We Can Change the World

"I can't believe this," Joe grabbed my hand as we got out of the limo at the Teen Choice awards. "This is so awesome!"

I laughed. "I know! I hope we get it!"

"We will," Nick smiled as he stood on my other side for the photos.

"Miss Touchstone. Joe, Nick, Kevin," the paparazzi shouted at us as we walked down the red carpet. "Over here, over here!"

We smiled at the cameras and walked down. We saw Vanessa from MTV waving to us so we made our way over to her. "Hey Vanessa," Kevin said, as we all hugged her in turn.

"Hey guys," she said. "So Dani and Joe. What's going on with you two? First you guys are best friends. Then you guys are nominated as the #1 potential power couple of 2008 in magazines around the world. Then there's your joint tour. Now you guys have been nominated for best team up for The Way We Are, which is rumored to be written by both of you for each other. