Before the Fame

It was a 2-story, white house that had snow around it as well as a playground in the backyard and a swing-bench on the front porch, but it was bare.

Joe quickly climbed out of the van, shutting the door behind him as he got the luggage out of the trunk. A sigh escaped Kevin as a small giggled escaped me as we exited the van after Kevin parked it. It was funny to say the least. Joe was acting as though he were competing with Kevin for some reason.

Once Kevin reached me, he spoke.

“Don’t mind Joe. He’s a little…weird,” he said tilting his head towards his brother.

Joe was struggling to get both suitcases out of the trunk so Kevin walked over to him, carrying one while Joe carried the other.

“Jeez, what are you carrying in here? Bricks?” Joe asked causing me to burst out laughing.

Kevin shook his head, knocking the front door of their house. It swung open revealing a woman with dark brown curly hair and eyes. She smiled brightly as a relieved expression covered her face.

“Thank goodness you guys made it back here safe. You must be Sam, right?” she asked.

“Yes, I am,” I answered politely.

She wrapped an arm around me before leading me inside their home. It was lovely to say the least. There was a warm fire crackling in the fireplace while a much younger boy with red, curly hair in light blue jeans, and a white and black sweater walked around the house. Another boy in a red sweater with blue jeans with dark brown, curly hair stood next to him playing with him. He picked the younger boy up and swung him carefully around, giggles escaping the both of them.

“Nicholas, Frankie! We have a visitor!” she called.

The brown haired boy put the red-haired one down and they walked over to us. I tucked some of my hair behind my left ear before smiling nervously.

“Boys, this is Samantha,” she said.

“I’m Denise which you can call me by. This boy here,” she pointed to the brown-haired one, “is Nick while the younger one is Frankie, our youngest.”

“It’s nice to meet all of you and I wanted to say thank you so much for letting me stay here for the holidays,” I said politely.

“That’s very sweet of you to say, but we wanted to, really. My husband and the company said you’re a great singer,” Denise said kindly.

A blush crept to my face as I smiled shaking my head.

“Not really. I’ve only sung once to be honest,” I admitted.

“That’s what we all say, dear,” she said motherly, giving me a side hug.

A nervous giggle escaped me.

“You’ll be rooming with Nick for the time being. Is that alright with you?” she asked in a concerned tone.

“Absolutely,” I answered.

“OK then! Well, boys, take her things upstairs, please,” she said to Kevin and Joe.

“Yes, ma’am!” Joe said enthusiastically causing me to laugh.

Kevin shook his head as Nick did the same. I smiled, glimpsing at Nick as he smiled at me ushering me forward. I followed his brothers up the steps grateful for the normality of the house. I entered the room which was the same size as my hotel room walking on the wooden steps, my heels click-clacking on the boards.

I cautiously sat on the bed as Joe and Kevin got ready to exit the room.

“We’ll talk later,” Joe said with a smile.

“Enjoy your stay,” Kevin joked.

“Wait! I wanted to say thank you guys for bringing my luggage in here,” I said with honesty.

“No problem,” they said in unison before leaving Nick and I alone.

“So, where are you from?” Nick asked.

His voice was kind of high due to his age, but I didn’t mind.

“I’m from Jacksonville, Florida,” I said modestly.

“Are you really famous?” he asked.

“No-well, not yet, I guess,” I admitted with a shrug.

“You can take off your coat, you know,” he said after that.

Embarrassed, I unbuttoned my coat, surprised Nick was behind me to take it. He did so, hanging it up on a hanger behind his door. I smiled before unzipping my boots as my eyes roamed the closest areas to us.

“I love your room,” I admitted, staring at how clean it was.

“Thanks,” he replied in a shy tone.

I stared at the walls seeing posters of bands like AC/DC on the walls. There were family photos here and there, but not many. My eyes landed on a picture of a blue-eyed girl with long, brown hair.

“Hey, that’s Miley Cyrus!” I said in shock, but I realized she was in a picture with him, his arm wrapped around her waist.

“Oh,” I said, staring from him to the picture and back again.

“Yeah, just please don’t tell anyone. It’s supposed to be a secret,” he said hurriedly.

