What About Us?

When we pulled up at Joe's, my mouth dropped. He was tucked up in the corner of the neighbourhood in a small apartment. It wasn't a massive house but it was very Joe. "This is...wow." I said, getting out of the cab and waiting for Joe to pay.

"Yeah, I know." He laughed, standing next to me. I turned to him, smiling. "Would you like to come in?" I shoved him slightly and we started our way up the path.

"It's very you Joseph." I said as he opened the door up. I took off my heels as we walked into the hallway, putting  his coat on the coat stand he had. I looked at all the photos he had pinned against the wall. Pictures of him and his brothers, of his family and random people he had met such as Paul McCartney. "Why aren't there any photos of Rose?" I asked as I followed him into the kitchen.

"Well, this is my apartment." Joe stated, offering me a beer from the fridge. I took it, being a fan of beer unlike some girls I knew. I took off the cap and mulled over Joe's answer.

"She doesn't live her, does she?"

"Nope." He replied as we both took a sip from the bottle. "When we get married, we are going to buy a proper house but right now, I live her and she stays at her apartment about 10 minutes away."

"Oh right, kinda makes sense." I nodded. Joe offered for us to go into the lounge, which I took up and we both fell against each other on the couch. "Why does she wanna live there when?"

"It's rather funny." Joe snorted to himself. "She thinks when we are moving too fast." The both of us burst into laughter, leaning against each other.

"She thinks moving in is too quick, but she is willing to spend the rest of her life with you?"

"Yup." He popped his lips together, taking another sip. It was then I realised Joe didn't take to alcohol well and it was making him drunk. "But because she doesn't live with me, and only stays round some days, she doesn't know my annoying habits."

"Like your early morning? Or how you snore when you are tired? Or how you leave your clothes lying around the floor?" Suddenly, Joe was tickling me, my bottle covering the both of us with beer. "Joe!" I screamed, kicking my legs underneath him. "Get off me!"

"Not until you say sorry, Allie!" He replied, his hands grabbing at my sides. I laughed until tears poured out of my eyes and I couldn't breath. "Say sorry!"

"Sorry Joe!" I yelled at him. He pulled himself off me, pulling his shirt down. I sat up, realising my dress was now settled around my waist where I had been struggling and Joe got an eyeful of my underwear. I stood up, pulling it down back to my legs. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine." His eyes travelled down from my face to my feet. I smirked at him, before looking down at my dress. It was damp where we got covered in beer. Joe's shirt was going see-through. I laughed at him before he whipped it off, throwing it in my face.

"Have you got some clothes I can borrow?" I asked. He nodded his head, before leading me upstairs. "Like some shorts?"

"No t-shirt?" He winked at me as we walked into his closet. I rolled my eyes as he handed me clothes. I looked at the t-shirt he handed me.

"This is mine." I said, holding it up against my body. It was a New York one that I has brought years ago when we had visited on tour. "Why did you keep it?"

"Sentiment." He mumbled, blushing. I smiled at him before walking into what I assumed was his room. I whipped my dress off, sliding on the shorts. "You have a tattoo." Joe's voice made me jump. I turned to him and he was standing in the doorway, looking at me. I stood in my bra and his shorts. Looking down, I saw the two bows on my hips. "When?" He asked, walking towards me.

"About a year ago?" I said, as Joe got closer towards me. I swallowed, his body warmth against my chest. "It was just in the moment thing. One for my mum, one for dad." His fingers brushed my hips, a tingling sensation going down my back. He outlined the bow, his hair tickling my neck.

"Tattoos are sexy." Joe's voice was rough and made my knees weak. He stood up so his face was in front of mine. His hands wrapped around my waist, both of our bare chests touching. I ran my hands across his shoulders and linked my fingers around the back of his neck. "Aleah." He whispered, his lips against my ear. I wrapped my fingers around his hair, tugging at them softly. Even after all this time, we still knew what the other liked. Me; the closeness, the body warmth. Joe; the clutching, the pulling.

"Joe." I growled at him, as he pulled me closer, my chest pressed up against his. He pushed me against the wall opposite the door, lifting me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling his hands travelling down to my butt, holding me there. He pressed his forehead against mine, his breath brushing my lips. We leant forwards, our lips brushing against each other. As we both started to move against each other, I heard my phone ringing downstairs. I moved away from Joe, pressing my head against his shoulder.

