Save the Day

I woke up the next morning, sprawled across the floor in the studio. Nick was nowhere to be seen, so for a minute I thought everything that happened last night was a dream. Joe didn’t find out about Nick and I; he didn’t kick Nick off his bus; I didn’t call him to yell at him; I didn’t tell Kevin that Nick and I have been dating for almost two weeks; he didn’t yell it in shock; Joe didn’t hear; Joe didn’t call me a whore – none of that happened. But my shattered phone on the floor told a different story.

I sighed heavily and walked over to my, what used to be, phone. I picked it up and turned it in my hands. The screen was cracked and the entire back plate was off, exposing the inner workings of my phone.

“You really destroyed that thing,” Nick’s voice slid through the air.

I didn’t turn around, “That’s not the only thing I destroyed.” I whispered.

I felt Nick step closer and he placed his hands on the base of my neck. “All of it can be fixed. It will just some time.” He said and began to message me gently. “You just have to learn some patience.”

I rolled my neck in pleasure as a smile played on my lips. “I’ve never been really patient.” I hummed.

“Well,” Nick started and leaned in closer to my ear. “We’ll just have to work on that.” He purred, placing a soft kiss right at the bottom of my ear.

I twisted around to face him, a coy smile on my face, “And how do you suggest we do that?”

He smirked, “Oh, I have a few ideas.” He said, moving his hands to my hips and pulling me closer to him.

I let my disfigured phone fall to the ground as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Oh really?”

Nick leaned in closer, his nose barely brushing my nose. “Really.” He murmured before placing his lips on mine.

My heart began to beat like crazy; I was surprised it didn’t beat out of my chest. My fingers curled in his hair as he gripped me tighter. He took a few steps forward, pressing my back onto the wall of the bus.

Nick parted his lips slightly, waiting me to do so too. I wanted to be a tease, so I kept my lips closed as I smiled into the kiss. One of his hands left my hip and poked my side, causing me to open my mouth in shock. I felt him smile in victory as he sucked gently on my bottom lip.

He left his hand resting on my waist with the other still on my hip. His fingers slowly inched under my shirt, his cold fingers hitting my hot skin sent shockwaves through my body. He began to gently rub my skin with his thumb, making me pull on his hair a little tighter. He gasped in my mouth which caused him to bite down on my bottom lip. A soft moan rolled from my vocal cords and my hands dropped out of his hair and fell onto his chest.

Even through the layer of cloth from his shirt, I could still feel his toned chest beneath my hands as I ran them up and down. Nick’s tongue ran swiftly across my bottom lip, begging me to let him deepen the kiss even further. I nodded slightly and instantly, Nick’s tongue was fighting with my own.

Suddenly, I felt a vibration against my leg – Nick’s phone. I poked his side to tell him. He just took my hands and held them over my head, intertwining his fingers with mine as he continued to kiss me.

“Nick,” I said, quickly pulling away before his lips attacked mine hungrily again. “Nick, your phone.” I breathed, pulling away again.

He huffed and let go of one of my hands to dig his phone out of his pocket. “What?” He answered, irritated. We were both breathing hard from lack of oxygen but that didn’t stop Nick from stealing a few kisses as the person on the other end talked.

He pulled back for a minute. “Yeah, I’m listening… yes really… cancelling the show… flooding, I got it… yeah, okay… okay… okay… bye.” He finished and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He took my hand again and placed it back over my head. “Guess who has no concert tonight.” He purred.

I cocked my head to the side. “I would think that would be you.”

“Uhuh, and guess who has the next three days off.”

“Again, that would be you.”

“And guess who’s going to Disney World.”

“That would be you.”

A crocked smile formed on his face. “No, that would be us.”

“Really?” I asked excitedly. I’ve never been to Disney but I always wanted to.

Nick laughed, “Yes really. But for right now…” He trailed off as he placed his lips on mine again.

My mind went fuzzy as he continued right where he left off, but reluctantly I pulled away. “Nick,” I said softly. He ignored me and placed his lips back on mine. I sighed (partially in pleasure, but partially in exasperation). I turned away completely, “Nick, I have to get changed.” I said more forcefully.

He grunted and placed his head in the crook of my neck. “No you don’t,” He mumbled against my skin as he let go of my hands, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I laughed and placed my arms loosely around his neck, “Yes I do. I’m wearing the same clothes that I was in yesterday.”

“So?” He asked, keeping his position.

“I’d rather walk into Disney with reasonable clothes on – not a t-shirt and sweatpants. Plus, I probably smell.”

“You smell fine.”

I smile, but kept my argument firm. “Nick, I have to. I’ll be quick I promise.”

