An Alternate Universe

“Nick, we’re doing campfire,” Kevin said, poking his head into the dressing room.

“Okay,” Nick said, looking at his older brother. “Come on Erica,” he said, turning back to his best friend. Tonight was the opening night of their second world tour in Dallas and he had invited his best friend to come and watch the show. Grabbing her hand, he led her out into the hallway where everyone in their band, the opening acts, and crew members were gathered for the ritual that had started when they first became a band.

Nick held onto Erica’s right hand as she linked her left hand through Demi’s. They all bowed their heads as his dad started in on the prayer, blessing everyone in their large tour family. When he was done, Nick continued to hold Erica’s hand as they walked away from the group. Demi was getting ready to go out there along with her band and her dancers. Nick and Erica stood off to the side talking for a bit before walking towards the wings of the stage to watch Demi perform.

“I can’t get over how great she is,” Erica stated. She had been a fan of Demi’s since they filmed Camp Rock with her and had thrown herself at Nick in gratitude when he finally got around to introducing them to each other. Ever since then the two girls have been good friends. Erica still lived in New Jersey, but Nick flew her out to various locations whenever he wanted his best friend there. Because of him, Erica had experienced things she had never even dreamed of!

“Yea, she’s okay. But not as good as your best friend,” Nick stated, squeezing her hand.

Erica looked up at him and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay,” she teased. Nick merely stuck his tongue out at her. They continued to watch the remainder of Demi’s set. Then Nick went off to warm up a bit, doing a few push-ups and cartwheels with Joe, while Erica continued to watch Demi. When she was done, she came running off stage. “Demi! You were so good out there!” Erica congratulated, wrapping her friend up in a hug.

“Thanks girl. I really missed doing that. This tour is going to be so much fun!” Demi said, her wide, infectious smile pulling at her lips.

“Yea, it sounds like it,” Erica stated with her own smile.

“Well, I’m gonna go change for my duets with Joe. I’ll see you later,” Demi said, following her dancers and back-up band as the three Jonas’ walked towards Erica. The stage was pitch black as the hype built up. The amphitheater was extremely loud; girls’ screaming was the only thing that could be heard. A small smile pulled at her lips at the sound—it was weird knowing that her best friend had so many adoring fans when she had known him practically their entire lives.

“I swear the screams get louder with every tour,” she said when she felt Nick stand next to her. She turned to look at him and he merely shrugged; an easy smile on his lips.

“So, how do I look?” he questioned.

“Good, like always,” Erica responded with an eye roll. Any time she came to one of his concerts, he always asked her opinion on how he looked, saying she was a girl, so she was the best person to ask without getting a biased answer. His reasoning made no sense to her, but her response was always the same.

“Thanks Little Foot,” he said, using the nickname her dad used to call her when she was younger. In his opinion, she had smaller feet than normal children, so he started calling her Little Foot. Nick adopted the nickname and though it bothered her that he used it at first, she was now used to him popping it out at times. Nick quickly pulled her in for a hug as the band ran out onto the stage. They started playing the introductory song, ‘Feeling Alive’ from their TV show. “Show time,” Nick muttered.

“Good luck. And be careful,” Erica called out to him as he and his brothers ran out to the millions of girls waiting for them. Erica watched in admiration as her best friend and his brothers, whom she was also fairly close to, rocked out on stage. They were so in their element when they were out there, putting on an amazing show for their fans every time. She always seemed to be in a daze watching them and felt like a fan admiring her favorite group rather than just a girl watching her friend perform.

The concert had been going great, and the boys were now performing ‘Paranoid’. This part of the show made Erica anxious—Nick slid down the catwalk and a few times during rehearsals he had cut it kind of close and almost slid off the stage. Erica watched anxiously as the last chorus was being played and Nick ran down the catwalk before dropping to his knees and skidding down the walk as he played his guitar. He stopped at the edge of the stage, just short of hitting the giant speakers at the end of the stage. Erica released the breath she was holding when Nick stopped unscathed but just as she did, Nick hopped up on his feet. His right foot hit one of the speakers, making him lose his balance and fall over the stage, straight into the audience. The audience gasped as Nick fell forward—he tried to use his arms to shield himself, but all that did was sling his guitar forward and smash against his face as he fell onto the metal grates that blocked off the stage from the fans in the pit.

The music on stage halted as Kevin and Joe ran towards their brother, members of their security team rushing out onto the stage as well. Fans were yelling in concern as security members crowded around Nick’s still body. Erica watched with wide eyes, rooted to her spot in the wings of the stage. She wanted to rush out to him and make sure he was okay but she just couldn’t move. Her heart was hammering fast in her chest and all surrounding sounds were tuned out as her eyes trained in on the people tending to Nick. A stretcher was brought out and Nick’s body was carefully lifted on to it.

Nick could hear the commotion around him, but his mind felt like it was in a hazy fog. He tried to keep his eyes open, but he just couldn’t seem to win over his heavy lids. His head was pounding and his right arm and leg were killing him. He felt as people moved around him and when he was lifted off the ground onto something stiff. “Nick, I need you to keep your eyes open for me son,” someone was saying. He tried really hard to do as the man asked, but everything was blurred before him.

“Is he gonna be okay?” a familiar voice asked. He recognized it to be one of his brothers, but he couldn’t be sure which one of the three had asked the question.

“We have to get him to a hospital, fast,” was the response.

“Baby, keep your eyes open,” he recognized his mothers concerned voice. He tried to open his eyes to tell her he was trying his best but he found he couldn’t speak. He was being rushed so quickly and his vision was already blurred—the combination just made his headache worse. He decided he couldn’t do it, so he closed his eyes. The last thing he saw however was Erica’s concerned face as her-equally-as concerned voice pleaded with him to hang in there.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

“He’s been out for hours. When is he going to wake up?”