"Leave it." He muttered, lifting me higher. I pressed my lips against his neck, not even thinking and untangled my legs from his waist. "Aleah." I pulled myself away from him, picking the t-shirt from his bed. I threw it on as I made my way downstairs.

"Stupid Allie." I mumbled to myself, as I walked into the lounge. It was the alcohol that was making us like this. I picked up my phone, seeing that I missed a call off Nick. I sighed, a notification coming through on my phone that he had left a voicemail.

"Allie." He said, music thumping in the background. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you. But I need to explain why I decided to leave it this long. Ring me back, okay?" The message ended and I threw my phone against the couch. I ran my hands through my hair, tugging at it slightly.

"Don't do that." Joe's voice came over my shoulder. His hands wrapped around mine, pulling them away from my hair. "You'll end up ripping it out." I laughed softly as Joe sat next to me. He lifted his arm up for me and I slid underneath it. I rested my head against his heart, hearing it beat in his chest. His hand was tight around my shoulder. "Was that Nick?"

"Yes." I mumbled, lifting my legs up. "He apologised and wants to explain it to me."

"I knew you heard that conversation we were having." I nodded my head. "It was about Gabby. He kept putting it off with you, and I knew she was coming tonight so I told him if he didn't tell you, I would."

"Why didn't you tell me anyway?"

"Because Nick wanted to tell you." It went silent between me and Joe. So much that we could hear the buzzing of the electric. "She is a lovely person, Allie."

"I'm not saying anything about her, Joe. I will give her a chance, she hasn't done anything to me. It's just Nick. He lied to me, he didn't tell me anything." I shrugged. Joe pressed a kiss against my temple and I sighed.

"It's just like nothing has changed between us. Both of us like this and you arguing with Nick. Nothing's changed." Joe whispered, his hair tickling my ear.

"Everything's changed Joe." I replied, tilting my head so I could look at him properly. "You're getting married soon and then-"

"Stop." Joe said, pressing his finger against my lips. I stared at him, confused. "For tonight, let's have this."

* * *

I woke up to the sound of my mobile ringing. I groaned and rolled over, picking it off the bedside cabinet. Danielle, it read. I shifted slightly against Joe's chest so I was resting against his chest and not in the spooning position. "Hello?" I answered, my voice full of sleep.

"Where the hell are you? Kevin got a phone call of Nick this morning saying you hadn't shown up." Danielle's shouting voice wasn't nice after a night of alcohol. "And Joseph isn't answering his phone!"

"Dani." I said after her rant. I felt Joe stir underneath me and his fingers brushed against my arm. "I stayed at Joe's last night." I told her.

"You did what?!" Her voice went straight through my voice.

"Joe is sleeping on the couch, Dani." I yawned. "I didn't want to go back there because I knew that Nick was going to be there and Joe was outside with me. We got into a cab and came to Joe's. He slept on the couch and I slept in his bed."

"Okay." She replied skeptically. "Well do you wanna tell Nick or shall I?"

"Can you do it?" I asked, looking at Joe, who was staring down at me. I pushed my fingers against his chest, smiling. "I'm really not up to talking to him quite yet."

"Yeah, sure." She replied. "Don't forget that you are coming to ours later for movie night."

"When did you tell me that?"

"When we were out, stupid. See you at 3." And with that, she hung up. I tossed my phone aside and closed my eyes, trying to get rid of the ache inside my head.

"You okay this morning?" Joe asked, pressing a kiss against my forehead. I nodded, releasing the air from my lungs. "What's the time?"

"10am." I replied. As if it couldn't have been at more of an appropriate moment, my stomach let out a deep growl. "I'm hungry. Pancakes?" Joe made a noise of agreement before I sat up. "Joe." I sung, poking him in the side. He grumbled and rolled away from me.

"I'll be down soon, kay?" He muttered. I laughed and stood up, rearranging the clothes I wore during the night. I slid my phone into my bra before walking downstairs, my feet hitting the floor. I walked into the kitchen and went through Joe's cupboards, grabbing the ingredients for pancakes. As I started to pour the mix into a pan, I heard Joe enter the kitchen. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry." I replied, keeping an eye on the mix. "They won't be too long."