He picked his head up and sighed, “You better.”

I laughed and kissed him once more before walking to my bunk to grab fresh clothes.

I didn’t notice Nick following me until he said something. “Who’s that?”

Confusion spread across my face as I turned towards him. My features relaxed once I realized what he was talking about. In his hands was a picture that probably fell out of my bunk after I pulled my clothes out. I stood next to him and studied the picture, smiling sadly. “That’s me with Eileen. She was one of the owners of the orphanage.” I was nine in the picture, a large grin on my face with a medal around my neck. It was taken right after the championship game in a softball tournament I was in with my team.

I felt Nick’s eyes on me as I stared at the picture. “You miss her.” He said pointedly.

“Yeah,” I said and looked up at him. “I do. She was more of a mother to me than anyone ever was.” He looked at me sadly, but before he could say anything I went to the bathroom to change, a single tear falling down my face.

***

“Okay, so this resort has a few rooms available for us so the ten of you will be here. The rest of us are going to be in the resort down the river.” Mr. Jonas instructed us. We were in Disney, I couldn’t believe it (even if was only for three days). We were staying in the Port Orleans Resorts. The ‘kids’ were staying in the French Quarter while the adults were staying at Riverside, down the river. “We could only get four rooms, so some of you will have to triple up.” Mr. Jonas continued. “Matthew and Jordan in one. Demi, Alyson, and Anna in another. Nick and Joe in another, and Kevin, Danielle, and Morgan in the last one.

“If you guys want to go anywhere off the resort you must tell one of us. It’s crowded here so you’ll need to be properly protected. Call us if there are any problems.” Mr. Jonas said, handing everyone our key cards. “Oh, and Friday we’re all going to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Disney, so you have the next day and a half to do as you please.” He finished and walked away, leaving us alone.,

“Give me your key.” Kevin said, walking up to me.

“What?” I asked.

He sighed, “Give me your key.” He repeated, practically tearing it out of my hands. He then pulled a different key card out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Here’s your room key. I don’t think it’s the safest idea to put Joe and Nick in the same room.”

I nodded, understanding. “Good thinking.”

“Thanks, just don’t let the parentals find out alright.”

“Alright,” I said and walked away. Everyone but Kevin, Danielle, and I went to their rooms already, so I started to try and find mine, room 6248. I was in the lobby, where Mr. Jonas left us, and looked down at the map. The resort consisted of several different buildings making it seem more like a small town rather than a hotel. I found building six on the map and walked out of the lobby to a court-like area. Straight ahead of me were a Jacuzzi and a small playground with a few children playing.

There was a pathway, or street as they named them, to my left, right, and straight ahead of me; each leading to a different section of the resort. I went left, towards my building; I passed a few buildings as I spun my way through the ‘streets’ of the French Quarter, admiring everything around me. It seemed like each building had three floors and were painted different pastel colors. The roads were all brick and I passed two lawns where people could relax and hang out.

I found building six, a mostly pale blue building with black steel railings. I followed the signs that led me up the stairs to my room. Nick and I were on the second floor and when I looked up after reading the top of the steps, I saw the river. It was man-made (obviously) but the water seemed clear and was a dark blue color. Trees lined the river bank on the other side and a slight breeze came off the water. I walked down the deck, passing rooms as I tried to find mine. It ended up being the corner room with a full view of the river.

I pulled at my duffle bag that hung at my shoulder as I knocked on the door just in case. I head the click of a lock as the door opened, “Joe, why are –” Nick said before stopping short, realizing who I was. “Morgan, what are you doing here?”

“Surprise,” I said smiling. “Guess who’s your new roommate.” I mocked our conversation from this morning.

He opened the door wider to let me in, a shocked expression still clear on his face. “Why?” He asked, shutting the door behind me. “Not that I mind at all. Just curious.” He added on quickly.

“Kevin thought that it wasn’t the greatest idea for you and Joseph to share a room at this present time.”

“Mh, good point.”

I nodded by got off the subject, “Which bed is yours?”

“The one closest to the door. Do my parents know, your uncle?”

“No,” I said, putting my back down on top of the bed closest to the bathroom. “I think it’s a good idea to keep it that way. As far as I know none of them know about us or what’s happened and I really don’t think now is a very good time to tell them.”

“I agree, but we have to tell them eventually.”

I sighed, “Yeah, I –” A knock at the door stopped me mid-sentence. Nick and I exchanged frantic looks before I ducked down behind a bed and Nick went to open the door.

“You can come out Morgan, I know you’re here.” Demi’s voice came from the doorway.

With a sigh of relief, I sprang out from behind the bed. “Hey Demi, what’s up?”

