I said and stopped shaking my leg.

We were in the car, on our way to the Hannah Montana studio. “But this will be my first ever acting job and…it’s with Miley” I said and my tone went from excitement to sadness. Before she could reply we were there. I sighed and got out of the car and felt my phone vibrate. I had a text.

Good luck today and have fun. You’ll be fine. Cant wait for tonight :)

I smiled at Nick’s text and it made me feel a little better. Anna and I walked in and Anna introduced me to the producer. He led us into a room and in a corner I heard a laugh I knew all too well. I saw Miley laughing with Mitchil Musso and Emily Osment. I’ve met Mitchil and Emily before…back when Miley and I were tighter than anything…and we became really good friends. When they all looked over at me, Miley stopped laughing immediately and covered her last laugh with a cough. Mitchil and Emily though smiled brightly at me and waved me over.

“Go on,” Anna urged.

So, I started walking toward all of them. Mitchil, right away, gave me a tight hug and then so did Emily. “It’s so good to see you both again” I said.

“Yea, we definitely have to catch up,” Emily said.

“Yea…maybe over dinner…or lunch,” Mitchil suggested in a joking manner and smiled big.

“She’s still with Nick stupid,” Miley spoke up and she smiled!

“Oh well…we can work around it,” he said and I just laughed as Emily and Miley rolled their eyes.

“Come on…maybe if you’re a good boy, I’ll buy you some ice cream,” Emily said as she dragged him away…leaving me and Miley alone.

“Hey” I found my voice.

“Hey” she complied.

“How’ve you been?” I asked.

“Fine…you?”

“I’ve been better” I replied. We were silent.

“Can we…talk…maybe later?” I suggested.

“Sure…” she said and we were silent again. “Rachael?” a voice called. Thank God.

I turned around and saw Billy Ray… “It’s so good to see you,” he said and gave me a hug.

From there, I met the rest of the cast and then we sat around a table and we got the scripts. I was playing myself, as Rachael Lewis. The whole episode I act like this sweet, innocent, friendly girl and in the beginning/middle I’m having this party and I invite Hannah, acting all nice and stuff. She brings Lola and Mike but I do something mean and embarrass her so the whole world sees it. Then toward the middle/end, they all find out I’m having another party and Miley intends on crashing it and this time I get embarrassed in front of the whole world but Miley (as Hannah) sticks up for me. In the end, I tell her that I only did it because I’m new to the business I feel like I cant trust anyone…then I also tell her, I know she’s really Miley Stewert who wears the wig every night. Miley and I have this kind of sweet/emotional scene at the end. It sounds like a good story line and I’m excited about it…but Miley might have mixed feelings.

We started doing a run through…and the whole thing was actually a lot of fun. Everyone was laughing and the atmosphere was light…Miley and I even laughed together. She had to lean on me because she was laughing so hard at something Jason (Earles) and Moises (Arias( did. The run through actually went pretty well…even the scene where Miley and I have our moment…it was kind of weird and awkward but we still did it. It was time for a break and when everyone left the room…Miley and I stayed. We were silent at first…but I was done beating around the bush.

“Miley…what happened to us?” I asked quietly and she just stared at me as I saw a bunch of emotions flash across her face.

“I don’t know…when you left to tour with all of them…it made me realize how much I still wasn’t over Nick and you were just winning him over like it was nothing…I know I said I think you should go for him…but I guess I just wasn’t ready…”

“Why didn’t you ever call and tell me? You know I would’ve heard you out”

“I know…but with Mandy, it just seemed easier to diss you about it…it was wrong though and I really am sorry Rach…I miss you a lot,” she said. “I miss you too Miles,” I said. Then we cooed as we hugged each other.

That wasn’t so bad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once break was over, we went over a few spots that we skipped and everything felt so much better. After it, Miley promised she would text me tonight and we would make plans for tomorrow. I walked out of the studio with Anna and saw Nick standing across the street, leaning on a tree, smiling at me.

“I’ll see you at home,” Anna said before walking off. I nodded and started walking toward Nick. I crossed the street and over to him. He pulled me into a hug and I took in his scent.

“How’d it go?” he asked and I opened my mouth to speak but before I could…

“Tell me about it over an early dinner?” he asked and I nodded.

Then he took my hand and we started walking. I noticed it was 5:00 by the time we walked to the beach nearby. There were people walking around, couples holding hands, surfers out in the ocean. “We’re over there,” he whispered and I looked in the direction he was pointing in and I saw a picnic set up on the sand, off to the side.

He led me over to it and we sat down. He pulled out two sandwiches and two cans of diet pepsi (not that I minded, I loved diet pepsi too). Then he also pulled out a container of chocolate covered strawberries.

“Nick what’s all of this for?” I giggled. “Today’s the day we met, exactly five years ago…happy friend-I-versary” he said and I felt my stomach do uncomfortable flips.

“Oh my gosh…” I gasped. “Nick I’m so sorry, I’ve just been so busy and stressed and…” he grabbed my hand.

“Hey…it’s okay…I knew you forgot, and I knew you’ve been really busy lately…”

“That’s still no excuse, I always remember stuff like this, I don’t know why…” I was cut off by his lips…and instantly I relaxed.

“Now tell me how the table read went,” he ordered as he opened his soda.

So I started telling him. I told him about what the episode was about, I told him about when I first got there and then when I left. He listened the whole time. I couldn’t have asked for a better boyfriend.