Never let go.

Just as I pulled into the garage of my house, my phone buzzed on the passenger seat. I pulled the keys out of the ignition and picked up my phone. I read it as I made my way to the Jonas’s, where I could smell smoke already.

From-James.
I had an amazing time today, Isabelle. (: x

I grinned to myself. As I made my way up the Jonas’s pathway, I started to dance to myself. Unfortunately for me, Elvis came running out, jumping on top of me. He knocked up both to the floor, locking me into some sort of cage. He barked, and it scared me. I burst into laughter as someone pushed the heavy dog off me. I saw a hand out, and I grabbed hold of it. Nick hauled me off the floor and smiled at me. “Bad Elvis.” He smacked the dog lightly on his nose. Elvis whined and ran back into the house. I laughed and thanked Nick. “Hey, can I talk to you?” He asked as we walked into the house. I nodded my head and followed him down to the basement. We both sat on the couch together and I looked at him. “Are you busy tomorrow?” I shook my head.

“Nope, why?” I asked, smiling softly at him. He sighed and ran his fingers through his curls. He let out a deep breath, before grinning at me with all his teeth.

“Because me and you are going shopping for a ring.” I grinned at him, and wrapped my arms around him. “Get off.” He muttered, making me laugh. I let go of him and smiled, bashfully.

“When are you going to do it? How are you going to do it?” I asked, getting excited. Nick rolled his eyes at me, but rested his feet on top of the coffee table. I did exactly the same, smiling to myself.

“In 3 days, it’s our 3 year anniversary, I was thinking about doing it then.” He seemed a million miles away, before I clapped my hand in front of his face. He laughed. “I wrote her a song.” My mouth dropped. That was probably the most romantic way to propose to someone. “It’s called Critical.” He seemed pretty proud of himself.

“Show me it.” I demanded. Nick, once more, rolled his eyes and shook his head at me. I pouted.

“I can’t. Not today.” A grin stretched across my face. “Tomorrow. Mum, and your mum are taking her to a spa thing mum got for her birthday. Kevin and Danielle are going to the doctors and Frankie and Reece are going to go go-carting with Dad and they are taking James as well.” The name James had me smiling again. “So, it’s just me and you.” I nodded my head.

“Promise?” I held my pinkie out. Pinkie promises was mine and Nick’s thing. We never did it with anyone else, we started to do it when I was 7 and Nick was 5. He wrapped his pinkie around mine, and smiled.

“Promise.” He said. The both of us smiled and got off the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck, giving him a hug. “By the way, Jess isn’t too happy with you.” He whispered in my ear. I gasped and nodded my head, remembering what happened earlier. We both let go of each other and I ran up the basement stairs two by two. I sprinted into the garden, getting weird looks off Paul and Joe. I ran towards Jess and engulfed into a massive hug. She stood stiff for a couple of seconds, before wrapping her arms around me.

“I’m sorry.” I muttered. She nodded her head and said it in reply. I let her go and grinned at her. I turned around to see everyone looking at us. I flashed my teeth at them and waved. “Sister thing.” I said, as if it was some explanation. I walked over to my mum, who was sitting next to Denise and Danielle. I kissed her cheek, then Denise’s. I walked over to Paul, who was standing in front of the BBQ. I leant over and kissed his cheek, before hugging Kevin, who was standing with him. I looked over at Joe, who was putting the sausages onto it. He didn’t even look at me, so I walked off to Frankie and Reece. They both sat there, looking at their Pokémon cards. I sat down next to both of them and smiled. “You boys okay?” I asked. Both of the muttered something and carried on. I rolled my eyes at the boys and stood up. I walked over to Jess, and Danielle, who had just joined her. They both looked at me.

“How was it?” Jess asked, in a hushed tone. I grinned and nodded my head.

“He asked me on a date.” And with that, both my best friend and my sister both started to squeal. I put both hands over my ears as they did. I looked at them, my eyebrows raised. I pulled my hands away from my ears. “Done?” I asked. They both nodded their heads and I sat down. The two of them joined me, smiling. “He is pretty amazing, guys. He’s sweet, funny, a real gentleman.” I mused. Jess and Danielle both grinned at me.

“Does someone have a little crush?” Danielle sang. I swore I blushed, as I nodded slightly. They both high fived each other just as Paul yelled.

