Playing With Fire

The next day was a big day for the boys – their first show. They were all ecstatic about it, even Nick who tried not to show it. Joe was bouncing off the walls – literally.

“OUR FIRST SHOW! OH, MY GOD! OUR FIRST SHOW!”

“Yes, Joe, we get it,” said Kevin, agitated at Joe’s eleventh random outburst. We were in the basement again. The boys were practicing the song that they were going to perform on TRL later that day. The anticipation became too much for Joe to bear about every half hour and he flipped out.

“AHHHHHHHHH!”

“JOE! Can you chill so we can practice?” said Kevin again. Nick laughed from beside me.

Joe closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, he said, “Okay, Joe is calm, cool, and collected,” He took a deep breath.

“Thank you,” Kevin replied, “Now let’s go from the top,”

The boys situated their microphones and grabbed their guitars, tuning them and adjusting the strings.

Nick counted them off, “Two, three, four…” and they began.

"Told you I made dinner plans
For you and me and no one else
That don't include your crazy friends
Well I'm done
With awkward situation's empty
conversations

Oohh This is an S.O.S.
Don't wanna second guess
This is the bottom line
It's true
I gave my all for you
Now my heart's in two
And I can't find the other half
It's like I'm walking on broken glass
Better believe I bled
It's a call I'll never get

So this is where the story ends
A conversation on IM
Well I'm done with texting
Sorry for the miscommunication

Oohh This is an S.O.S.
Don't wanna second guess
This is the bottom line
It's true
I gave my all for you
Now my heart's in two
And I can't find the other half
It's like I'm walking on broken glass
Better believe I bled
It's a call I'll never get

Next time I see you
I'm giving you a high five
Cuz hugs are overrated just FYI

Oohh This is an S.O.S.
Don't wanna second guess
This is the bottom line
It's true
I gave my all for you
now my heart's in two
Oohh This is an S.O.S.

Don't wanna second guess
This is the bottom line
It's you
I gave my all for you
now my heart's in two
And I can't find the other half
It's like I'm walking on broken glass
better believe I bled

The beat of the guitar and the smooth tones of the boys’ voices made the song absolutely perfect. “What do you think, Kara?” Kevin asked me.

“I think you guys are gonna be incredible,” I replied, smiling. Nick leaned over to place a tender kiss on my lips.

“THERE YOU GO AGAIN!” Joe yelled, rushing to cover his eyes with his hand.

“Sorry, forgot,” said Nick, pulling away and smirking. I laughed.

“Alright, boys! Time to go!” yelled Mr. Jonas from upstairs.

“THE FIRST SHOW! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Joe screamed again.
We all groaned.

-------------------------------------------

“Are you nervous?” I asked Nick backstage at TRL. It had taken forever to get to New York - practically the whole day. We were all tired.

“A little bit,” he answered, fidgeting.

“You’re gonna be great,” I fixed the collar of his leather jacket. He was dressed in gray pants and a white V-neck t-shirt, along with a silver watch and his diabetes dog tag. His hair was perfectly done and he looked absolutely flawless.

He took a deep breath and looked into my eyes. “I love you,” he said simply.

I smiled. “I love you, too,” I stood on my toes to reach up and give him a kiss. He held onto the back of my neck with his hand and thankfully Joe wasn’t around to stop us.

“Next performance up, the Jonas Brothers,” we heard a voice say over the intercom. Nick pulled away from me slowly.

“Go. I’ll be right here when you get back,” I said to him. He smiled and walked on stage, meeting his brothers and his backup band members, a drummer and a bass player. I watched as they set up the instruments and positioned themselves in front of microphones.

The host brought the show back from commercial and introduced the boys. “Fresh out of New Jersey, here are the Jonas Brothers with their brand new single, ‘SOS’!” With that, the boys began playing.

Compared to the acoustic version I heard earlier that day, the song they played on TRL was amazing. The boys’ energy was off the scale as they fed off the audience’s reaction. They had officially become rock stars.

When SOS was over, the boys got a standing ovation from everyone in the audience. Their smiles were breathtaking – I’d never seen them so happy before. They met up with their parents and myself backstage after the performance and gave us each excited hugs.

“That was such a thrill!” exclaimed Kevin, punching fists into the air.

“Mom, Dad, it was AMAZING! Let’s go again!” Joe said.

“Joseph, it’s not like a ride at DisneyWorld,” said Mr. Jonas. We all laughed.

“Kara, it was the best thing ever. I wish you could’ve been up there with us,” Nick said to me, taking hold of my hand.

“Hate to say ‘I told you so’,” I said, grinning.

“Yeah, yeah…” He leaned in to kiss me. Joe was too excited to notice us.

“Okay, everyone, let’s go,” Mrs. Jonas said. We packed up the boys’ guitars and crammed them into the SUV. We grabbed some lunch at Wendy’s and drove back home.

“Mom?” Nick asked his mother as we walked up the driveway.

“Yes, honey?”

“Can I take Kara out to a movie?”

Mrs. Jonas looked at her son with admiration. “Of course,” she said.

“’Kay,” Nick replied, smiling. He grabbed my hand and walked inside with me. He called for his oldest brother.

“What?” replied Kevin.

“Can you drive Kara and me to the movies?”

“No, I’m busy,”

“Kevin! Please?”

“No, man, I got stuff to do. Ask Joe,”

“But… Ugh, fine. JOE!”

“Yeah?” Joe poked his head out from the living room.

“Can you give us a ride?”

“Where to?”

“The Rio,” Nick replied, referring to the movie theater.

Joe pondered the thought. “Okay,” he said, getting up and walking over to us. He threw his arm around me and smiled.

“Thank you,” Nick replied, smiling. The three of us walked out to the car and Nick helped me into the backseat. He sat beside me.

“Jeez, I feel like a freaking chauffeur with you guys both sitting back there,” Joe said as he pulled out of the driveway.

“Whatever, Joe,” Nick said to his brother, laughing, and put a hand over Layla.

Joe drove us to the movie theater and we stepped out of the car. “I’ll pick you up at seven, okay?” he said. We nodded. “And don’t make out with her,” He pointed a finger at Nick, who rolled his eyes.

Nick and I walked hand-in-hand into the Rio and bought tickets for G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra. Nick bought us a large popcorn and a Diet Coke for us to share. We took our seats in the theater at the very top, in the very center.

“What’s this movie about?” I asked him as I took a handful of popcorn into my hand.

“Dunno. The doll, I guess,” he replied, putting his arm around me. I snuggled closer to him and listened to his heart beating, my favorite sound in the world.

The movie started and ten minutes into it, Channing Tatum graced us with his beautiful face. I gasped.

“I didn’t know he was in this,” I whispered.

“Ugh,” Nick groaned. I laughed and turned to him.

“I love you,” I said simply.

“But you love Channing more,” he said , “And Chris,”

“Never,” I said, leaning up to kiss him. “Kiss me back,” I said playfully. “You know you want to,”

Nick smiled against my lips and met me halfway, touching his lips to mine. I ran my fingers through his soft curly hair, marveling over its silkiness. He placed a hand on my cheek, pulling me closer to him.

We kissed like that for a while, missing most of the movie. Eventually, we pulled away and Nick got rid of the arm rest separating us. I leaned into him and he kissed the top of my head.

At that moment, Channing Tatum seemed ordinary next to Nick. Nick’s heartbeat was my favorite song. I kept it close to my ear and ignored everything else.

I don’t even remember how the movie ended.