You Can't Fight Fate

-March 17-

“I got it!” I yelled, running backwards to catch the Frisbee that was hurdling towards me. I jumped up and successfully retrieved it. Stevvie whooped and hollered for it back immediately. Even from as far away as I stood, I could hear her adorable giggle. I quickly threw it back and watched Maya and Stevvie battle it out to see who could catch it.
March 15th was Todd’s 39th birthday and our spring break. So, he wanted to celebrate it by having a party…in Australia. Now, my family, his family, the bands’ families and the gang are all on vacation down under. This was our third day here and I never wanted to leave. Australia was beautiful, sunny and a lot less stressful than Northwestern. It might have been also the fact that I got to see my girlfriend in a bikini practically twenty-four seven…just maybe. Today she was wearing a black wrap halter bikini top and a cute ruffle skirted bottom. I loved when she wore the little skirt bottoms, it made her look girly even though she was running around and throwing people in the bright blue ocean. Stevvie was always looking for trouble.

“I’m going to make a sand castle!” she exclaimed, “Come on Nicholas!”

I smiled and ran towards her. No one has ever made me happier than Stevvie. However, being with so many people and it being a family vacation didn’t leave much time for us to be alone. Luckily, our parents all granted us a day where we could do what we wanted. So, Stevvie planned an extensive day for us. I was excited when I heard hang gliding, the Taranga park zoo, and zip lining through the rain forest. I wasn’t so sure about the zip lining part, but knowing Stevvie, she’s probably going to make me do it anyway. She was a daredevil and she took chances with things all the time. For instance, when she got her first tattoo, “believe”, she did it behind her mom’s back because she didn’t approve. She and Todd got hell for it, but to this day she loves that tattoo more than anything.

For Todd’s birthday, Stevvie and her parents all got matching tattoos last month. On her foot, she had “This lullaby” written in Todd’s cursive with dots after it, a nest and a tiny bird flying away, symbolizing Stevvie’s departure from the nest and being able to stand on her own two feet, hence why she got it there. It was whimsical and pretty. Todd had “This Lullaby” etched on his wrist and on the other wrist he had an empty bird’s nest and the same little bird flying towards it; Jennifer had the same on her wrists. It symbolized how they held her in their arms and the empty nest stands for her departure but not disappearance, the nest will always be their when she needs it . Their tattoos were written in Stevvie’s handwriting. They were thrilled with how they turned out and they truly meant a lot to them. It showed the bond behind their relationship.

I admired the music notes behind Stevvie’s ear as she focused contently on trying to create another tower for the complicated castle we had created. I never thought much of tattoos until she explained to me why she got them, and what they meant. She was even planning to get one based off my lyrics. I was surprised, but it was her body. I met fans that have gotten our logo or lyrics and even our last name in honor of us; it was awe inspiring how dedicated they were to us. Tattoos meant consistency and stability to Stevvie, she knows that they’ll never go away and it’s a comfort for her. My goal was for her to feel that way about me because I never wanted to go away.

<->

I excitedly ran up the mountain ahead of Nick. He called for me to wait, but I ignored him. I loved being outside and fresh air too much.

“Hurry up baby!” I yelled, adjusting my sunglasses. Nick groaned and trekked up the mountain to catch up to me. He was dressed in a simple black t-shirt, khaki shorts, and a baseball cap to protect him from the sun.

“Are you sure you want to do this Stevvie?” He asked, “The brochure said we would be going at speeds up to 70 miles an hour at some points. Have you seen someone zip line before?”

I rolled my eyes with a smile. I knew Nick would be hesitant to try zip lining, but I was determined to make him. I was honestly scared too, doing the thing that scares you the most was supposed to make you stronger and I figured if I did it with the person I loved, then it would make us stronger as a couple.

“Yes! Come on it will be fun, you get to scream your head while seeing the exotic wildlife of Australia,” I told him.

