Nevermind Me

Getting my ass chewed out by Valerie was so not worth Joe’s stunt. It wasn’t even like I wanted to go up there, let alone plan to like she accused me of. But of course she wouldn’t blame her precious Joe. No, I had ‘manipulated’him into bringing me up on stage.

As soon as I got backstage she was hot on me, livid as hell. After five minutes of getting the fifth degree, I walked away to go find my mom. All after the concert I avoided Joe since he seemed like the cause of my stress not only this once, but every time I had a problem. And the days that followed the concert I didn’t bother getting him back like I promised either. And it’s been a week since that and I was still keeping distance, but he was really making it hard. I don’t have any idea whyhe couldn’t let it go. He had friends, I was one person that didn’t want to be bothered by him and he insisted on doing just that, bothering me, or at least trying. Couldn’t he see how much more of a hassle it was to try and befriend me opposed to just going and making out with Valerie in the back of the tour bus? I didn’t know if they did that but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

Only on the tenth day did he corner me while we were in San Jose. I was in the liquor store trying to find something to snack on when he stopped me in the back of the aisle by the drinks.

“Um, excuse me.” I said rudely, annoyed at the fact that he was invading my personal space.

“Juliet, did I do something wrong?” Yes, of course Joe, everything you do is wrong. The way you try and flirt with me or mention how awesome you think I am to my sister. You are the epitome of horrible. I wish.

“No, but you are doing something rude. I said excuse me, so get out of my way.” I said again, trying to maneuver around him.

“No.” He stated firmly and I was a bit taken aback. Is he denying me the right to leave? “No,” He repeated, “I’m not moving until you tell me why you’re avoiding me.”

“Joe, I don’t have a problem with you.” I sighed. Was no one in this damned store to see him harassing me? Yes, this was my version of harassment; a famous musician asking me why I was avoiding him. I tried to see where the clerk was but he sat at the counter, picking his nose and staring intently and the little television sitting on the counter. Customer Service these days.

“Then why do you always ignore me, Juliet? I’m really trying to get close to you, but you just ignore me.”

“Maybe I don’t wantto be close to you, as impossible as you may think that sounds.” I knew I was being mean, but what else could I do? Trying to befriend him wasn’t worth the stress, the struggle. I had been managing fine without him.

“But why?” He seemed desperate for an answer, and I began to feel somewhat bad. Obviously, this was important to him, even if it wasn’t to me. But going into the whole my sister’s a bitch thing wouldn’t be smart so I was sort of at a loss of words. Sighing was all I could to while avoiding his demanding gaze. I clenched and unclenched my hands in and out of fists, not knowing what to do. He was getting to me.

“Can’t you just drop it?” I whispered, looking up through my hair, finally meeting his eyes.

“No. Juliet I want to be your friend. I want you to talk with me or give me a hug after a show. I wanna know more about you, I want you to wantto be my friend.”

“Why?”

“Because; you’re special.” He smiled; a total mood change. I blinked at him, not knowing what the hell to say. Blush crept up my cheeks when I really thought about what he said. He thought I was special.

And that was wrong for me; exactly what I didn’t need.

“I-I-“ I paused to try and fit words into a normal sentence. “ You should just keep hanging out with Valerie, okay? I’m sure you can survive without speaking to me.”

“Nope. Don’t think I can.” He shook his head defiantly, pissing me off.

“Well I hope you enjoy disappointment.” I took the chance to shove him away and walk out the store, not even getting what I came in for.

&&

Now Joe was making it hard on purpose. Every where I was, he turned up sooner or later, sooner rather than later. I couldn’t just eat a bowl of cereal or talk to Nick or Danielle without him interrupting. Did he not realize that just makes me not want to be bothered with even more?

Now I sat on the ground of the back lounge watching Milo sleep and looking out of the window as we drove down the highway.

“You busy?” Joe crashed on the ground beside me. It was around 4:00 p.m and Valerie was most likely taking her usual nap like she did on off days.

“Yes,” I said, not bothering to give him the attention of me looking at him.

“You don’t look busy.”

“Doesn’t matter.” I have failed at keeping civil with him. I had never had to be rude to anyone before; I’ve never driven to that extent. But I guess Joe Jonas just had to be the one to change that. He was the one to change a lot of things he had no business changing; it was an annoying perk of his.

