To Her; With Love

Six Months Later ~ End of the School Year

“You must be excited,” I lightly punched Nick in the shoulder as we walked to the high school together. “After today, you’ll be officially done with high school. I’m a bit green with jealousy at the moment. I hate being a sophomore.”

“Nah, you’re just jealous ‘cause you wanna come on tour with us this summer and my parents said no,” he looked at me, knowing he was right. I crossed my arms in defeat.

“Fine, you’re right,” I admitted. “I really wanna go. My friends back home still can’t believe I’m friends with you. So I’ve gotta prove it!”

Nick slid his arms through the black graduation gown and zipped it up as we walked through the front doors of the school. The halls were buzzing with students and parents chattering while they entered the auditorium.

“Well, good luck out there. Not that you would need it though,” I hugged him tightly. “But, fingers crossed that you actually graduate,” I joked.

He gave me that…‘look’; the look that I really hated. The one that says, ‘Oh, that’s so funny that I forgot to laugh’ kind of look.

“Thanks, I guess,” he finally said and waved to me as he walked through the auditorium doors to the front seats.

“Erica!” A voice exclaimed from behind me and I immediately felt arms wrap around me from the side.

“Joe! Hey!” I exclaimed back and turned so I could hug him back. “And Kevin!”

Kevin held his arms out for me to walk into, which I of course did.

“Erica, where have you been?” He asked as I pulled from his grip. “You haven’t stopped by in a while.

“Sorry, Kev. Been kinda busy with stuff, but thank God summer is here, right?” I looked up at him and then sighed when I remembered that his summer would probably be more exciting than mine would be. My expression changed as I followed with them into the auditorium to where their parents were sitting.

“Hello, Erica,” Mrs. Jonas welcomed me into a hug and pointed to the seat next to her.

“Hey, Mrs. Jonas. Hey, Mr. Jonas,” I waved to them and sat next to Mrs. Jonas.

Kevin sat beside me and Joe next to him. The principal of my school went up on the stage and began to usual boring speech all principals give at graduation ceremonies. He only spoke for fifteen minutes, surprisingly.

“Nicholas Jerry Jonas,” the principal called out and Nick made his way onto the stage with a corny smile as he grabbed the diploma and shook a few hands.

“Yeah, Nick!” Kevin and Joe yelled out. I laughed to myself, hoping that in two years from then, they wouldn’t be yelling my name when I was graduating.

I ran up to Nick after the ceremony and gave him a huge hug.

“I’m proud of you,” I mumbled into his chest. He laughed and pulled back so he could hear what I said.

“What?”

“I said I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” he smiled. “This calls for a party. Let’s bounce!”

“Oh, wow,” I grabbed his hand and walked out the front doors of the school to find his parents and brothers.

“Okay, what now?” He asked in such a monotone voice.

“Let’s bounce?” I looked up to him. “No offense, but I think you’ve seen your Bounce video way too many times.” The ends of his lips turned up into a smile.

Mr. and Mrs. Jonas were waiting for us in the parking lot with Kevin and Joe.

“Ladies first,” he opened the door of the SUV for me.

“Well, thank you, kind sir,” I joked and climbed into the back seat. He climbed in behind me and we began driving back to their house.

“Oh, Erica. Did you want to stay for dinner tonight? Nick won’t mind driving you home,” Mrs. Jonas offered.

“Yeah, definitely!” I got excited. “I haven’t had one of your meals in a while; I’m dying for one!”

We got back to their house and Mrs. Jonas started cooking for dinner. The smell was so amazing; I didn’t want to be anywhere but the kitchen. I decided to help her out with cutting and steaming vegetables.

“So, Erica,” Mrs. Jonas turned to look at me as she continued to season the rice she was making. “What will you be doing this summer?” I didn’t mean to, but I rolled my eyes before turning to face her.

“Oh, you know; working on my summer packets for next year and looking for a job. Almost the same thing that I did last summer,” my voice seemed distant as I said it. I could see her mouth turn up from the corner of my eye.

“Sounds exciting,” she joked.

The rest of the family came in the kitchen to join us for dinner. I sat at the end of the table next to Nick. We all joined hands as Mr. Jonas began his prayer.

“Bless us, Lord, and this food that has been prepared and that it will nourish our bodies. In your name, amen.”

“And for a kick ass tour this summer,” I added before everyone repeated the ‘amen’. They all looked up at me, but not with surprised looks on their faces. My face turned red as I let go of Nick’s hand. “Sorry.”

“Well, let’s hope that it goes great,” Mr. Jonas laughed. “I’m sure our show in London will be very exciting for all of us; even you.”

I hadn’t thought I heard right and I looked up at him; my eyes squinted. He looked back at me with a slight grin on his face and continued eating. Everyone else seemed to ignore him and continued eating as well.

“I’m sorry, what?” I placed my fork down on the table. “Even me?’

Nick dropped an envelope onto the table and it made a light thud, making me jump slightly in my seat.

“Can’t wait to see you there,” he said, the corners of his mouth turning up into a sneaky-looking grin.

My jaw fell as I picked up the envelope and looked inside to find four plane tickets to London, four tickets to their concert, and four backstage passes. A smile crept across everyone else’s faces as I continued to stare at the contents of the envelope.

“Geez, Nick,” Frankie, the youngest brother of them, shook Nick’s arm. “You tryin’ to give her a heart attack or something?”

Nick laughed and looked over to me, my jaw still hanging towards the floor and eyes wide. Kevin nodded his head in agreement with Frankie.

“Well, I guess she likes it,” he said.