We round a corner, carefully stepping over a large rock that fell in the path. I intertwined my hand with Nick and look into his eyes sweetly.

“Mmm, not convinced. Try again,” he stated with a shrug.

“Because…you love me and you’ll do whatever I say Nicholas,” I replied, mocking him with a shrug.

Nick bit his lip, revealing that adorable little crooked canine he had. A tan was already developing on his lean, muscular body from practically living at the beach for the past four days. He raised an eyebrow at me and smirked.

“I supposed I should…but, I never was good at following directions…” he started.

“Well, Mr. President I don’t care what you weren’t good at, we’re already here,” I interjected, pointing to the large zip-lining sign, “Let’s go!”

I pulled Nick to get in line. There was another couple and two other nervous looking people ahead of them. A very excited middle-aged Australian directed us to the area where we were supposed to wait.

“Look, I’ll make you a deal baby,” Nick murmured, “If I go on this ride, you have to take me on your book tour next week.”

I laughed at his preposition. We continued to follow the group and finally made it to the actual place we were going to be riding down. It was a beautiful landscape of the deep rain forest of Australia. We were awestruck at the deep green and lush trees that stood before us. I was surprised at the steepness of the plateau and astonished at the aliveness the forest possessed. Seeing what we were going to be going though made me even more excited.

“Absolutely not, you need to go to school,” I immediately responded, remembering his response. We listened intently at the zip-lines instructors words.

“Not necessarily, my career won’t change if I go to school or not, and besides, it will be good press for your book,” he whispered.

I scoffed at him a little louder than I intended, causing all of the people to look at us. I tried to look distracted by Nick’s arm until the man began talking again.

“That’s called shallow press, and I’m not using Nick Jonas to promote my book. That’s exactly why I don’t want you to go; I want to stand on its own.”
Nick dropped my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist. He let out a low chuckle and kissed me on the forehead.

“Your book will stand on its own, you're an amazing writer. You are so stubborn…and I don’t even know why I put up with you,” he murmured.

“Because I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you,” I replied cockily.

“Right…right and the fact that I’m completely in love with you too. It all makes since.” He nodded his head.

“Look who’s finally learning,” I teased him, “I guess we can talk about you tagging along, but I’m not making any promises. You don’t need to get behind from the beginning since you’re going to be starting work in April again. You being behind was the reason we met in the first place remember?”

A guilty smile appeared on his face as he scratched his neck. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. If I was never behind, then we might not have ever met and we would never be together today.”

“True,” I replied as we got suited with our safety harnesses, “but, I’m sure we would have met eventually and I’m just so cute and funny so, you would have tried to hit on me sooner or later.”

“Little miss cocky,” he muttered, “it’s sad that what you said is probably true.”

“So, I wasn’t being cocky, I was just stating a fact,” I concluded.

"Hey! Aren’t you Nick Jonas?” the man directing us asked.

Nick smiled shyly and nodded, “yes I am.”

The man smiled and lifted up and shaded, revealing a deep sunburned out line of them.

“Aye! My daughter is a huge fan! I’m Stan; it’s a pleasure to meet you!” He held out his hand to shake Nick’s hand.

Nick shook Stan’s hand with a smile. “Tell your daughter I said hi for me then, and it’s so nice to meet you too. Could I sign anything for her?”

“I will, definitely! Ah, bloody I don’t have anything, but wait! Let me get my camera!”

I smiled at Nick goofily, causing him to roll his eyes in embarrassment. I loved it when the most random people recognized him.

Stan came back and quickly snapped a couple of photos with him and even had me included in a couple. He had Nick sign a zip-line brochure and even said he could come back anytime free while he was here in Australia.

“Thank you so much for all you do son, my daughter is thirteen years old and got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just less than two months ago boy, she was a fan before but now, she looks up to you more than ever.”

Nick’s eyes sparked an immediate interest when he mentioned the fact that she had diabetes. He was so passionate when it came to Diabetic fans.

