Into My Arms

“Nick,” I squealed as he splashed some ocean water in my direction.

He got me wet so I started to splash him back. I was in my bikini and he was in his trunks and a white wife beater. He ran at me, grabbing my hands, intertwining our fingers. He brought me close and kissed me softly. I giggled.

“Come on, we promised we would hang out with Joe and Demi,” I reminded him as I held onto his hand and began to pull him away from the ocean.

“Yea, after we had Nick and Rachael time,” he complained and gave me the famous Jonas quiver.

“But we’ve been together ever since you came by at eight in the morning…you scared the hell out of me!” I reminded him and he laughed.

This morning, after having a late night from doing a special concert, I was planning on sleeping in. But then this one shows up at eight in the morning, uses his key to get in and I heard him coming up the stairs so I immediately jumped up and grabbed a bat, ready to beat him. Then I find out it’s just him (after I almost swing the bat) and I went back to bed. He started to laugh at me as he joined in and I pulled the covers over my head. But then he starts poking me in my sides so I start spazzing. We ended up watching the middle of the end of Flicka and then he finally got me out of bed to go out with him. We went to church with his family and then the two of us went for a walk around the park, had lunch, then went to the beach. It’s been kind of like this for the past couple weeks, we cant seem to get enough of each other…as wrong as that sounds. I want to be around him all the time…and I never want to be alone, without him. He’s eighteen now and I’ve been helping him look for some places to live and I’ve been helping Demi as well since she’s eighteen now as well. I got Nick tickets to a Yankees baseball game and told him to take a few friends…he ended up taking me, Joe and Demi.

The four of us have been hanging out a lot more…and I love every minute of it. I definitely hang with Miley and Taylor when I can but Miley is always with Liam and Taylor is always busy (you know her) or with Selena…and Selena and I havent exactly been on best friend terms. We’re friendly toward each other but that’s pretty much it.

“I told you I was coming over today!” he claimed with such a beautiful smile.

“Yea, when someone says that on a Saturday, they usually mean sometime after noon, maybe even an hour before, not 8:00 in the morning,” I sneered.

“Oh you were happy to see me,” he said and brought me close, to kiss my lips and continued holding my hand as I pulled away and we kept walking along where the ocean touches the sand.

“Okay so today is Sunday…and we actually have a day off together…but we might not get it for a while…” I pouted and he smiled as he cupped my face, causing us to both stop.

“We’ll make time…I promise,” he told me as I lifted one hand ontop of his.

“Guess what,” I whispered.

“What?”

“I love you.”

He grinned. “I love you too,” he told me and kissed me.

We never this much into the PDA but at the moment…we didn’t really care. We paid very little attention to where we were…who was around us…and Big Rob wasn’t even around. We managed to get away.

“Well when will be the next time we get together?” I asked him.

As I continued to hold his hand securely as if he would slip away…he did the same to me…and we kept walking.

“Tomorrow I have two photo shoots, Tuesday I’m meeting with David and Jake to do a promo thing for the movie, plus another photo shoot, then Wednesday the three of us are doing interviews all day together…”

“You’re still not done with the movie preperations?”

"No," I sighed and made a face. "We've all been busy! Davids been doing guest appearances along with Wizards and Jake got another movie deal and some guest appearances, I'm so proud of him...but it's all been keeping us away from each other..."

"Plus, having their album come out last month has been crazy on the band," he said, understanding.

"Yea...speaking of, I'm having coffee with Austin and Collin on Thursday and I told them I would hook them up with some connections. They want to give acting a try…”

“Then Friday you’re coming over and we’re writing that song together right?”

“Yep. Friday is a song writing day. I’m showing you the one I started, Demi and I are finishing a few songs together and I promised Joe I would help him with a few…then Saturday, I said I would take Frankie out to hang with him, we’re going to meet up with Miley, Noah and Liam…and you know you’re more than welcome to come”

“You know I’d love to but I think the Jonas Brothers are doing interviews next Saturday,” he told me.

“Alright. That’s fine. It’ll give me, Miley and Liam some time to hang out together…”

“Umm have you heard from Eric at all?”

“No…I haven’t…I’m actually kind of worried about him…” My phone began to ring. I answered it.

“Hey Joe”

“Where are you guys?” he asked.

“We’re still at the beach, we’re meeting you both to do some lazer tag right?”

“Yea! Mind if we catch a ride with you two?” he asked me and I was confused.

I turned and right when I did, Demi came charging at me, jumping onto my back. We were both laughing as I was trying to keep my balance and I ended up keeping my ground as she was on my back.

“My turn!” Joe yelled and I stepped the side so he went running right past, tripping over his feet.

