Lovebug

Nick parked his vintage Mustang in the parking lot and he and Big Rob exited the car. Nick grabbed his acoustic guitar and laptop out of the backseat and they headed into the studio. Big Rob took a seat in his usual area and powered up the laptop while Nick got ready for his first guitar lesson. He usually didn't give guitar lessons on his time off but he was doing a favor for him mother. She had a friend whose daughter was simply smitten with Nick Jonas and all she wanted was even just one guitar lesson from him.

Nick set two chairs across from each other and set some music stands off to the side so they weren't in the way but were also quick and easy to access.

"Nick, it's two. I'll go see if she's here," Big Rob said and got up and walked out of the room. Nick grabbed his guitar and set it in the chair and waited. When Big Rob did return, he was a little taken aback with the girl that was behind him. He was honestly expecting a girl most likely between the ages of ten and fifteen with a Jonas Brothers t-shirt on. Instead, he got a girl who was the same age as him and showed no signs of even being a Jonas Brothers fan.

Out of habit, he stepped forward and hugged her and introduced himself. "I'm Nick."

"I'm Brooklyn," she said and stepped back after their hug. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Big Rob relax and sit in the chair that was behind him.

"Brooklyn? That's pretty interesting. I like it. It's not every day you meet a Brooklyn."

"Thanks. My parents still won't tell me why they picked it though I think I'm getting an idea if you know what I mean." They both sat in the chairs and she pulled her guitar out of its hard case.

"So uh… what exactly do you know about playing guitar? Do you know any notes or anything like that?" Nick asked starting the lesson.

After two hours, Big Rob stood up and shut the laptop. "Hey Nick, we have to get going."

Nick looked at him and nodded his head. "Okay." He turned back to Brooklyn and they both stood up. Brooklyn put her guitar back in its case and picked it up. "I'll walk you out."

"Thanks so much for doing this. I really appreciate it. I mean, sorry if it caused any problems at all."

"Oh no, no problems."

"I actually learned a lot today."

"That's great. You're nowhere near as bad as you say you are. You should give yourself a little more credit."

Brooklyn looked at the ground before looking at him again. "Yeah, maybe I'll try that sometime. Thanks again Nick."

"You're welcome Brooklyn." They hugged again and Nick watched her as she walked out of the studio and to her car. She put her guitar in the backseat of her car. She waved to Nick before getting into the driver's seat and leaving.

"Come on, Nick," Big Rob said and pushed him out the door.

"So Nick, how'd it go today with the lesson?" Mrs. Jonas asked when they all sat down for dinner that night.

"It went great," he said.

"I think he liked her," Big Rob chimed in.

"Big Rob, thank you!" Nick looked over at the man. Big Rob returned the love with a goofy grin.

"If you ever want her number, just let me know," Mrs. Jonas said.

"I don't want her number."

"Okay," she responded. Nick noticed that the tone in her voice said she knew he would be changing his mind later. He knew he would too.

"How much you want to bet he changes his mind later?" Joe asked Kevin.

"I don't think he's going to. He has a lot going on right now and no time for a girlfriend," Kevin countered.

"I don't know; look at what was going on when he was with Miley…"

"That is true but Nick's grown up since then."

"Twenty bucks says something happens."

"Fine, you're on," Kevin said and they shook on it.

"Thanks guys," Nick said and everyone laughed. "Appreciate it."

"Wait, wait, I want in on this too," Frankie said and walked to the other side of the table to shake his older brothers' hands. After everyone laughed again, they decided to leave Nick alone and dropped the subject of his personal life.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Brooklyn looked around at all the people following. Some were taking pictures, some were videotaping.

"So this is the life of Nick Jonas?"

"Kind of, yeah. You learn to zone it all out after a while and get to where you need to be." They ducked into a restaurant and were quickly seated in the back.

"What about him?" Brooklyn asked about Big Rob who was seated at the next table.

"Oh, Big Rob, yeah, he has to be everywhere with us. If he's not, we'd never make it anywhere."

"How come he's always with you though?"

"We have other body guards and they usually stick with Kevin and Joe since my dad sticks Big Rob with me. It just makes my parents feel better. He stays out of the way when he needs to. Anyhow, enough about that. How about we talk about you?"

Brooklyn shrugged her shoulders. "There really isn't much to say about me. I'm probably the most boring person you'll ever meet."

"I'm sure you're not," Nick said.

In the days to come, Nick and Brooklyn became inseparable. They spent every day together even with Nick's tour coming up. Nick wanted to get to know her as much as he could since he would be leaving for tour and she would be leaving for college. The media somehow figured out her name so every magazine had a photo that boasted the description "Nick Jonas, 17, and girlfriend Brooklyn Collins, 18…" or a different variation of the sentence. She wasn't his girlfriend…yet. They were often photographed running errands together, going to restaurants, or even just walking Elvis. They generated even more press when she walked a red carpet with the boys and Danielle and Demi. She understood what Nick meant when he said you would learn to zone everyone else out. She still found it a little creepy but she stuck it out for Nick.

Brooklyn sat at the foot of Nick's bed and watched him pack his clothes and listened to him talk about the tour.

"It's going to be amazing," he said as he tucked a shirt into the suitcase.

"It sounds like it," she said and leaned back. "How long is this tour again?"

"Four months," he responded and looked at her.

She sat up and put her hands in her lap. "That's kind of a long time."

"Yeah, it is but it'll be okay. We'll be okay. You'll be okay," he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bed. He tucked her hair behind her ear and pressed his lips to hers.

"I'll be okay," she said when he pulled away. She really wanted to say I won't be okay and I won't pretend I am but she didn't.

"I know you will," he whispered and kissed her again.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Jonas walked into the room. "Hey Nick, make sure-oh." She stepped back outside the room and waited a moment before going back in.

"Sorry mom," he said as he took Brooklyn's hand.

"I was just going to tell you to make sure you pack your diabetes stuff and don't forget to pack some extra strips just in case."

"I know, mom."

"All right, I just wanted to make sure you remembered." She walked back out of Nick's room.

"Sorry about that," Nick apologized.

"Well, it's not like she could have known," Brooklyn said and shrugged her shoulders.

They spent another hour together before Brooklyn was summoned home by her parents. When came back inside from walking her out to her car, he found his two older brothers sitting on the couch with smug looks on their faces.

"Shut up," Nick said.

"Didn't say anything," the boys said in unison as Nick walked away.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Brooklyn handed Nick the piece of paper that had her new information, the address for her dorm room. He folded it up and put it in the front pocket of his jeans.

"Call me when you get there. It's pretty much a guarantee I'll still be on the bus," Nick said.

"Okay, I will," Brooklyn said as they wrapped their arms around each other.

"Brooklyn, we have to get going," her father said after checking his watch.

"We have to get going too, Nick," Mr. Jonas said.

Nick walked with her to her car.

"I love you," he said and kissed her.

"I love you, too." They kissed again and he watched as she got into her car and followed her parents to go to her college.

"Hey, come on," Mrs. Jonas said softly as she put her arm around Nick and steered him to the SUV that was waiting to take him to the bus so they could start their tour.