“FOOD!” I shared a look with Danielle and Jess, making a run for the table. I sat down, in my usual seat on the outside table. Reece took one side of me and Denise taking the other side. Joe sat opposite, not even looking at me. Denise picked up on this and leant over both armrests on the chairs.

“He feels bad, Iz.” She whispered, before pulling away. I nodded my head at her, and she gave me a soft smile in return. I looked over at Nick, who was talking to Jess. He caught me out of the corner of his eye, and I stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed, in the middle of Jess’s sentence. She hit his arm, making Nick turn to her. I laughed, just as the food was being passed around. I pulled a burger and some chicken out of the bowl and put them on my plate. I grabbed a bun and the ketchup before anyone else could. I grinned to myself.

“Not hungry, Iz?” My mum asked, taking a sip of some red concoction that was probably some sort of cocktail. I noticed Denise had one as well. I shook my head.

“Probably because she scoffed a load when she was hanging out with him.” Joe muttered, making sure I could hear him. My head shot up and I looked at him. I glared at him as he smiled sadistically. Suddenly, I felt someone kick me. I looked around the table.

“Okay, who kicked me?” I asked, putting my knife and fork down. Slowly, Jess put her hand up slowly, grinning. I laughed.

“It was meant for Joe.” She muttered, shoving a piece of lettuce into her mouth. I grinned at her, as Joe scoffed. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I opened it slowly. It was from Danielle.

From-Daniiii!
Think logically. How does Joe know? When was the only moment when you talked about it?

I looked over at her, and she nodded her head. Paul looked over at me and sighed. “Phone away.” He said, giving me a stern look. I nodded my head and put it back into my pocket. I rested my hand against my chin. The only people who knew were me and James, because I hadn’t said anything to anyone. And the only way me and James knew was because I text him. I text him.

My head shot up and I looked at Joe. His eyes met mine and he sat up properly. “What?” He hissed at me. I gave him a fake smile and shook my head. He narrowed his eyebrows at me and went back to his dinner. I looked over at Danielle, who was smiling softly, bent over her plate. I could see she was looking at me out of the corner of her eye. I nodded my head and she grinned at me. It was like a confirmation that he had actually read my texts.

----NeverLetGo----

All the ‘kids’ were in the basement, just chatting. Except Joe, who throw a strop and went upstairs to his room. I was so tempted to go up there and kick his arse. “Go and talk to him.” Kevin whispered in my ear. I turned to him and shook my head. He rolled his eyes at me. “You’ve been best friends ever since you were born, okay? And you are going to throw it all away because of this?” He said. I rolled my eyes at him. Over the last 12 hours, that’s the only thing I’ve heard. I shook my head.

“Kevin, I have heard that from many times, off many people. And I’m so sick of hearing it, okay? I’m not throwing it away; I’m just putting it on hold.” I said, in my defence. “And your brother needs to learn to keep his big nose out of other people’s business. And texts!” I complained, before getting up and walking of the basement. I sat on the bottom of the stairs before deciding to get up and go and see Joe. I walked up the stairs, taking them two by two. I didn’t even knock on his bedroom door, I just burst through it. He was lying down, staring at the ceiling. He shot up when I pushed his door and it slammed against the wall. I stood there with my arms folded across my chest. Joe rolled his eyes and lied back down again. “So you think its okay to go down people’s texts Joe?” I asked him, raising my eyebrows. He, once again, shot up and looked at me.

“Who told you?” He hissed. I shrugged my shoulders.

“No-one. I’m not stupid Joe. The only people who knew I was hanging out with him were me and James. I hadn’t told anyone. And the only way both of us knew was because I text him.” I said, as if it was a casual conversation. Joe opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. “And yes, he did ask me on another date.” I grabbed the door handle and slammed the door behind me. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I slowly walked downstairs, making my way down to the basement. As I was walking past the lounge, Denise grabbed my arm. I turned to her and smiled softly.

“Just make sure you are doing the right thing.” She whispered. I nodded my head.

“I hope I’m doing the right thing. Is it right to be like I am?” I asked her. She smiled and nodded her head.

“He shouldn’t be like this. He was brought up to be a proper gentleman, but all he is at the moment is a complete douche.” I grinned at her. “You’re doing the right thing, sweetheart.” She kissed my forehead and walked back into the lounge. I smiled; at least someone wasn’t giving me a lecture of mine and Joe’s past. I think I know it pretty well; I was there from the start. I wandered back into the basement, where they were talking all in hushed tones. I sat on the stairs, listening to them.