I set Demi down and we were all laughing. “How did you guys get here?” I asked them as we all started walking.

I was in the middle of Nick and Demi as Joe was on the other end. “Big Rob dropped us off once we saw you both…”

Then she hooked her arm around mine and came close to my ear. “I have to tell you something,” she told me. I nodded. I let go of Nick’s hand as Demi took my other one and began to pull me away.

My POV

I watched as Rachael and Demi ran ahead of us and Joe stopped both of us from walking. “Demi has to talk to Rachael real quick,” he told me.

“What’s going on?”

“Tara is in rehab…it was in US Weekly this morning. She’s been there for six months”

“Six months?” I said, incredulous.

“Yea…I think she’s getting out next week…but there’s more to it…she found someone…apparently shes been seeing her therepist…I don’t know if it’s true but people are saying they aloped…she’s really screwed up Nick…and to add to all of this, rumors are flying around about Eric…” I sighed.

“What about Eric?” I snapped.

It wasn’t directed at Joe but just the thought of Eric makes me want to punch something. I thought we would be able to be cool with each other at first and i told Rea we were okay but really ever since Valentines Day when he kissed Rachael like that…I havent been able to really want him around.

“All the tabloids and what not are saying he’s into all these drugs and whatnot…ever since his sister died and Rachael stopped being seen with him,” he told me.

I sighed in frustration. “Rachael’s going to feel horrible…I feel horrible. She stopped going around Eric for me…and her mom is in rehab! Why does everything get so great and then just go back down to horrible,” I spat but it was more to myself.

“Hey, look. You have nothing to worry about. Nothing bad is going to happen to you and Rachael. Just be there for her. That’s it,” he advised.

I went to open my mouth and speak but other voices stopped me. “…I read that she’s getting more like Miley Cyrus and becoming more of a slut each day” one guy said. I snapped my eyes at them so I was watching them in the corner of my eye.

“Which one?”

“That Rachael girl…”

“Well she definitely has the body…”

“But I heard she’s a bitch…she just puts on the goody goody attitude for the press…” That was enough.

“Hey!” I shouted as I started to stalk toward them.

I was combative…and my demeanor was kind of scaring me a little…but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t just let them call Rachael names like those.

“Do you have a problem with my girlfriend?” I snapped.

“No, no problem at all dude, we give you props, your girl’s hot”

“Well we would give you props if you knew how to use her the right way”

I lunged at him but Joe was quicker as he grabbed me and was preventing me from tearing this guy apart.

“Hey, hey what’s going on?” Rachael asked as both her and Demi came running over to us.

“Keep your boy toy under control,” a girl said to her as a group got bigger around us, filled with guys and girls our age.

I saw Rachael make two fists and I could tell she was getting ready to swing at this girl as the girl just smirked back at Rachael. Rachael ignored her though and came to my side. She reached up to touch my arm and I instantly relaxed under her touch. Joe let me go as I kept my eyes on Rachael and she kept her daggers on the group in front of us. We could smell the smoke and the alcohol that most of them were drinking. There were only few girls and they were all glaring intensly at Rachael. But she just stood her ground and glared back.

“Look, we don’t want to fight, you don’t want us here, then we’ll just leave,” she told all of them.

“We don’t want to fight either bitch, just keep your priss of a boyfriend under control,” a girl said with a smirk.

She was testing Rachael to see what she would do…and it wasn’t a good idea. “Yea so how about you dicks just take your slutty girlfriends somewhere else,” one guy said.

They really wanted to test us…all of us. I lunged at them again as Rachael did the same but both Joe and Demi grabbed us and pulled us back as they stepped forward to get in their faces.

“Call her a bitch again…see what happens,” Joe hissed at a low tone, eyeing both the girl and the guy.

“You wont touch me,” the girl said, knowingly.

“He wont. But I will…so go ahead…either one of you, say anything about any of them again…see what it gets you,” Demi added.

They were silent. Joe and Demi were never the violent type but, together, when needed, they know how to stick up for their friends.

“That’s what we thought,” Joe said.

Then the four of us began to walk away and we heard police sirens. We saw them speeding onto the beach toward where the kids were and the four of us started to run as fast as we could. We ran right to my car. Joe and Rachael jumped over the door and into the seats. She was in the front, he was in the back. Both Demi and I opened the doors and got in quickly. I threw it into reverse, then drive and took off.

We all ended up laughing as I reached the highway. “Did you see their faces? It was priceless!” Rachael laughed and then so did Demi and Joe as I was just smiling and keeping my eyes on the road.

“I thought Demi was going to deck the girl,” Joe commented.

