American Girl: Can't I Just Be Chloe?

Selena and Kyra were each going out. I was watching over Rebecca and Zoe had Quinn under her watchful eye. That didn’t last as Zoe appeared at my door along with Quinn. I rolled my eyes when I opened the door. “You just had to show up, huh?” I asked, with Rebecca in my arms. “May I assume that you came here today in order to convince me to tell Frankie how I feel about him?”

Zoe nodded. “Of course. Joe and Kyra went out and asked me to watch over Quinn. So, I took this as an opportunity to ask you about what was going on while Quinn got to spend time with his cousin. Now, since I’ve been out in South Carolina while all of this has been going on, I need you to start at the beginning and tell me exactly what been going on. How did you fall for your best friend so hard that you don’t want to tell him the truth? Sure, Frankie is a rock star like his brothers, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t turn his nose up at you. The Jonas boys were raised to be better than that, to be gentlemen. And, you’re his best friend, after all. You guys are bound to talk about the people you each like. Telling him now, before he has a girlfriend would probably be best though.”

“Maybe,” I shrugged.

“So, what’s the deal?” she asked.

“I’ve been best friends with Frankie for about seven years now, since I was eight. I met the brothers at a private concert and became friends with Frankie then. Over the next five years, I became extremely close to all four of the brothers. Frankie especially. I became closer to him and Nick. Two years ago, Nick pulled me aside after Rebecca was born and asked me if I had feelings for Nick. At first, I said I didn’t, but I soon realized that I did, something that Nick was the first to learn about. Kevin found out a month later and, ever since then, both have tried to convince me that telling I need to tell Frankie the truth.” It was at that moment that I shook my head. “I can’t though; I can’t tell Frankie how I love him.”

“Why not?” Zoe asked.

“Not really sure,” I said.

“But you need to tell Frankie,” she said.

I rolled my eyes. “Zoe, would you please stop saying that? I already know. Between Nick, Kevin, you, and now my own father, I’ve heard it enough. And, if Joe and your cousin learn the truth, I can only imagine what would happen then. So, I won’t let it happen.”

Zoe laughed. “Yeah. My cousin does love to play matchmaker. She told me that she was the one that pushed Kyra and Joe together. Betsy always did have a knack for finding the person someone was meant to be with. She even agreed to help me if I ever had trouble getting a boyfriend. And, Amanda? Betsy was the one to introduce the two and make sure that their relationship flourished. Maybe Betsy could help you out with Frankie.”

There was no doubt in my mind as to what Zoe was trying to do. She was trying to convince me to tell the others—Frankie especially—about what was going on. I couldn’t though. I couldn’t tell anyone other than Zoe, Nick, and Kevin about any of this. They just couldn’t know about the fact that I was in love with Frankie. And, if they did, there was no telling as to what would happen. Ugh! Is Zoe ever going to leave me alone or will she be just as persistent about all of this as Betsy would be if she knew the truth? Since I knew that Zoe was probably going to tell her cousin about what was going on, I came to a conclusion regarding all of this. Ultimately, there was only one thing that I could do so as to appease Zoe, Nick, and Kevin: I had to tell Frankie what was going on. I groaned. “Telling Betsy is not really something that I really want to do. I’d rather tell Frankie than tell her.”

“I thought you would,” Zoe smirked.

“You knew?” I asked.

“Of course I knew. I mean, you said it yourself: my cousin would try to use her matchmaking skills to try and get you and Frankie together. She would want Franoe to exist,” Zoe said

“Franoe?” I asked.

Zoe laughed. “Sure. There would have to be a celebrity couple name. You’re the daughter of a Senator and Frankie is a Jonas. I mean, when the media learns that you two are not only friends, but dating, they’re going to come after you. I’m twelve and I know that. All you have to do is tell Frankie how much you love him. Once that happens, Franoe can exist and you can get the boy that we both know you fell in love with two years ago.”

“I don’t really have a choice, huh?” I asked.

“Nope,” Zoe said.

I nodded. “Fine. I’ll tell Frankie tomorrow, after Betsy gets back. Somehow, I think your cousin is going to find out about this anyway. So, I might as well tell her what’s going on.” The fact was that I knew that Betsy was going to figure out the truth anyway; I was only preventing the inevitable from occurring. So, if Betsy was going to find out that I was in love with Frankie, it might as well have been from my own mouth that she hear it. “No matter what though, Joe is not allowed to know about it. Despite the fact that I’m telling Frankie, I don’t want Joe to know about any of this. If both he and Betsy know about all of this, I can only imagine what they might do as a result of all of this.”

“He’ll find out eventually, but okay,” Zoe said.

I could not believe that I had just agreed to tell Frankie how I felt about him. What in the world had Zoe set me up for: heartache? I knew that it was only a matter of time before Frankie revealed something to me that made me regret agreeing to tell him what I had kept from him for two years. That was going to happen and I knew it. So, why the hell did I agree to do this after two years of keeping it between me, Nick, and Kevin? Zoe! I realized. Telling Zoe about all of this ultimately caused me to go on this path and forced me to tell Frankie the truth. That girl is so much like her cousin; Betsy, of course, is about ten years older than Zoe. So, how could Betsy have had so much influence on a cousin that is half her age? How in the world did Zoe convince me to tell Frankie about this anyway?