Save the Day

“Hey Morgan, can I talk to you for a minute?” Joe asked. He, his brothers, and I were relaxing in their dressing room in Hershey waiting for their sound check to start. The past few concerts have been ‘in and outs’ (that’s what I called them, one city, one day) so I stayed in my bus, recording the sound tracks and relaxing. But today, Nick, Joe, and Kevin dragged me out of my bus and forced me to ‘get out and socialize’.

I looked up at him from my position on the floor, “Sure, what’s up?”

He shifted uncomfortably, “I meant alone.”

“Oh, okay.” I said, standing up. As I followed Joe, I turned towards Kevin, throwing him a nervous glance. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nick sitting on the couch with his arms crossed, his eyes fuming. My curiosity tried to get the best of me, but I held it back and followed Joe quietly out the room and around the corner. The hallway was quiet, which was particularly unusual, but it was also sound check – not the actual performance time.

Joe stopped suddenly, almost making me ram into his back, and turned towards me. “Are you mad at me for kissing you?” He asked bluntly.

My face contorted in confusion, “No. Why would I be?”

He sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, “Well you haven’t been around the past few days; you’re always on the bus. And the days I do see you, you barely say two words to me. I just assumed that something was wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong. I was just caught off guard, that’s all.”

Joe looked straight into my eyes and stepped closer, our torsos touching each other. “Then why did you close yourself off from us, from me?” He asked softly.

Even though our bodies were touching, there was no electricity, no spark – not like when I was just near Nick. Joe’s closeness didn’t make me forget where I was or what I was doing, he was just there. I tried to push the thoughts of Nick out of my head, and craned my neck to look Joe directly in the eye. “I’ve been… confused.” I answered honestly. I was confused, just not for the reasons Joe was probably thinking.

“About what?”

I sighed and glanced down slightly, “Anything and everything.”

I heard Joe sigh as well and his hand rose, grabbing my chin between his fingers, bringing my face up to his. “Morgan, I like you. I like you quite a lot actually and I really hope you feel the same way. I’m sorry if I came on to you too quickly before; I just couldn’t not kiss you then. I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me?”

My eyes widened in shock, “O-on, like, a date?” I asked, stuttering. Shit, this is exactly what Kevin AND Jenn warned me about.

“Um, yeah. We’re in New York all next week and we have some time off, so I thought it would be as good time as any.” He said, laughing nervously.

“Oh Joe, I don’t know. I just –”

“It’s okay Morgan.” Joe said, cutting me off. He dropped his hand and his face fell with sadness, clearly showing it was not okay. “You don’t need to explain.” He said and walked away.

“Wait, Joe.” I called after him. He turned back towards me, his eyes full of hope. “Can I just… think about it for a bit?”

His face lit up in a smile and ran the few feet back towards me. “Of course,” He said, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me into a hug. “Take as long as you need.”

I smiled into his chest, my arms wrapping around his arms (seeing as I couldn’t reach his neck). Maybe if I couldn’t be ultimately happy, someone else can.

Joe and I walked back to the dressing room where Kevin and Nick were waiting. “Joe, why do you look extremely happy?” Kevin asked suspiciously.

“What? I can’t just be happy, there has to be a reason behind it?” Joe asked, still grinning. I just sat on the empty couch and threw my head back against the cushion, closing my eyes.

I heard a few whispers, before feeling the couch move as someone sat next to me. Thinking it was Joe, I kept my eyes closed trying to clear my mind.

“So why is Joe so happy but you look utterly miserable?” The person beside me asked, sending my heart to pound rapidly. Dammit.

I lifted my head and opened my eyes to see Nick gazing at me intently. “It’s a long story.” I said, trying to weave my way out of telling him.

“Oh don’t worry, I’ve got time.”

“Don’t you have sound check soon?”

“Nope, not for a while. And you’re wasting time.”

“I’m good at wasting time,” I said smirking.

Nick laughed, “That’s my line. But, you’re still not getting out of tell me. So spill it, or I will resort to desperate measures.”

I narrowed my eyes, “You wouldn’t…”

A mischievous smirk spread across his face, “Are you sure you want to test that theory?”

I huffed, but turned my gaze away from Nick and stared at the far wall. “Joe asked me out.” I said softly.

“And you said yes?” He asked sadly. I shook my head. “You said no?” He asked this time, but in a happier tone.

“Not exactly,” I answered.

“What do you mean? I’m pretty sure that’s a basic ‘yes or no’ question.”

“I told him I’d think about it.”

Nick shifted his weight as he shifted closer to me on the couch. I swear I could feel electricity even through the fabric of my clothes, but I refused to look at him. “What is there to think about?”

I sighed, “A lot of things.”

He reached over and placed his palm on my cheek, turning my head towards him. This simple action made my heart race and made my breaking erratic. Hopefully Nick didn’t notice. “If you’re this upset about it, I’m pretty sure you have your answer.”

“I’m not upset.” I tried to sound assertive, but I’m not sure it worked.

“We both know that’s not true,” He said. It felt like he wanted to say more, but Mr. Jonas came in telling Nick it was time for sound check. He left me alone in the room with my thoughts. “Oh and Morgan,” Nick started, his head appearing in the doorway. “That wasn’t a very long story.” He said to me with a smile on his face before walking away for good this time. I couldn’t help but let a smile of my own play across my face.