I nodded, understanding entirely.

“I understand. I won’t say a word,” I said flashing him a smile.

“Thanks,” he said gratefully.

I nodded before plopping back down on the bed.

“Tired?” he asked.

I nodded again as I felt myself getting groggy.

“Alright. Night, Sam,” he said in a low tone.

That was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.

…

J: We should wake her up.
N: But she looks so peaceful.
M: No, don’t wake her up! She’s sleeping!
K: Miley’s right. We shouldn’t do that.
J: It’s almost time for dinner and I’m starving!
M: No, Joe!
N: Joe, don’t!

Suddenly, I felt someone bump into me, jolting me awake.

“Dang it, Joe! Why can’t you listen for once?” Miley said shaking her head.

“S-sorry,” Joe said standing a few feet from me.

I rubbed my eyes, them adjusting to see a curly-haired Nick on me.

“Sam, I’m so sorry for doing that,” he said apologetically.

“What happened?” I asked in confusion.

“Joe wanted to wake you up, but we didn’t want him to do it and somehow as Joe went to wake you, Nick stopped him, but ended up tripping on the comforter, thus falling on you waking you,” Kevin explained.

“Wow,” I said.

“You’re not mad, are you?” Nick asked nervously.

“No, I’m not mad at you,” I answered honestly as I ruffled his hair.

He shook his head. Out of my peripheral vision I saw Miley shoot me a dirty look, but I barely caught it once I glanced at her.

“Sammy! It’s almost time for dinner! Come on, come on!” Joe said excitedly like a five year old.

A light laugh escaped me as he grabbed me by the hand leading me out of the room. Kevin followed soon after.

I ran a hand through my hair as I reached the kitchen, the food already made and the table set. We sat at the ailing counter in high chairs as we got ready to eat.

“Where’s Nick and Miley?” Denise asked, her question causing us to wonder the same.

“I’ll get them,” Kevin said before disappearing quickly up the stairs.

“Come on, Kev. I wanna eat this yummy soup!” Joe said in a kiddy tone.

I smiled as my stomach began to growl. A few moments later, footsteps sounded from the stairs as the three of them returned. Nick was slightly red in the face as his lips were a little darker as well. Miley ran a hand through her hair before sitting next to him. I sat on Nick’s left while Miley sat on his right. Joe sat to my left while Kevin was on Joe’s left. Frankie sat across from Kevin, but to Denise’s right as Mr. Jonas was to her left sitting in front of me.

We bowed our heads as Mr. Jonas said a prayer before we dug into Denise’s delicious cooking.

After dinner was over, Miley and I offered to do the dishes so we did them.

“So, how long are you here for?” Miley asked, surprising me. Her tone wasn’t sweet like it was earlier.

“Just a few days. I’m going to get a few lessons from Mr. Jonas while seeing the boys perform, and then I’ll have to go back to L.A.,” I said in a slightly intimidated tone.

I didn’t like being confronted and this felt like a confrontation.

“You don’t have a thing for Nick, do you?” she asked, surprising me again.

“Uh, no? Why?” I asked as though she were stupid.

“Well, the way you rubbed his hair earlier said a lot,” she answered as though it were obvious.

I laughed as I began drying the small pile Miley had washed.

“You’re funny,” I said as though she were crazy.

“No, I’m not. I’m serious. Nick and I have only been dating for a couple of months and I don’t need someone like you coming in and ruining everything,” she said as she finished the last dish, placing her right hand on her hip.

“I’m not trying to ruin anything,” I said defensively, getting a little heated from her words.

“Good. Just be a good girl and hang around Kevin and Joe,” she said as though I were a pet.

“I’m sure that’s what you’d like me to do, but I can’t do that. It’d make me and everyone else uncomfortable,” I replied finishing the last two dishes.

“Whatever! Just do it anyway so we don’t have problems,” she concluded before walking away.

“And if I don’t?” I asked, turning to face her even though I could only see her back.

She turned around to face me again before speaking.

“Then you’ll be out of here faster than you can blink,” she threatened before walking away entirely with a smirk on her face.

I stood there, stunned at what just happened.

Did I just really get threatened by a 13 year old? What was this world coming to?