“It’s hard to tell. He received a very hard blow to the head. For right now we’re just monitoring his vital signs and those seem to have steadied. We just have to be patient and let him wake up on his own time.”

Nick heard the first person sigh in resignation. Then more sounds started coming to him—the steady beeping of machinery, faint voices coming from somewhere close by, someone shifting in a seat close to him, someone sniffling every few seconds. Then he became aware of the hand that was resting gently within his, mindlessly stroking his. He slowly tried to open his eyes but they felt so heavy.

“Sweetie, you’ve been here for hours, why don’t you go home and get some rest?” that was definitely his mom, but who was she talking to?

“That’s okay, I want to be here when he wakes up,” another voice croaked out.

Erica.

He tried once again to open his eyes and was slowly able to open them. The room was very bright, making him groan as he closed his eyes again. “Nick?” He tried opening his eyes again and this time kept them squinted so the brightness didn’t bother him. He titled his head to the side and saw Erica’s glistening green eyes flood with relief. “Oh thank God!” she exclaimed, flinging herself forward and awkwardly wrapping her arms around him. “You had me scared half to death,” she stated.

“Oh sweetie, thank goodness you’re okay. I’m going to go get your doctor,” his mom said, quickly running out of the room.

“We’ll go get dad and Frankie,” Kevin said as he and Joe ran out of the room as well.

Nick turned his focus back on Erica. She was running her hands through his hair in a way that was more affectionate than they’d ever been with each other. But he didn’t mind, the gesture was coaxing him back to sleep and his eyelids still felt really heavy. “How do you feel?” Erica asked gently.

“My head hurts a little,” he responded, closing his eyes.

“We were all so scared,” she whispered. “I’m so glad you woke up.”

“How long have I been out?” he questioned in a raspy voice.

“A little less than twenty hours,” Erica responded. His mind registered the shock, but he didn’t react any other way. Right then he heard the door open so he opened his eyes to see his mom walking in with his doctor close behind her.

“Nicholas, so good to see you awake,” the middle aged man stated, approaching his bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts,” Nick repeated.

“That’s understandable; you had quite the concussion going there. Do you remember what happened to you?” the doctor questioned.

Nick scrunched his eyebrows, trying to think back to before he blacked out. He shook his head. “Not really. The last thing I remember was sliding across the stage’s catwalk and when I jumped up I lost my balance and fell into the crowd,” he responded.

He saw the doctor’s eyebrows scrunch up as he tilted his head at him. His mother and Erica exchanged a look, concern written on their features. The room grew extremely silent and it quickly became uncomfortable. The three other inhabitants of the room were looking at each other worriedly, but no one knew how to break the silence. Nick could tell something was wrong. “Sweetie, what are you talking about?” his mom was the one to gently break the silence.

Nick couldn’t understand why they were all looking at him like he was crazy. “What? That’s all I remember. We were at the concert performing ‘Paranoid’ and I fell off the stage.”

Erica and his mother looked at the doctor with extremely concerned looks. His doctor released a sigh and stated, “Nicholas, you didn’t fall off a stage.”

Nick’s eyebrows scrunched up again. What are they talking about?

Erica was the next person to speak up. “Nick, we were cliff diving at Nay Aug Park. You tripped off the cliff and hit the water at an awkward angle. The impact of you hitting the water made you fracture your leg and wrist and you hit your head on the cliff on the way down,” she explained gently.

“Nay Aug Park?” he questioned, even more confused now. That made no sense to him. Nay Aug Park was in New Jersey. He hadn’t been there in years.

The room was silent once more until the rest of his family walked in, smiles on their faces when they saw him more coherent than before. But then the tension in the room registered with everyone and they all looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. “Mr. and Mrs. Jonas, may I speak with you in the hallway please?” the doctor asked, already walking out of the room. His parents followed him out, distress etched in their features, as his three brothers came to stand by his bed.

“Hey dude, how you doing?” Joe asked as he sat down next to Erica.

“A little confused to tell you the truth,” he responded. “You guys remember me falling at the concert, don’t you?”

Joe and Kevin glanced at each other with the same anxious expression his mom and best friend had exchanged. “What concert?” Kevin asked.

“The one in Dallas. It was the opening night of our second world tour and I fell off the stage,” he explained. “Guys you were there!” he said exasperatedly when they just stared at him in confusion.

“Dude, what are you talking about? We’re not even in a band anymore,” Joe stated.

“What?”

Kevin shot Joe a reproachful look, clearly not happy that Joe had been so tactless in his approach. “Nick, we gave up on that dream when our first album with Columbia tanked. It was your choice—you didn’t want to go through that dejected feeling,” he tried to remind him.

“What?” Nick repeated. He didn’t know if they were all just playing a cruel joke on him, but he wasn’t amused. He would never give up his dream of playing music—it was what he lived for! “Guys, this isn’t funny,” he said, starting to grow frustrated, which only made his headache worse.

They glanced at him in concern—he was really getting tired of them looking at him like that. “Guys, why don’t we let him rest for a while?” Erica suggested in attempts to ease the tension.

“No, I don’t want to rest. I want someone to explain to me what the hell is going on!”

Erica turned to him with gentle eyes. “Babe, you’re getting agitated and I can’t imagine that’s good for you. Just sleep for a while and we’ll be back later,” she said, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand once more—he had forgotten she was holding it the entire time.

But all thoughts halted when one single word registered. “Did you just call me babe?!” he balked. Her face fell when she took in the shock and repulsion in his voice. Tears almost sprang to her eyes when he shook her hand away from his.

“She always calls you that,” Frankie stated.

“Wh—” he started but Joe cut him off.

“Because you’ve been dating for years. Honestly Nick, do you not remember anything?” Joe questioned. Kevin smacked him in the back of the head for once more being tactless.
Nick just looked at the four of them before bursting out in laughter. Even though it hurt his head, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Now I know you guys are just pulling my leg. There’s no way I would ever date Erica!” he stated.