“I can’t believe it.” Jess said. “You’ve have been best friends since I can remember, you never argue.” She said. I ran my hand through my hair, softly. It was then, when I realized that Joe was also in there. How did he get past me and Denise?

“I’ve never seen someone as broken as Iz was last night.” Danielle said, sighing. I looked over at her and she caught my eye. She jumped off the couch. “Izzie.” She whispered. I shook my head, taking the stairs two by two. I could hear footsteps behind me, but I wouldn’t even look back. I slammed the Jonas’s front door and ran over to my house. I locked the door behind me, only knowing that mum had the key. I walked over to the couch and flopped onto it. I pulled my phone out and out it onto my stomach. Just as I closed my eyes, it went off.

From-Daniiii!
You weren’t meant to hear that. :/ x

I sighed and rolled onto my side. I grabbed the remote for the TV, switching it on. An old episode of Glee was on. I settled on that and went back to text Danielle.

To-Daniiii!
I guessed that. x

I closed my eyes softly, waiting for a reply that never came.

----NeverLetGo----

“Isabelle.” Someone said, shaking my arm. I groaned and rolled over. They sighed and shook my arm once more. I rolled back over and opened one eye. “Nick wants to know what time.” Jess said, smiling at me softly. I opened both eyes and sat up slowly. I looked around; I was back in my bedroom. I swear I was on the couch. “Joe carried you up here.” She informed me. I nodded my head and yawned. I looked over at the clock on my bedside cabinet. 9:28am. I yawned once more and smiled at Jess.

“Tell him to be ready by 10.” I said. She nodded her head and ran out of my bedroom. It wouldn’t take me that long to get ready. I hauled myself off my bed and wandered into the bathroom. I quickly washed my face, waking myself up. I walked back into my bedroom and over to my closet. I pulled out a white tank top with some type of necklaces printed on them, and a black and white skirt. I laid it out on my bed, before grabbing my gladiator shoes. I got changed in probably record time, before tying my hair back into a ponytail. I wandered downstairs and I heard talking from the kitchen. Frankie, Reece, Nick and Jess, were all sat around the table, talking. I sat down next to Reece. He slowly made his way across my chair and sat on my lap. He wrapped his arms around my neck and gave me a massive cuddle.

“I love you, Iz.” He whispered. I grinned to myself, hugging him back.

“I love you too, Reecey-boy.” I said. He laughed and let go of me, but he stayed on my lap. I wrapped my arms around his waist as he ate his cereal, which was probably the worst thing as he was most likely to spill it down me. Nick looked over at me, and smiled with all his teeth. I smiled back, laughing to myself.

“You two aren’t having a secret affair are you?” Jess asked, looking at Nick then me. I nodded my head and winked at Nick.

“Totally Jess.” I said. It was so sarcastic, if she didn’t catch it, she must be some oblivious girl. She rolled her eyes but laughter whatsoever. “What time are you going out?” I asked her, as if it was a casual conversation. She shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m not sure. Soon.” She said, smiling softly. “So what are you and Nick doing today?” She asked, picking at her nails. I rolled my eyes; she could never keep nail varnish on for longer than 2 days.

“Well, I need to go shopping for Joe’s birthday present.” Even though it was a month away, I had the idea of what I wanted to buy him, so I had to get it now. “And Nick promised me he was going to buy me lunch.” I smiled at him. He laughed and rolled his eyes.

“I never promised anything, but I will buy you lunch.” I thanked him. Jess smiled at the both of us and Reece dropped a rice crispy down my leg. I squealed and put him back onto his chair. I grabbed a tissue and wiped it away. He laughed to himself, milk spilling out of his mouth. Well, that set the four of us off. We all sat there, holding our stomach, laughing our heads off. Mum, Denise and Paul walked in. They all shared a look with either other as we carried on laughing. I grabbed the same tissue and wiped all the milk from around Reece’s mouth. He grinned at me and mumbled thanks. I smiled back at him and looked at my mum.

“C’mon Jess. Let’s go.” Denise rubbed her hands together. Jess smiled at both parents and got off her chair. She bent down, placing a soft kiss on Nick’s lips. I grinned as Frankie and Reece screwed up their noses. “See you later, Iz.” She smiled at me. I nodded my head and waved goodbye to her. Mum, Denise and Jess walked out, giggling with each other. Paul clapped his hands together, making both Reece and Frankie look at him.

