Australia

August 14
Joe's POV

Going bowling turned out to be a not so good idea.

I threw on a clean shirt that Sam had thrown at me from my suitcase that was located next to hers on the floor. We headed down quickly and met up with Frankie, Rob, Kevin and, unfortunately, Nick.

"Hey Joe!" Kevin greeted me with a grin and a slap on the back. "Are you coming along too?"

"Yeah," I returned his grin. "Sam invited me."

I turned to look at Sam. Nick threw her a worried glance and she shrugged. I frowned.

"We were just working out teams," my youngest brother beamed at me from beside Rob.

"Oh really?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he nodded excitedly. "Kevin said it could go; me, Rob and Kevin versing you, Nick and Sammie. Is that cool?"

"That sounds good to me," I smiled at Frankie; who grinned back at me.

"We should get going then," Rob told us and rushed us out of the hotel and into a town car.

We sat quietly in the back; besides Frankie who was pointing at things out the windows and waving to the people in the car behind us. I chose not to turn around; who knew who the people were? If they were Jonas fans; we were royally stuffed.

When the car pulled into the parking lot of the bowling alley, I had never been happier to escape in my life. The car was stuffy and you could cut the tension with a knife. Noone talked to anyone as we walked inside, rented shoes and were ushered to a lane. Sam typed in our names for the score board.

Team One.

>BonusJ
>KJTwo
>BRP

Team Two.

>MrPres
>Sammy
>Danger

I was secretly impressed with the nicknames she had used for the scoreboard; each known to the public. But how she just inputed them quickly made me smile.

It wasn't until after the first game, that I started to notice the awkwardness setting in. Because there was only 5 chairs to the lane, one of was always standing at a time; whether they be bowling, or handing out high fives. But regardless of whether Sam had an empty seat or not, she sat on Nick's lap. I was sitting in the seat immediately beside Nick; but that didn't matter. It was like they were doing it on purpose. They were purposely flirting with each other and acting like a couple just to bug me. They had succeeded; it was bugging the heck out of me.

I couldn't help but avert my eyes when Sam pressed a kiss to Nick's forehead and told him she had to use the ladies room. Nick just nodded and smiled at her; squeezing her hand before she got up. I gave her a moment before standing up as well. I walked slowly behind her and watched her walk into the bathroom. I took a deep breath and walked faster. I didn't want to make a scene out there. I pushed open the ladies room door and was hit with an over use of the colour pink.

"Joe! What are you doing in here? Its the ladies room," Sam hissed quietly.

"I need to talk to you," I admitted; looking her in the eye. It was an improvement over looking at the walls.

"About what exactly?" she looked at me as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Us," I bit my lip. "You and Nick."

Sam looked at me; hurt clouding her usual exuberant expression.

"What do you mean?" she looked away; her arms fell to her sides.

"You and Nick are being all couply and lovey-dovey," I shrugged. "Have I done something?"

"No, of course you haven't," she half smiled at me and took a few steps right up close to me. She looked me in the eyes. "Look Joe, don't be paranoid alright. Just take a breath, look me in the eyes and tell me what you see."

I looked at her for a moment before sighing.

"I don't know what I see anymore," I confessed quietly.

"Look, let's talk about this later," she smiled again before leaning up and kissing my cheek. "And if you don't mind."

She shoved me out the door gently. I looked back at the door sighing before walking back to the group.

The drive home was more awkward then the drive over. The car was filled with Frankie and Kevin's banter because they had managed to beat us; no doubt because of Rob's 6 strikes. Who knew a bodyguard would be so good at bowling?

We pulled up outside the hotel and all stepped out; hurrying our way upstairs because it was getting late. We all caught the elevator upstairs and walked out; venturing to our separate rooms.

The night had ended badly. Sam had slept in the same room as me, but nothing positive came from it. We didn't speak, we didn't do anything. She had gotten up early and left to go hang out with Nick again. I had no idea where they were going. She just had no desire to hang out with me. I had spent today, the eve of my birthday, alone in my room. It's usually spent playing games with Frankie, jamming with Kev and Nick or, if we're on tour, out to dinner with the family. Instead, noone acknowledged it. I hadn't eaten anything or left my room for any purpose. Noone came to see me or asked me if I wanted to hang out. I felt like everyone had forgotten me. I lifted my phone and illuminated the screen.

21.57

9.57pm. Sam had been out with Nick literally all day. What was keeping them? Where were they? What were they doing? I pushed the possible answers to the third question out of my head.

"No, I'll stay with him tonight," I heard Sam say quietly to someone outside the door.

"Alright, if you're sure," I heard Nick whisper back.

I got up and unlocked the door to my room and left it open; knowing Sam wouldn't be long. I flopped onto the bed and stayed sitting up; hoping she would talk to me when she came in. I glanced over to the door. The sight made my heart hitch in my throat, my breathing stop and, I'm not going to lie, tears filled my eyes. Sam placed a small, longing kiss on the side of Nick's mouth and pulled him into a hug. They whispered goodnights to each other. I pulled my jeans off quickly and dove under the blankets; my back turned to Sam's bed. I heard her close the door quietly and pad over to her bed. I heard a belt buckle, the sound of clothing hitting the floor and a soft groan as Sam climbed into bed and stretched.

"Hey Joe?" Sam called me quietly.

"Mhmm," I replied; keeping my breathing steady and my emotions at bay.

"Can we have dinner tomorrow night?" she asked, just as quiet as before. "I think we need to talk."

The last six words of her request made me choke up completely. I let out an almost silent 'mhm.'

"Alright cool," Sam responded to my muffled agreement. "Goodnight."

I didn't reply. I balled the blankets around myself and pulled my knees up into the fetal position. I let those silent tears fall onto the pillow beneath my head. It was over. It was definitely over; over on my birthday.