Erica’s heart fell into her stomach at his words. The tears that were brimming in her eyes before spilled over now and she couldn’t handle it. She shot up from the chair next to Nick—which she had been sitting in for the twenty-hours he had been unconscious—and ran out of the room, trying to suppress her sobs with her hand.

“Way to be!” she heard Joe say as she ran out of the room. She stopped just outside the door, leaning against the wall and hunching over, allowing her tears to fall freely now. She had been so tense and on edge since she saw Nick fall off the cliff and now she was letting it all out. They had just been goofing off with their best friends when Zeke and Nick challenged each other to see who could jump the farthest off the cliff. She had warned him to be careful, but Nick had assured her she had no reason to worry—they had been going to Nay Aug since they were kids and were pretty familiar with the cliff. But when Nick went to jump off, his foot caught on a random twig and he fell off the thirty foot cliff, hitting his head as he went down and then falling on his right side. Erica’s heart had stopped when she saw his body sinking in the water, but luckily Zeke had already been out in the water. He quickly swam to where Nick fell and pulled him up to the shore and from there they called an ambulance which quickly got there and drove him to the hospital. Erica had felt like throwing up the entire ride to the hospital—watching as blood seeped out of Nick’s head while the paramedics tried to get him stabilized. She had been so on edge while he was out and hadn’t left his side at all. To have him acting like he didn’t remember anything about what had happened or that they were dating for that matter really tore up at her heart.

Nick’s hospital room door swung open and Joe walked out, his head whipping from side to side until he found her. “Erica, are you okay?” he asked, walking up to her and wrapping her in a hug. Even though Nick was her best friend turned boyfriend, she had become close to Joe as well. He was practically like the older brother she always wished she had. She was an only child, so she loved hanging out with Nick's brothers.

“Why is he acting like that?” she asked, holding tightly on to Joe and sobbing into his shoulder.

“I don’t know,” Joe responded, rubbing his hand up and down her back. He had caught on early in their friendship that Erica had feelings for Nick. He, of course, had no clue, so Joe would always be the one comforting Erica whenever her emotions got the best of her. He knew how much she had suffered just being Nick’s friend, so he knew that what Nick had just said to her had really hurt her.

They stood out in the hall for a while, Joe comforting his brother’s girlfriend until her sobs turned into gentle hiccups. He had been about to ask her if she wanted to go get something to eat when he saw his parents approaching the room. His mother’s face was red and blotchy and his father was rubbing her arms comfortingly as they walked side by side. Joe knew they had been talking to the doctor and if his mother was crying, that meant there was something seriously wrong.

“What’s wrong?” Joe asked when they were close enough. His mom’s eyes quickly filled with tears once more and his father sighed.

“The doctor believes Nick’s got a case of amnesia. Though he remembers the people in his life, he doesn’t remember his life itself. He thinks you guys are still in a band and that he fell off a stage during a concert,” his dad replied.

“Yea, he mentioned that when we were in there,” Joe mumbled. He looked down at Erica and saw her biting her lips fiercely trying to contain her tears.

“So he doesn’t remember that I’m his girlfriend?” Erica asked, her voice cracking as the tears she had been fighting to keep at bay won out.

“I’m afraid not honey,” Mr. Jonas replied. She squeezed her eyes shut as Joe brought her close to him. “I’m going to go break the news to him,” he said, walking into the room. When he opened the door they caught a glimpse of Nick sitting there with a distressed look on his face. His eye caught Erica’s and the fact that he didn’t believe they were dating made her heart break all over again. She closed her eyes, her tears squeezing out as she shook her head and ran down the hall.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

He was living in an alternate universe. There was no other explanation. He knew for a fact that he and his brothers were in a world famous band, they definitely lived in Texas, and he and Erica were definitely not more than just friends. But everyone was trying to tell him otherwise.

He had been sprung from the hospital a few days ago, and had been stuck at home ever since then. With a broken leg and wrist, it was hard to get around, and he was going stir crazy being locked up in his room. His brothers came in every once in a while, but they each had their own lives and jobs to go to (it was so weird picturing them doing anything besides making music).

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw Erica standing shyly in his doorway. “Can I come in?” she asked.

“Sure,” he replied. He hadn’t seen her since the day he woke up in the hospital. He had asked if she had come at all, perhaps while he was sleeping, but his family said she hadn’t. Joe had said it was because he had really hurt her feelings when he laughed at her in the hospital. Though he still couldn’t believe that in this universe he and Erica were dating, he still felt bad about hurting her feelings. She was, after all, his best friend, and he never liked seeing her upset.

Erica walked hesitantly towards him and sat down on Frankie’s bed across from his—another thing he wasn’t used to…not having his own room. “How are you feeling?” she asked shyly, tucking her long, wavy, golden blond hair behind her ears.

Nick shrugged, his eyes still trained on her. “My head doesn’t hurt as much anymore and the pain meds the doctor prescribed help with the arm and leg,” he responded.

Erica bobbed her head in acknowledgment, looking everywhere and anywhere but at him. She hadn’t felt this awkward around Nick in years. “So, uhm, do you remember anything yet?” she asked tentatively.

Nick shook his head as he looked down at his lap. In the few days he’s been home, everyone in his family has been filling in the gaps for him, but he didn’t remember the things they told him. It really was like he was living in an alternate universe. “Erica, I, I wanted to apologize, for what I said in the hospital,” he said, looking up at her.

She averted her eyes, looking down at her converse-clad feet as she tucked her hands underneath her legs. “It’s okay. I understand, you don’t remember,” she said, her voice sounding more vulnerable and hurt at the end of her sentence.

“But still, I shouldn’t have laughed at you Little Foot,” he said.