“Come on then boys. If you wanna start racing around that track, we need to go and get James.” Paul said. And to say that I’ve never seen either boys move so fast, was an understatement. Once we heard the front door slam, I grinned at Nick.

“I’ve already ordered the ring.” My mouth dropped open. “That’s what happens when Joe leaves his iPhone around. He had an app on it for Tiffany’s.” I grinned.

“And what does it look like?” I asked, getting excited. He rolled his eyes once more, but pulled out his phone. I waited until he held it out to me before my jaw dropped. “Nick.” I whispered as I stared at the screen of the Blackberry. The ring was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It was plain, something Jess would love. She never liked over the top things. There was a single diamond and two simple side stones, drawing all the attention to diamond. I grinned at Nick. “Well done.” I said, handing him back his phone. He nodded his head and smiled back.

“Now, can we go shopping?” Nick asked, smiling softly. I nodded my head and jumped off the chair. He slowly got off the chair. For someone who wanted to get out, he was seriously taking his time. I rolled my eyes at him as he slowly walked out the house. I turned to him just as I was locking the front door.

“Who’s car we going in?” I asked, smiling, hoping it was Nick’s. He rolled his eyes as if he read my mind.

“Mine, I guess.” He muttered. I cheered and followed him over to the Jonas’s garage. Nick pressed the buzzer to open the door. I looked at all the car, noticing that Joe’s had gone missing. I looked over at Nick. “He went out to sort something’s out for his birthday.” I nodded my head. It was his birthday in a month and he has started to plan it already? Nick opened the door to his Mustang and smiled at me.

“You seriously don’t need to do that for me.” I mumbled, but got in his car anyway. He practically ran around the front of the car and dived into the driver’s seat. I smiled at him, as he sped down the driveway. We didn’t say anything, and then a question popped into my head. “So did Joe finally apologize?” I asked, staring out the window. Nick nodded his head.

“Yeah, when he came back from yours.” Nick sighed. “He wasn’t upset at the fact that I broke my promise, it was that I’m growing up before him. I had him in tears, Iz.” He said. It actually broke my heart, seeing Joe in tears. That night, when he confessed all, was the worst I’ve ever seen Joe. He was always strong; he’s never let anyone see him cry. But it was then, he finally broke.

“Joe never cries.” I muttered, tugging at the bottom of my skirt. Nick nodded his head, sighing softly. He ran his fingers through his curls.

“I know, Iz.” He whispered. “But now I’ve told you that, answer me this one question.” He said. I looked over at him and nodded my head. “Why didn’t you tell him?” He asked. I tensed up.

“Because I knew he would act like that.” I whispered, staring out the window. “There is something happening between me and Joe. And I don’t know what it is.”

“You are both going through puberty.” Nick kept an eye on the road, but I could see he was smirking to himself. I hit him in the arm and laughed, sarcastically.

“Well, Mr horny pants.” I muttered. Nick tried to keep a straight face while I was winding him up, but the both of us burst into laughter. We were both still giggling when Nick parked the car in the car park, about 10 feet from every other car. I hopped out the car, before Nick could run around and opened it for me. I stuck my tongue out at him, like the mature 20 year old I am. Nick rolled his eyes at me and we walked towards the shops. People stared at him as we walked towards Tiffany’s.

“I’ll give it 10 minutes.” He muttered under his breath. He was talking about the time for the press to get here. I laughed, and shook my head.

“5.” I said, grinning at him. He rolled his eyes at me, and laughed. We walked into Tiffany’s and the woman who was behind the cashier practically ran over to us, stumbling over her own feet. I grabbed hold of Nick’s arm, trying to hold in my laughter.

“Hello Mr Jonas. How can I help you?” She said, stuttering. I grinned at her.

“I have a collection.” He muttered, obviously embarrassed. She grinned at him and told her to follow him. He slowly made his way towards the desk, when he turned to me, his eyes popping out of his head. I tried to hold back my giggles, but I let them out. I walked over to the men’s jewellery and looked down at the bracelets.

“How can I help?” An unfamiliar voice made me jump. I looked up to see a woman smiling at me. I smiled back at her.

“Yes please. You see that bracelet there?” I asked her. She pulled down the casing and pulled the bracelet I was pointing to. She placed it on the cabinet. I slowly pulled it off the stand and lifted it up to look at it. “Can you have it engraved?” I asked, turning it around to look at it. It was perfect.