“Can’t we be friends Juliet?” He asked.

“Joe you haven’t been a friend to me. More of a nuisance.” I said honestly, crossing my legs.

“Well you haven’t given me the light of day. C’mon, let me show you something.” He said and ran out of the room, only to return with a Gibson. He mimicked my cross legged position, sitting across from me.

“It’s not ours but I like to cover it a lot.” He smiled and began to strum the chords. I was sure I knew the rhythm but couldn’t place it until he started singing.

She’s a good girl, loves her mama
Loves Jesus and America too
She’s a good girl, crazy bout elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend, too

It’s a long day living in Reseda
There’s a freeway runnin’ through the yard
And I’m a bad boy cause I don’t even miss her
I’m a bad boy for breakin’ her heart

And I’m free, free fallin’
Yeah I’m free, free fallin’

All the vampires walkin’ through the valley
Move west down Ventura boulevard
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts

And I’m free, free fallin’
Yeah I’m free, free fallin’
Free fallin’, now I’m free fallin’, now I’m
Free fallin’, now Im free fallin, now im

I wanna glide down over Mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
Gonna free fall out into nothin’
Gonna leave this world for a while

And I’m free, free fallin’
Yeah I’m free, free fallin’

He drifted off and I continued to look at him, the light smile on my lips evident. His own smile formed, most likely pleased that I seemed to like it; that I wasn’t pushing him away this time. Even if I wanted to, which I didn’t, I couldn’t pus him away. Not after a great performance like that of one of my favorite songs. He’s no John Mayer, but his version holds something special of it’s own, something I could accept.

“Good?”

“Actually, yeah.” I laughed, softly.

“Yeah, Nick does the guitar part better.”

“Well I can say you’re better than me. I haven’t exactly mastered guitar playing yet which I find frustrating.” I realized I was letting down that wall I’d been working towards keeping strong. But I couldn’t deny him after he’s shown me that.

“Seriously?”

“Mhm. Just never really got around to practicing like I should.”

“I could teach you.” He offered and I bit my lip. Should I? I knew I shouldn’t, but again, I couldn’t deny him.

“Um, sure. But we should start tomorrow instead. I just want to relax.” I sighed, laying down.

“Could I still stay in here with you?”

“Fine.” I sighed again, taking refuge on the carpet with my knitted blanket. I didn’t comment on the fact that it was a little weird.

After a while, I began to doze off, the slight jostling of the bus comforting me to sleep.

&&

You know when you wake up in someone’s arms you get either one of two feelings. One, you feel at bliss, wrapped in the arm’s of the one you love. They are there to protect you and love you forever. Two, you got so wasted the other night that you don’t even remember screwing the ugly guy beside you. Disgust, confusion, and a head shattering migraine pretty much cover it.

Well, the feeling I got doesn’t have name. Befuzzled? I had no idea who was loosely wound around my body like they were my lover. But upon opening my rested eyes, I found Joe’s angelic sleeping face taking refuge on my shoulder. I guess it was cute in a weird way, but also wrong. I rubbed my eyes and slipped away from him to get something to drink.

“Hey, sleeping beauty.” Garbo came up to me and kissed my head. I nodded in reply and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and taking a few sips.

“How long was I sleep?” I asked, sitting down.

“ Mmmm, ’Bout two hours. Valerie still isn’t up yet.”

“Well when she wakes, would you mind leaving out the part about, well how I was sleep? When I went to sleep he was on the other side of the room.”

“Whatever you say, Princess. Oh and, Nick has something to tell you.” He chuckled which had me stomped. What was so funny? I sat beside the sixteen year old as his eyes glared at Garbo.

“What’s the news?” I asked, watching Garbo continue to laugh.

“Oh, nothing special, you know. We’re just about to stop at a hotel and you have to share a room with Joe.” Because that’s just the norm. He said it so nonchalant, but the words stuck out like an alarm.

“Um. why?”

“Well the place we’re sleeping at is small so my mom made sleeping arrangements. You should consider it a good thing, Jules.”

“Oh and why is that?”

“It means my mom trusts you. A lot. Everyone had picked roommates and you two were sleep. She’s positive you are mature for the both of you; which means your like, the epitomeof sure.”

“Trust sucks.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” He smirked and I could only glare, internally pouting over my misfortune. I take on step towards a friendship and this is where I get. Is that really fair?