Erica’s head snapped up at him and he was surprised to see a small smile tug at her lips. “You haven’t called me that in ages,” she mused.

Nick realized then that he had let her nickname slip. “Really?”

She shook her head. “Not since we started dating at least,” she elaborated. Her smile faltered a bit and she looked away again.

There was a short silence before Nick decided to break it, asking the question that had been plaguing him for a few days. “When did we start dating? Like, how did I ask you out?”

Another small smile tugged at her lips and he found himself thinking that he sort of liked the sight. She looked up at him, her green eyes shimmering with a smile. “It was the summer before freshman year,” she started.

“Weren’t you dating Dom Bozzelli back then?” he asked, thinking back to the summer before he would have been starting his freshman year had he not been trying to break into the industry.

Erica gave him a curious look, but nodded her head nonetheless. “He had just broken up with me at the beginning of the summer, saying he wanted to be a single man before going into high school,” she continued.

“What a tool,” Nick grumbled, eliciting a small chuckle from her.

“You said the exact same thing when I came crying to you that night,” she said with an amused smile. “Anyways, we spent the night lying out in your backyard just watching the stars while you pointed out every possible flaw you could come up with that Dom had, even going so far as making some of them up.” This part of her story didn’t match up—in his universe, Erica and Dom dated through freshman year until he moved away to Florida. But he didn’t say anything; he just stayed quiet and allowed her to continue. “It made me feel a little bit better, but I was still pretty upset about it. So I asked you if there was anything wrong with me that would make him not want to be with me. You turned your head over and in the most sincere voice told me that I was perfect and that any guy that didn’t see that was an idiot,” she stated. “Then you braced yourself on your elbow and kissed me.”

Wow. He had been a smooth almost 14 year old.

A strange sensation swept through him—that’s exactly what he would have said in his other universe had Erica ever asked him that question. “It’s true though. You’re the coolest chick I know,” he stated, trying to push the sensation aside. He may have never considered the possibility of ever dating his best friend, but that part was true—she really was the coolest girl he had ever met…that’s why she was his best friend.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, tucking her hair back bashfully once more. “Well, starting that night we went out on several dates throughout the summer. Joe teased us so much, saying he had been waiting for you to realize you liked me from the day you brought me home back in third grade.”

“He would,” Nick chuckled, rolling his eyes at his brother. It seemed like in both universes, Joe was still the same.

“Yea, well, it wasn’t until the end of the summer that you asked me to be your girlfriend. We were at the carnival that comes in to town at the end of every August and we were walking by one of those game things when you got it in your head that you just had to win me a teddy bear. I swear you spent like twenty bucks on basketballs, trying to get them all into the hoop so that I could get a bear. I kept trying to tell you that you didn’t have to win me anything and you just kept saying ‘what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t win a teddy bear for my girlfriend at the carnival?’ I was so shocked that you had referred to me as you girlfriend that I just stood there. Well, you ended up winning the bear and when you handed it over to me all I could do was croak out ‘girlfriend’? You smiled sheepishly at me and just said ‘oh yea, I hope that’s okay’. And we’ve been dating ever since then,” she concluded, a small smile on her face as she thought back to that summer. She had practically jumped his bones right then and there, later on confessing that she had liked him for years before that.

Nick couldn’t help but smile himself. He had no recollection of that ever happening (because it didn’t happen in his universe) but he felt a bit of pride in the way the event had come about. “I’m really sorry I don’t remember any of that,” he whispered. Erica shot him a sad smile.

“I’m sorry you don’t remember it either. We’ve had a lot of good times together in the past four years.”

“Four years. That’s a long time,” he mused.

“Yea,” Erica trailed off. Nick was at a loss for what to say. He had never considered Erica in that way, so he didn’t know how to act around her knowing that she saw him as her boyfriend. He could tell just by looking at her that she wanted to be closer to him but that for his sake, she was keeping her distance. With his good arm, he reached back and scratched his neck awkwardly. Erica knew that was a tell tale sign that he was uncomfortable. Releasing a sigh, she stood up, wiping her hands on her denim shorts. “Uhm, I guess I should go so that you can get your rest. I’ll stop by tomorrow?” she asked hesitantly, as if she was afraid he’d tell her not to. But he smiled up at her and nodded his head.

“Okay, see you then,” she replied. She smiled softly at him before taking one step in his direction. Realizing that she had been about to give him a kiss goodbye, she turned back on her heel and walked out of the room.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

“What in the world happened in this one?” Nick asked, looking at the picture before him and chuckling slightly.

Erica giggled when she saw what he was pointing to. Shifting closer to him instinctively she started explaining the picture. “This was when Joe had one of his bright ideas. You guys were trying to see who could stuff the most smores in your mouths but belatedly realized that the marshmallows were extremely hot and burned your mouths,” she said, laughing once more at the memory.

It had been a week since her initial visit to see him and since then she had been coming every day. After she left that day, Nick had had a long conversation with Joe about his relationship with Erica. According to Joe, Erica had liked him for years, but had never told him for fear of ruining the friendship they had. But she had been over the moon when they finally started dating and since then she had become like part of their family. Most of his extended family had met her at one point or another and everyone was practically expecting them to get married! Nick had no idea their relationship had been that serious, so he made it a point to have Erica tell him as much about their relationship as possible. Luckily for him, she was obsessed with taking pictures and making scrap books. So every day in the past week she’s been bringing in a few of her scrapbooks at a time and spending hours cataloging their relationship for him.

It was actually kind of nice. In his universe, Nick was often so busy that he rarely got to see her. Even when he flew her out for events or when she drove into New York City to see him while he was there, he still couldn’t spend so much time with her because of all the things he had to do. So spending all these hours with her with no interruptions to go do interviews, sign autographs, or take pictures with fans, was kind of nice. They may be living in two different universes, but Erica was still the same girl he always remembered her to be. She was fun, spunky, and kind. He had been having a great time just hanging out with his best friend and seeing what his life would be like had they never sky rocketed to stardom.