“Of course. Whatever you want on it, for $50 extra.” She said. I nodded my head and grinned.

“Nick.” I called him over. He was waiting for the woman to come back with the ring. He walked over to me quickly and I smiled at him.”Arm out.” I demanded. He rolled his eyes but held his arm out. I slipped the bracelet onto his arm, it fitted perfectly. Which meant it would fit Joe perfectly. I grinned at him and took it off his wrist. Nick walked away, just as I turned to the woman. “I’ll take it.” I said. She smiled and told me it was a ‘very good choice.’ I followed her over to the cash register. She turned to me.

“What would who like engraved into it?” She asked, pushing a pad towards me. I bit my lip as I tried to think what to write. I grinned to myself and scribbled down 3 words. I handed her the pad back and she smiled, looking at the words. “Is it for your boyfriend?” I shook my head.

“Best friend.” I muttered in reply. Actually, I wasn’t sure if we were best friend. We always have been, and probably always will be. But right now, I wasn’t sure.

“I think he’d love it.” She smiled at me, before wrapping it up in a box, with the piece of paper. She tapped in the price of everything and I had a shit-eating grin. $250. Wow. A lot to spend on Joe. I handed over my card to her as she swiped it. She handed me a receipt, to collect in a week’s time. I smiled as Nick came over to me, putting his hand on the small of my back.

“Paps are here.” He muttered, his voice a pissed off tone. I nodded my head secretly as Nick slid the Tiffany’s bag into my hand. I gripped hold of it and smiled at the woman.

“I’ll see you in a week’s time.” She smiled. I nodded my head and followed Nick out of the shop. He had his hand in mine, practically dragging me out the shot. They all shouted for Nick to smile. I could tell he was really annoyed by the way he pushed through the crowd of cameras. I kept my other hand tight around the bag, making sure no one got to it. Nick tugged my hand and I watched him move his head over to the nearest restaurant, a little place called, well, I didn’t get the name of it because Nick was pulling me into the place so fast. The both of us stood at the podium, waiting to be seated, breathing heavily. Nick decided to make a break for it and ran. Yeah, cause that’s clever.

“How many?” The waiter asked. Nick held us two fingers as we both caught our breath.

“Can we have it in the back?” Nick asked. The waiter gave us a bored nod and grabbed two menus and we followed him over to the table. It was a little booth thing, no one around. The waiter handed us the menus and asked for our drinks. “Two diet cokes.” The guy knows me too well. I put the bag onto the table, and picked up the menu.

“How much was it?” I mumbled, from behind the deserts. Nick laughed, throwing his head back. It was as if he could tell that I was going to ask him that.

“$8,125.” My mouth dropped open. He had said it as if it was a casual thing. I just looked at him from over my menu, not moving. He rolled his eyes at me.

“She’ll kill you if she finds out how much it was.” I said, putting my menu down. I knew exactly what I wanted. Nick narrowed his eyebrows at me, resting his elbows on the table.

“But she wont find out, will she, Isabelle?” He asked, emphasizing on my name. I rolled my eyes and copied the exact same position Nick was in.

“Are you bribing me, Nicholas?” I asked, leaning forwards, both my eyebrows raised upwards. He nodded his head in a pretty cool manner. I laughed at him as the waiter handed us our drinks. We both smiled at him and he walked off. “Should you be having a press conference?” I asked, sipping my diet coke. Nick nodded his head.

“We were meant to, but dad cancelled it.” I narrowed my eyebrows at him. “Well, Danielle was throwing up all morning and it was meant to be at 11. And Joe was acting like an arse. He wouldn’t wake up, so we are doing it tomorrow.” I nodded my head and sipped someone of my drink.

“Cool!” I sang. The waiter came over and wanted our order. “Lasagne.” I ordered, smiling. Nick ordered a cheeseburger and fries, which I’ll probably eat the fries. I grinned at Nick. “Can I have a look at it?” I sang. Nick rolled his eyes, but pulled the bag off the table. I clapped my hands together and watched as he slowly pulled the white ribbon off without mucking up the bow. He flipped open the lid and held the box out to me. My mouth dropped open as I took the box out of his hand. I picked up the ring and twisted it around on my finger. “Wow, Nick. It’s beautiful.” I mused. Nick gave me a full smile as I placed the ring back into the box and handed it back to him. I watched as he put everything back into the bag and he gave it back to me. “She’s going to kill you when she finds out the price.”