“Really? How is she doing?” he asked.

“Ah well, she’s coping but, you know it’s a little rough,” Stan replied.

“Yeah, I can understand what you’re going through. It’s sometimes rough for Nick too,” I sympathized with him.

“Well, I wish I could meet her. I could give her some advice because I was her age when I was diagnosed with diabetes too,” Nick supposed.

“She would have loved that. But she’s in Melbourne with her mother right now.”

I perked up with an idea. “Well, can you call her? Nick can talk to her on the phone!”
“Duh!” Nick realized, “I can definitely do that.”

Stan quickly called her daughter on his phone and surprised her with a call from Nick Jonas. My heart swelled with admiration as Nick talked sweetly to the girl, telling her that everything would be okay. After a few minutes, he said goodbye and hung up. Stan thanked him graciously because he knew that what Nick just did would change that little girl’s life forever. The affect Nick had on people was astounding to me. I’ve witnessed girls blank out or cry just at the sight of him and his brothers. It really showed the dedication they had to the Jonas Brothers.

<->

The moon shined brightly into my room, giving me just enough light to pull my swim trucks on. A light tropical breeze whistled outside and filled my room with the beach aroma of salt and seaweed. I grabbed a towel and headed to the kitchen of a beach house. All was silent inside, besides the light snores of my father and John Lloyd Taylor.

Growing more anxious, I grabbed some fruit, Tim Tams and a few bottles of water and fruit juice and threw them into my messenger bag. As I exited the house, I grabbed a blanket the was sitting on the couch.

I removed my flip-flops and jogged over to the side of the Jameson’s beach house that was next-door to us. I counted each window until I landed on the third one, Stevvie’s room. I sat my stuff down and knocked on the window quietly until I saw her stir.

She looked over to the window, putting on her glasses so she could see whom it was. A confused smile formed on her face when I waved to her.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?” she whispered.

“Get a bathing suit on, we’re leaving!” I whispered back.

She laughed quietly. “Our parents are going to kill us Nicholas…hold on, I’ll be out in a second!”

Minutes later, Stevvie appeared with a yellow romper and her beach bag. She threw the bag for me to catch and hopped out of the window effortlessly.

I placed her bag next to mine and pulled her into my arms. Her eyes sparkled beautifully in the moon light as she giggled. My lips attached to hers immediately, taking up the chance to kiss her without worry. No one could see us at 2:30 in the morning. Her lips moved in synch with mine for a few moments longer until I decided it was time to leave.

<->

“Look at you Mr. Rebel,” Stevvie murmured as I twirled her around, the warm Australian water surrounded us up to our shoulders. Stevvie’s legs were tightly wrapped around his waist and her arms were rested on his shoulders. Nick held Stevvie close by her bottom. Stevvie made sure to be careful not to rip his omnipod off and adjusted herself into a more comfortable position.

Nick laughed, looking down. “Well, I had to have some alone time with you that doesn’t include going though the jungle at ridiculous speeds.”

Stevvie scoffed, “You have to admit that was fun.”

Nick shook his head in denial, but Stevvie knew she was right. He kissed her softly on her shoulder, and licked the salt taste off his lips. The water was calm and the seafloor was smooth. Nick grew quiet, enjoying Stevvie’s closeness.

“I love you, I want us to be together for as long as we live,” Nick murmured, “no one’s ever made me happier. You're my best friend.”

Stevvie gave Nick yet another sweet kiss and snuggled into his neck.

“I love you too. We will be best friends and together forever. You know why I know?”

Nick knitted his eyes together and shrugged.

With a smirk, Stevvie repeated the very same words that started their whirlwind path to falling in love.

“Fate. After all, you can’t fight fate.”

Nick smiled, remembering that very day. “You finally believe me now?”

She nodded her head, “I think I’d like to show it’s fate too, Mr. Jonas.”

He smiled and replied, “Try me…”