And honestly, it wasn’t that bad. It seemed like he and Erica had a really strong, great relationship. Their relationship was what he had been looking for all along, but never seemed to have found with Miley or Selena. As the week went by, he found himself getting a bit more used to the idea of him and Erica being an item. It was still weird when he stopped to think about it, but he tried not to do that often and just went with the flow. At times he would find that Erica would do cutesy things a girlfriend would do, like tangle her legs with his under his covers as they went through the scrapbooks, or rest her head against his chest as she explained some of the pictures, or intertwine their fingers whenever she helped him up (he was trying to move around the house with a few people’s help…sitting in that bed all day was making him crazy). Whenever she subconsciously did things like that, it at first freaked Nick out, but slowly he’s grown used to the affectionate gestures. He actually didn’t mind them so much anymore and whenever she did something like that, he found that his heart would start hammering in his chest. The sensation was odd, but welcomed.

“Looks like in both universes Joe is an idiot,” Nick chuckled, looking over the progression of photographs that showed them first stuffing their faces with smores, their eyes then widening in pain when they registered their burning mouths, to them spitting out the smores and reaching for bottles of any cool liquid nearby.

He sensed Erica was extremely quiet so he looked over at her; she was sitting right next to him, both of them squished onto the twin size bed. “Are you okay?” he questioned when he took in her scrunched eyebrows and contemplative features.

She snapped her head in his direction, as if he had brought her out of her thoughts. “Yea, yea I’m fine,” she said, reaching over to his lap to flip the page of the scrapbook.

Nick rested his good hand around her wrist, halting her actions. “No you’re not. What’s up?” he demanded.

Erica released a sigh before angling her body so she was facing him. “I’ve just—I’ve been curious. What’s your life like in this universe you think you live in? Are we—are we still friends?”

Nick was caught off guard by her question. Everyone in his family had been trying to get him to remember his life in this universe but they never asked him about what he thought his life was like. He smiled gently at Erica. “Yes, we’re still friends—the best of friends,” he assured. She released a small sigh. “My life’s pretty good in that universe. Joe, Kevin, and I are still a band and we’re actually kind of famous. We’ve recorded three albums with Hollywood Records; we even helped Demi Lovato with her first album.”

“You know Demi Lovato?!” Erica balked. “I love her!”

Nick chuckled at her reaction. She had reacted like that the first time he told her she was going to meet Demi. “Yea, we do. You’ve actually met her and are friends with her.” He couldn’t help but chuckle when her mouth flew open in shock. “She and Joe actually dated for a while at the beginning of the year. We made a movie with her, well, two movies actually. We have a TV show on Disney too—it’s in its second season now. We’ve toured with Miley Cyrus, had four headlining tours, we were on the kickoff tour for our second world tour. We’ve been nominated for a Grammy, I got to meet and perform with Stevie Wonder and Elvis Costello, and we’ve also been to and performed at the White House. President Obama’s daughters kind of love us,” he continued.

Erica looked down at her lap. “Wow, it seems like you have a pretty good life.” Nick stared at her curiously. He could tell she was upset, but he couldn’t understand why. “Seems like you and I wouldn’t ever see each other—you sound so busy.”

Now he understood. “It’s true, I don’t get to see you as often as I’d like, but I see you enough. Any time I miss you or want you at an event, I just fly you out. You’ve been to a lot of our concerts in different cities, you were my date to the Grammy’s, you got to come out to the set of our movie in Canada, and you even spent the entire summer with us on tour last year,” he said.

Her cautious green eyes glanced up and met his. “Really?” she asked hesitantly. Nick nodded his head, smiling at her. “Cool,” she said with a small smile, her whole form relaxing against his wall. It seemed their conversation would end there as she continued to flip the page she had been going to. Erica felt Nick’s gaze still on her so she glanced up at him. He was staring at her with that intense look that only Nick Jonas could ever perfect. She cocked her head curiously. “Nick? Are you okay? Are you in pain?” she questioned. He shook his head, that same intense, glazed look in his eyes. Erica was a bit concerned with his attitude, but all thoughts flew out of her head when Nick braced his good hand on the mattress between them, angling his body towards hers. He brushed her hair away from her face with the fingertips of his fractured hand before running them down her jaw line. Her breath hitched in her throat when she registered what was happening. “Nick,” she breathed out, shaking her head, “you don’t have to.” It had been killing her not being able to be physical with her boyfriend of four years, but she understood that in his mind, they were still friends. She didn’t want to overwhelm him, so she had been keeping her distance for his sake.

“I want to,” Nick breathed back, his breath tickling her upper lip. His lips were about to fall on hers when he paused, waiting for her to object once again. She didn’t—it had been far too long since she kissed him—the past week and a half had nearly killed her. Seeing that she wasn’t going to put in any objections, Nick closed the distance between them. He was slightly worried that kissing his best friend would feel awkward and that he’d pull away, which he knew would hurt her feelings. But surprisingly, it wasn’t awkward at all—it was actually really nice.

He leaned more towards her, making her brace her back on the wall behind her. Her hands came up to his face and cupped his cheeks as he took her bottom lip in between his lips and sucked on it. He felt her gently poke her tongue out and while it shocked him (she had been so conservative the past week) he still parted his mouth for her. Her tongue tangled with his and he found his head getting fuzzy. He pulled back and took a deep breath, panting to catch his breath.