She smiled at me, “We’re all going to Downtown Disney since it’s already four and there’s no point of going to an actual theme park. Wanna come?”

“Sure, I’ll go. Nick?”

“Oh course I’ll go.”

Demi’s smile grew wider. “Meet us in the courtyard in twenty.” She told us before leaving.

“Since when was there a ‘Downtown Disney’?” I asked, laughing.

Nick shrugged, “Who knows, but it’s cool. It’s all food and shops and such.”

“Ah okay, then I’m going to put some pants on.” I said, gesturing down to my denim shorts I was wearing.

Nick groaned, “No, we have twenty minutes before we can’t interact with each other.” He said, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling my back to his chest. “Besides, why do you have to put pants on? We’re in Florida.”

I chuckled, “Yes, but it’s September and it gets chilly at night. I don’t want to –” I stopped my sentence short and pulled out of his grip. “OhmyGod, its September.”

Nick looked utterly confused, “Yeah, so?”

“So!” I exclaimed. “What day is it!?”

“Wednesday,”

“No! Ugh, the number! What number day is it?” I asked frantically.

“Oh, um…” He said before briefly checking his watch. “It’s the twenty-sixth. Why is it so important?” He asked, still incredibly confused.

“The twenty-sixth!?” I yelled, collapsing on the bed. “Nick, I completely forgot your birthday. I’m a horrible friend, let alone girlfriend.” I said sullenly as I put my head in my hands.

I heard Nick laugh lightly before pulling my hands off my face. He was kneeling before me, a smile playing on his lips. “Morgan, do you remember what day we started going out?” He asked.

“The fifteenth.” I answered, puzzled.

His smile grew wider, “No, technically it was the sixteenth since it was early in the morning. Do you know what that means Morgan?”

I lifted my head up slightly, “We started dating on your birthday.”

“Exactly, so you gave me the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten – you.”

I smiled but pushed his shoulder playfully, “You are such a cornball.”

He laughed, “It’s a part of my charm.”

“This is true,” I said smirking before I gave him a quick peck. “Now, I really have to change.” I said and grabbed my duffle bag and scurried into the bathroom before Nick could argue again.

About fifteen minutes later, Nick and I met Kevin, Danielle, Joe, Demi, Alyson, JMan, Anna Marie, and Mdot in the courtyard. We walked together to a small boat dock on the river where Big Rob and Roscoe, Demi’s body guard, met us on a small ferry that would bring us down the river to Downtown Disney.

Since Nick and I were officially ‘within the public eye’ we sat away from each other on the boat. It was a good thing too, because I had to talk to Demi.

“Hey Demi, I have a question.” I said to her as we turned around a bend in the river.

“Uhoh, that doesn’t sound good.” She said laughing.

I laughed too, “It’s nothing bad. I was just wondering how you knew about me and…” I trailed off, knowing she could fill the blank.

“Well it wasn’t really that hard to figure out, but – trust me – the adults still don’t know. I knew that he has liked you since that barbeque the Jonases had in their backyard. And time passed and you started dating…” She trailed off, knowing I knew who she was referring to. She lowered her voice slightly as she continued. “You should’ve seen him, whenever it was just me or me and Kevin in a room with him, all he talked about was you and how he knew you weren’t happy.

“And then you broke-up with… he was happier again, but didn’t talk about you a lot anymore. At least, not to me.

“Weeks passed and I noticed that the two of you were spending a lot more time with each other. But you guys were smart about it; you were always with at least one other person. So, for a while, I just thought you two were becoming good friends. It wasn’t until I realized that you two would disappear at the same time that I knew something was going on.

“Plus, Joe was pretty pissed when he found out, still is. He’ll talk to anyone that’ll listen.” Demi finished.

“So everyone knows?” I said, sighing. “Fantastic.”

“Don’t worry; we’ll keep your secret.” She said, smiling.

I smiled in gratitude. “Is he really that mad?”

“He was. But he’s simmered down slightly, but I don’t suggest talking to him just yet.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” I hissed but quickly regained my composure. “Are you mad at me? You know, for going out with him after you?”

She seemed shocked at the question but answered. “Truthfully, no I wasn’t. I really was more jealous than anything. Even after everything that’s happened, I still have feelings for him.” She said, sighing dreamily.

“Well you never know what’ll happen.” I told her. I looked out at the area around our boat and I saw (and heard) Downtown Disney in the distance. “I have a favor to ask, for tomorrow. Do you mind?” I asked quickly.

“As long as it doesn’t require me leaving the hotel, sure.” She said.”

“Alright, perfect.” I said and told her my plan just as we pulled up to the dock.