"Your famous Aleah pancakes. God, I've missed them." I laughed, looking over my shoulder at Joe. He winked at me. "Are you still good at tossing?" I spun around to look at him, my eyes wide open. He burst into laughter, probably at the face I was making. "Pancakes!" He shouted in between giggles. I rested my hand against my heart, trying to get it to slow down.

"Jesus, Joe." I replied, turning my back to him. "I had no clue what you were talking about."

"Clearly."

"And probably, yes." I said in reply to his question. "Let's give it a try." I wiggled the pancake around, making sure that it was cooked. I flung it up in the air, it landing perfectly in the pan again.

"Well done." Joe clapped for me. I rolled my eyes at him before placing the food on a plate. I started a second one whilst handing Joe the first pancake. He grabbed the bottle of chocolate sauce and covered his whole plate with it.

"If I was to know you were going to do that, I would have just given you the sauce!" I said, throwing my arms up. Joe chuckled, sending me a grin.

"They are still as good as I remember." He told me, as he ate. I smiled at him, placing the second one on his plate. "Last one, then I'll have some fruit I think." I quickly whipped myself up 2, before joining him at the island in the middle of the room. I then proceeded to cover the pancakes in sugar and started to munch on them. I looked over at Joe, who was eating a banana.

"You're so boring." I replied. He shoved his middle finger up at me before taking another bite of his fruit. "Make me a coffee please?" I asked and he did. "This is beautiful." I told him as I took a sip.

"Thanks baby girl." He said, smiling. "I make great coffee, you make great pancakes. Maybe we should open a cafe." I burst into laughter, shaking my head.

"That wasn't one of your clever ideas, Joe." I told him. All of a sudden, his phone started to ring from its position in front of me. He picked it up and rolled his eyes. Answering it, he put it on loud speaker for the both of us to hear.

"Hello Nick." He said, which cleared up my confusion of who it was "Wassup?"

"Did Allie stay with you last night?" Nick asked. Joe looked at me, before nodding his head.

"Yeah, she did. Why?"

"She still there?" He asked.

"Where else would she be?" Joe winked at me. "Why?"

"Because she won't answer my calls and I want to speak to her." I shook my head, getting Joe's attention.

"Bro, she is in the shower. And I don't think she wants to speak to you."

"I need to speak to her, Joe." He sounded desperate. I bit my lip and waited for either of the boys to say something. "Can you get her to ring me?"

"You know Aleah as much as I do, Nick. She will come back and talk to you in her own time. She can't hold a grudge for long." I leant over and punched Joe in the arm. "Ouch."

"What happened?" Nick asked. I stared at Joe until he replied.

"Stubbed my toe." He muttered. I held back a laugh as Joe gave me an evil grin. "I'll talk to her once she comes downstairs and then I'll leave her to make her mind up. Okay?" He offered.

"Sure. Thanks Joe." Both of them said their goodbyes and Joe hung up. We stared at each other across the island.

"You know what to do Allie." Joe said walking over to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "It's up to you whether you do the right thing, or the wrong." I wanted to hit Joe so hard, but I knew he was right.

"Go and find me your tightest jeans and your most feminine t-shirt. I'm going to get ready." I wandered upstairs and into the bathroom opposite Joe's room. I attempted to get ready to some extent, until Joe knocked on the door.

"Here you go." He said, handing them to me, along with a toothbrush. "Don't worry" He laughed. "It's not used." I thanked him before shutting the door. I slid on the clothes, the jeans a little loose, but the t-shirt worked well. I brushed my teeth, getting rid of that alcohol taste. Once I finished, I walked out of the bathroom and into Joe's room where I found him, shouting.

"Rose! Just listen to me, okay?...Thank you. Nothing happened, her and Nick had a row over Gabby, she was upset and didn't want to go back to mums so I invited her back to mine...Don't be stupid. I slept on the couch and she slept in my bed. Because I'm a gentleman, that's why!" I sat down on his bed, watching him pace. "Did you really just ask me that? Seriously? Of course not, I love you." I stared at Joe, his eyes pleading at me. "Yes, I love you." I tore my eyes away from him and walked out of the room.