Erica’s eyes were still closed. She was afraid to open them, fearing that Nick would look disgusted or displeased. Him letting out a low chuckle made her slowly open her eyes. She found that he had an amused smirk on his lips. “All these years…that’s what I’ve been missing?” he said, chuckling once more. Erica wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but the next thing she knew, Nick was kissing her eagerly. She smiled into the kiss as they started in on one of their notorious make-out sessions.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

“Nick, be careful,” Erica was saying, looking on anxiously. They were currently at Nay Aug park (at the pool though—she refused to go back to the cliff after what happened to Nick). It had been a month since his accident. A month since Nick woke up in an alternate universe. At first it hadn’t really registered with him that he had a completely different life, but as the month went on he realized how different his life was. He had a completely different group of friends—there was no Garbo, JT, Jack, Ryan, Big Rob, Demi, or Danielle. He didn’t have to be concerned about going out in public without being attacked by a mob of fans or paparazzi. He didn’t have interviews do to, sets to go to, photo shoots to attend, or studios to go to—he had eons of free time that he didn’t even know what to do with. It was all so strange to him.

He had gotten his casts taken off four days ago and since then he’s done nothing but go out, tired of having spent nearly a month locked up in his and Frankie’s room. Every day he and Erica had gone out to do couple-y things together. Dating his best friend wasn’t nearly as bad as he had initially thought. He actually had no idea why he hadn’t thought of asking her out in his world sooner. She was perfect for him and they literally were like soul mates. He loved being with her.

“Babe, stop worrying so much about me, I’ll be fine,” he assured, doing a back flip into the pool.

“Gee, okay, can we just think back to where you ended up the last time you said that to me?” she huffed as he came up, treading water. He chuckled lightly as he got out of the pool, walking over to where she was sitting in a lounge chair. He ruffled his hands through his damp curls, splashing water on her. “Nick!” she cried out.

Nick let out a loud roar of laughter. “Come on babe, lighten up. We’re supposed to be here having fun,” he said, smiling easily down at her.

Erica huffed dramatically. “I promised your mother I’d look after you. The last thing I want to do is call her and tell her, her son is on his way to the hospital again.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” he assured, leaning down to peck her on the lips. Erica had no choice but to give in—his lips just had that power over her. Unfortunately for her, she was left vulnerable and at that moment Nick grabbed her by the hips and picked her up.

“Ahh!! Nick! Put me down!” she cried, flailing around. Nick just laughed as he ran back towards the deep end of the pool and jumped in with her still in his arms. While they were under water, Nick held on to her hips, but she was kicking furiously, trying to resurface. Nick came up with her and she sputtered out water. “You are so dead!” she cried, reaching out and hitting him as hard as she could (which wasn’t even that hard). Nick just laughed at her attempts—he was having a blast and it had been a while since he felt so carefree. Nick’s laughter only made Erica angrier, so she slapped him really hard on the arm. The contact against his wet skin made him howl out in pain. “That’s what you get for nearly making me drown!”

Nick rubbed at the red hand mark on his left arm before pouting at his girlfriend. “I was just trying to get you to lighten up. Sheesh woman!” he exclaimed. Erica huffed as she began to swim towards the edge of the pool. Nick swam after her, grabbing on to her waist and pulling her back to him. “Come on baby, you know I wouldn’t ever let anything happen to you,” he assured, nuzzling his nose into her neck.

“Nick, you were just in the hospital a month ago and just got your casts off four days ago. Can you please be more careful with what you do?” she pleaded. She couldn’t bear to think of anything else happening to him again. She was happy that, even though he didn’t seem to remember anything about his life in this universe, he was keeping an open mind and acting the way he would have had he not had amnesia.

“I promise, I’ll be careful. Now can you please lighten up? I don’t get to do this often and I want to enjoy my time with you,” he said with a pleading smile.

Erica smiled softly at him, although it wasn’t the full smile she would have given him under normal circumstances. Nick noticed this and cocked his head at her, wondering what she was thinking about. But before he had the chance to ask her anything she submerged herself in the water, cutting effortlessly through it as she swam to the other side of the pool. That action was a red flag in Nick’s head and he knew then that she was avoiding something. He turned and swam after her, catching her waist once he caught up to her at the other end of the Olympic size pool.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked.

She turned in his hold and shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just worried about your safety is all,” she replied.

Their relationship may be different in this universe, but Erica was still the same. She was his best friend and he knew her better than she liked sometimes. “There’s more. Tell me,” he urged, pulling her closer to him.

She stared up at him with cautious green eyes. “Do you miss it?” she questioned gently.

Nick cocked his head at her, not sure what she meant. “What?” he asked.

Erica released a sigh, pushing her wet hair back and playing with the damp edges as she averted her gaze from his. Nick brought his hand up to her chin and angled her face so that she looked at him again. He raised his eyebrows, signaling for her to answer his question. She released another sigh before giving in. “Your other life. Your life as a famous rock star where girls chase after you everywhere you go and where you’ve had famous girlfriends,” she responded, averting her gaze again.

Nick was caught off guard by her question. He would be a liar if he said that he didn’t think about it in the past month (being confined to his room left him with plenty of thinking time). There were times where it hit him like a ton of bricks—he was stuck in an alternate universe and he had no idea if he would be stuck here forever or if there was a way for him to go back to the life he knew. And if by some magical force there was a way back, he didn’t know where to even begin finding his way back to what he knew. There were times he really missed it, especially the music, and resented the life he had been brought to. But then there were times where he found that maybe this life wasn’t so bad. He hadn’t felt like a normal teenager in years, but for the past month, that's exactly what he was. He didn’t have to worry about people recognizing him when he went out or having to watch his actions and words for fear of someone leaking it to the press. He didn’t have to question the motives of anyone that approached him. But most of all, he had all the time in the world to be with the people that were closest to him.

Erica took his prolonged silence the wrong way. She looked down at the glimmering water surrounding them and crossed her arms across her chest, a habit Nick knew she did when she was self-conscious about something. “Of course I miss it. It’s the life I’ve known for the past four years,” he responded. Erica bit her bottom lip, trying not to take his words personally. “But,” he added, tilting her head once more, “this life is pretty good too. I’m happy here. With you.”