“I was!…”

They all kept laughing and talking about what had happened at the beach. I looked over at Rachael to see her starring up at the sky in admiration as her hair blew. I’d kill to see what she was thinking right now. She was deep in thought. Then she looked over at me and the sun was reflecting off her just right and she looked beautiful.

“I think I have to go to Tennessee” she said suddenly as Demi and Joe were having their own conversation in the back.

“What makes you say that?”

“The movie we watched this morning”

“Oh…the one that made you cry?” I teased and she rolled her eyes at me.

“Yes…I think it might be time to go back…would you go with me?” she asked.

I really couldn’t say no. “Of course I would…when did you want to go?”

“Well…I was thinking about going tomorrow…moving my photo shoots to Tennessee, make them hate me a little,” she smiled and I laughed lightly.

I thought it was very possible for Rachael to move the photo shoots to Tennessee. She didn’t want to work with them (weather it was an interview, photo shoot or movie/show) they wanted to work with her. So I have no doubt that they will move it to Tennessee if she wanted to…and if Anna is the one who will be making Rachael happy by moving the location, then it’s already a done deal.

“Well I have a short interview with J-14 but after it, I’d be more than happy to go with you if you want me to”

“I’ll think about it…” she smirked.

“I want to see if Miley can go first…” was all she said and she went back to being deep in thought.

Sometimes I really didn’t understand Rachael…but other times I knew when to leave her alone and just let her think. I grabbed her hand so she would look at me.

“You think about what you want to do and just let me know,” I suggested and she smiled at me.

“Okay,” she said, happily.

She leaned over and kissed my cheek. Then she sat back in her seat, seeming very placated by my response. “Hey you two, no PDA in front of us,” Joe joked. “Yea, ew. Gross,” Demi added.

We both just laughed. I took glances at Rachael, discreetly and saw her looking at me as well and she winked. I smiled at the road in front of me. But it quickly went away when I remembered what was really going on. She was covering up what she was really feeling with a smile…like she always did. I glanced over at her and saw now she was avoiding my eyes. She knew I caught on…and I would call her out on it…but not now…later.

~~~~~~~~

It was kind of dark but the walls had glow in the dark signs everywhere. You had to be careful about which path you chose…and you had to expect everyone was against you.

“Ahhhhh!” came from my mouth and someone elses as I backed into someone. I spun around to shoot but saw it was just Joe.

“Joe, I thought you went left when I went right so we could split up and find the girls”

“I did go left…but then I also went another left…I guess I should’ve gone left, then right…”

“Ya think?” I laughed. “Alright…” I sighed. “Watch my back…” I told him.

“Okay well…you might want to turn around,” he said and I did.

I saw a shadow and Rachael stepped forward so we saw her face. “Hello Nicholas, Joseph…we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” she told me.

“It doesn’t have to be this way Rachael,” I said as I started to take another step.

“Step closer and see what happens,” she smirked.

“I guess we’re doing this the hard way,” Joe said as he got his laser gun ready.

“Have it your way…Demi now!” she yelled and out of no where we saw a shadow jump down to us from behind and she began to shoot.

I spun back around to look at Rachael and she was gone. Then Demi was gone as well. They both ran off but we could still hear them shooting at us. But then they both reappeared and we all started shooting at one another. Then the lights went back on, telling us our time was up.

“The girls won,” a guy on the intercom said.

Demi and Rachael started jumping up and down cheering and laughing and dancing around.

“Ha, you guys owe us some dinner,” Rachael stuck her tongue out as Demi laughed.

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

Rachael’s POV

As promised, Joe and Nick treated us to dinner. Afterwards, we all went back to my house. Anna was out with Zach so we had the house to ourselves. Demi and Joe were inside, picking out a movie that we all could watch as Nick and I were on the porch, sitting on the bench swing.

“…tell me what you’re thinking,” he requested.

“Nothing really…” He gave me a look. “I don’t know…shes been in rehab Nick…and she’s with her therepist? Then there’s Eric…I cant help but feel like I’m responsible for whats been going on with him…”

“You cant blame yourself…it isn’t your fault…plus we don’t even know if what people have been saying is true…things will get better, I promise” he said and brought me closer to him as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” I whispered back.

I was quite contempt with what has been going on lately, believe it or not. I couldn’t say I didn’t doubt the fact that my mom was in rehab…something like that was bound to happen and I was worried about Eric…but I wasn’t going to leave Nick just to go find Eric and check on him. He’s a big boy, he can make his own decisions. I’m not going to ruin my life for him ever again. Nick is my life now and he has always been…and I hope it’s forever.