Stupid Allie. Thinking that last night meant something to Joe. The almost kiss, the 'fairytale ending', the spooning, waking up together. It was all the alcohol pumping through our bodies. We wanted the contact, that's all he wanted. It meant nothing, Joe still loves Rose and that's it.

I stood outside the room, waiting for Joe to leave so I could get the rest of my stuff. He walked out, his eyes frantically searching everywhere. Once they landed on me, he sighed. "Allie."

"I'm just going to get my stuff and then can you take me to your mum's? I need to talk to Nick?" I could see the glint in his eyes disappear as I spoke bluntly to him. 

"Sure." He replied, nodding his head. I walked past him and into his room, grabbing my dress, which stunk of beer and my purse. I slid on my heels, making the outfit look better and less butch. I walked downstairs, sliding my phone into my pocket before walking into the lounge. "Ready?" He whispered. I nodded my head and followed him out, noticing the red rims around his eyes.

* * *

The whole ride over to the Jonas household was silent. Apart from Joe asking questions.

"Do you want the radio on?"

"I don't mind." I replied, opening and closing my purse on my lap. He leant forwards, flicking it on. I tried so hard not to laugh at him. He was trying to make some sort of conversation with me, but I ignored him. As we pulled onto the driveway, I jumped out of his car and into the house. I kicked my heels off and sighed.

"Aleah." I looked up to see Nick coming out the kitchen. I bit down on my lip and just as I was about to talk to him, Joe burst into the house. I looked between the two boys.

"Give me 2 minutes?" I offered to Nick. He nodded and I ran upstairs. I walked into the room I was occupying. I changed out of Joe's jeans and into a pair of my own, feeling more comfortable. I didn't change my t-shirt, it was some comfort towards Joe. I tied my hair up, wiping my face with a clean flannel. I heard a knock on the door and I bounced over the bed to pull it open.

"You okay?" Nick stood there, looking sheepish. I nodded my head and let him into my room. I sat down on the bed, him sitting next to me. "C'mon, call me names, tell me what a horrible friend I am. Bring it Allie." I shook my head. He narrowed his eyebrows, before turning to me more. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you Allie. I really wanted to, seriously. But I just couldn't. Since you got here, all it has been is confusing for  you, and I didn't want to throw that at you."

"So you thought you would just not tell me? Thinking it would be easier?" I said. I didn't want to start an argument with him, not now. "Don't be stupid, Nick."

"I just thought...I could have left it a bit longer. Wait until you were settled in and then explain it all to you."

"Explain then." I waved my hand, before lying back on the bed.

"It wasn't like me and Gabby were actually in a relationship to start with. We never went on a date, it was more of a booty call." I smirked at Nick. "Without the sex. Which is why I didn't want to tell you cause I was embarrassed really. We didn't want to tell anyone and then I made the decision to ask her on a date. It took us a while to get used to dating, so we didn't want to go round and tell everyone when we were just stuck." I nodded my head against the bed. I understood where he came from. He was embarrassed by the fact that he wasn't actually with her and that's why he didn't tell me when they weren't together.

"Why didn't you tell me when you got together?" I asked, picking at the duvet.

"I dunno. This is going to sound horrible but I think I just forgot about you." I looked over at Nick, trying not to cry. It isn't every day that your best friend forgets about you. "I don't mean like that. We hadn't been in contact with each other for over a year, Allie. What was I meant to do? Just drop you a text saying hi, it's Nick. By the way, I know we haven't spoken in ages but I've got a girlfriend. That just didn't seem right to me. And we were so busy with our music, I just completely forgot about you."

"Wow Nick. Just wow." I replied, resting my hands under my head. I could see him staring at me until I said something. "I don't know what to say. I really don't." I sat up, our knees touching. He studied my face for a minute or two, before taking both my hands into his.

"I don't know what you should say either. But I am really sorry, Allie. I didn't mean to lie to you and I'll do anything to make it up to you." He begged. I stared back at him. He was genuinely sorry. His eyes looked sad and his bottom lip was enclosed in his teeth.

"Go and make me a cup of tea. And get some ice cream." A massive smile stretched across his face before he tackled me against the bed, his arms tight around me. "Do those thing," I said from underneath him. "And I'll figure out a way for you to make it up."