Erica averted her eyes once more, her heart hammering hard in her chest. She felt like she was thirteen again, pining after Nick and overanalyzing any sweet thing he said or gesture he made. She dropped her arms from around her frame and asked, “So you don’t mind that you’ll never have that life again?” she questioned timidly.

Nick took a deep breath. He wouldn’t admit to himself that it was very probable that he was stuck in this life forever, so her blunt words were a blow to him. But she was staring at him with those curious, yet cautious piercing green eyes that he had learned to love in the past month and he found himself saying something he never would have thought. “Nope. I’m pretty good where I am.” Erica bit her bottom lip again, trying to fight her smile. Nick couldn’t handle it anymore, that action drove him crazy, so he rest his hands on her exposed hips and pulled her close to him, leaning his head in and pressing his lips to hers.

Erica wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing her hands to play with the baby hairs at the nape of his neck. She loved that Nick was back to normal. Though she knew technically he wasn’t her Nick, it sure felt like he was. And the fact that he just admitted being happy with her had her spirits soaring. She no longer felt the tension she had a few minutes ago when she was yelling at him to be careful. She was happy with him too.

Nick pulled away abruptly, a boyish grin pulling at his lips. “Come on, I think I see everyone rounding up for a game of chicken,” he said, indicating the group of friends they had come with. Most of them Nick had known back in middle school while he was still in the public school system, but they were people he hadn’t spoken to in years. They had stopped by to visit him and he had hung out with them in his basement, catching up with what he’s missed in their lives. Erica had apparently told them of his condition, so they were open about keeping him in the loop and did their best not to bring up too many inside jokes. It had been nice reacquainting himself with people he hadn’t talked to in year. He was enjoying having normal friends again.

After various rounds of chicken—most of which Nick and Erica won thanks to his competitiveness, the boys decided they wanted to play a friendly game of baseball. So they gathered their things and walked through the park until they came upon the baseball fields. The girls sat in the stands as the boys made teams and started doing some practice pitches and swings. Then their impromptu game began. Erica had been talking to her girlfriends and not really paying attention to the game. She would look over at Nick every once in a while though and when he caught her eye, he would smile widely at her, sending her heart in a flutter. About forty minutes into the game, she heard a lot of commotion out on the field.

“Is that Nick on the ground?” one of their friends asked her. Erica’s head immediately snapped towards the commotion and saw that Nick was indeed lying on the ground as the guys crowded around him. She shot out of her seat and ran out to the dugout area, which is where he had been standing.

“What happened?!” she asked, rushing to his side.

“Luther hit the ball and it was a foul ball and Nick wasn’t paying attention and it hit him on the head, I think right where he hit it on the cliff last month,” Zeke explained.

“Oh dear Lord, not again!” Erica cried out as they started rushing Nick back to their cars.

JB—JB—JB—JB—JB

“He’s been out for hours. When is he going to wake up?”

“It’s hard to tell. He received a very hard blow to the head. For right now we’re just monitoring his vital signs and those seem to have steadied. We just have to be patient and let him wake up on his own time.”

Nick heard the first person sigh in resignation. Then more sounds started coming to him—the steady beeping of machinery, faint voices coming from somewhere close by, someone shifting in a seat close to him, someone sniffling every few seconds. Then he became aware of the hand that was resting gently within his, mindlessly stroking his. This all seemed so familiar…

Slowly opening his eyes, he squinted against the bright light of the room. The first person he saw was his mother. She was sitting on the chair pulled up close to his bed, her hand in his, rubbing circles into it. Nick looked around the room and saw his dad talking to his doctor by the door. His older brothers were sitting on the windowsill, watching the Yankees game that was on mute on the television screen on the wall in front of his bed.

“Nick, you’re awake!” His mother’s shrill tone sent a sharp pain through his head, making him wince in pain. “Oh baby, thank goodness. You had me scared to death!” she said, tightening her hold on his hand.

Everyone’s attention was now on him, relieved smiles pulling on all of their faces. Joe and Kevin turned off the game and came to stand at the foot of his bed, his dad and doctor coming over too. This wasn’t the doctor that he had seen when he woke up from his last head injury though. “Dude, we’re glad you’re okay,” Joe stated, shoving his foot playfully. Nick looked around at the people around him and noticed that someone was missing…Erica. He would have figured she would be sitting at his bedside and was a bit disappointed that she wasn’t in the room at all.

“What happened?” he questioned, bringing his hand up to his head. This headache was worse than the one he had a month ago.

“You took a pretty nasty spill off that stage,” Kevin said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Nick’s eyes snapped at him. “I fell off the stage?” he asked, surprised.

“Yea. I bet there are videos and pictures all over the blogosphere by now,” Joe teased, trying to use his humor to alleviate a tense situation.

“Joseph, this is hardly the time to be teasing your brother,” his mom reprimanded him. “How do you feel sweetie?” she asked, running her hand through his curls. Nick looked at them all in confusion, his mind working overtime to make sense of what was happening. He had fallen off stage…could it be that he was back in his reality?

“Nick?” his dad asked. “Are you feeling okay son?”

Nick snapped out of his thoughts. “Yea,” he said with a small smile. “Yea, I feel fine. My head hurts though,” he responded.

“That’s understandable,” his doctor said, having been jotting things down while he interacted with his family. “You had quite a concussion going, but it’s a good thing you’re awake. Do you have any other pains?” she asked.

“My arm kind of hurts,” he responded, just then noticing the cast of his right arm.
“I’ll send your nurse right in to give you some medication for that,” she said, smiling at him
before walking out of the room.

“I’m gonna go tell Dani you’re awake,” Kevin said. “I’m glad you’re awake bro,” he said, smiling at him before leaving the room.

Nick rest his head back against his pillows, his minding winding down. Kevin was with Dani…that meant he really was back in his universe. “We should probably go too and let you get some rest,” his dad said. “Is there anything you need?”

“Is Erica here?” Nick asked.

“Are you kidding? She was sitting in here with you the whole twenty-two hours you’ve been out! She had a hysterical break-down a few minutes ago and had to leave the room for the first time. Dani and Big Rob were sitting with her,” Joe explained.

“We’ll send her in to see you. But make sure you get some rest okay sweetie,” his mom said, getting up from the chair next to him. Nick nodded. “We’ll be outside if you need us,” she said, leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek before walking out behind his dad. Joe winked at him before leaving. Nick merely rolled his eyes at him before closing his eyes.

Not even two seconds after the room had been vacated of his family, the door swung open again and Erica walked in. She stopped just inside the door, her eyes misty with tears. He gave her a lopsided smile when he saw her. A sob broke free as she walked to the side of his bed and threw herself on top of him, awkwardly trying to give him a hug.

Nick chuckled at her reaction while she continued to sob into his hospital gown. “I was so scared,” she sobbed, pressing her face closer to his chest.

“Shh,” Nick cooed, rubbing his good hand up and down her back. “I’m fine, I promise.”

Erica pulled back and sat down in the chair his mother had been occupying. “When I saw you fall off the stage I—I just—I was so scared Nick. How are you feeling? Are you in pain?” she asked, wiping her tears away and composing herself.

“I’m fine. Much better knowing that you’re here,” he said, taking a hold of her hand and rubbing his thumb across it. Erica cocked her head at him, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. He had never been this affectionate with her before.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Nick asked at the exact same time.

Erica’s eyes widened and Nick heard when she gasped and held her breath. She was staring at him as if he was crazy but he wasn’t. He knew exactly what he was asking her. He had no idea what had happened—whether his time spent in that alternate universe was just a dream or if some supernatural forces were at work, but what he did know was that the time he spent with Erica in that world had been a real eye opener. She was perfect for him and the feelings he had developed for her in that universe had followed him into this one.

“Boy you must have hit your head hard! Are you sure your concussion isn’t making you loopy? Or is that the pain meds talking?” Erica asked, not taking him seriously at all. True, she had had feelings for Nick for years now, but she never acted upon them because she knew for a fact he only ever saw her as his best friend, and she was perfectly fine with that.

“It’s not the pain meds and it’s not my concussion,” Nick said with a teasing smile.

Erica stared at him with her mouth open. She had to be dreaming. She shook her head and tried a different approach. “Nick, you and I are best friends. I mean, you’ve never given me any signs that you like me or anything. We haven’t even gone on a date! And you want me to be your girlfriend?!” she questioned, still shocked at his request.

But Nick just continued to smile at her, kind of enjoying her reaction to the question. “None of that other stuff matters; I like you Little Foot. You’re my best friend for a reason and I think we’re perfect for each other. Besides, love is friendship on fire, right?” he asked. Erica opened her mouth to protest once more but Nick cut her off. “Do you like me or not?” he asked.

Erica closed her mouth and released a puff of air. “Yes,” she admitted, looking down at her lap.

Nick’s heart picked up a bit more at her confession. It seemed that was another thing the Erica’s in both universes had in common. He rubbed his thumb along the back of her hand, prompting her too look at him. When she did, he was giving her an easy smile, his brown eyes gleaming. “So then why are you hesitating to say yes?” he whispered.

Erica frowned as she looked down at his hand in hers. “I’m just confused. Why now?”

Nick’s smile dropped a bit. He had hoped he wouldn’t have to speak of that alternate universe, but it seemed inevitable. “While I was unconscious,” he started, looking at Erica sincerely, “I…had a dream; I guess you could call it. I woke up in a different universe. Joe, Kevin and I weren’t in a band, we still lived in Jersey, and you and I had been dating for four years,” he explained. Erica’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped in shock. “I spent a month there and in that month you told me all about our relationship and I even started to get used to the idea of us being a couple. We work together,” he stated with a shrug.

Erica stared at him for a really long time. “But wouldn’t it be weird? Dating your best friend? It had to have been weird,” she asked.

Nick shook his head. “Not the slightest bit,” he replied. Erica frowned and bit her inner cheek, looking down at her lap again. Just like in that other universe, her coyness made her all the more attractive to him. He squeezed her hand and whispered, “What do you say? Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Erica was silent for a long time and he feared she would seriously turn him down. He knew what she was like—she was the type of girl that liked to go on dates with guys and really get to know them before going out with them, but he had known her since they were in third grade, so he was hoping she would bend her rules for once. It got to the point where he thought she really was going to say no but before he could let himself feel too dejected, he saw a small smile creep up on her face. “Okay,” she said.

Nick’s heart monitor picked up as his heart rate increased. She giggled at the rapid beeping of his monitor. Nick just smiled widely at her before tugging on her hand, pulling her onto the bed with him. Using the fingertips of his injured hand, he brushed her golden blond hair out of her face and ran them across her cheek. He stared deeply in her eyes before gently brushing his lips against hers.

Erica’s heart was beating rapidly too, but she wasn’t hooked up to a machine that could prove it. She closed her eyes and allowed Nick to move his lips against hers. He pulled back gently and she released a breath. “That was kind of weird,” she admitted. She had liked Nick for years and had wondered what it would be like kissing him, but it had happened so suddenly and it wasn’t what she ever imagined.

“Trust me, you get used to it,” Nick assured with a chuckle, not at all offended by her confession. Erica bit her lip, thankful she hadn’t hurt his feelings.

She leaned in again and pressed her lips to his, this time moving her lips against his and allowing herself to get lost in the kiss. It lasted longer than the first one and when she pulled back, the smile on her face was wide. “You’re right, I think I can get used to this,” she stated as she brought him in for another kiss.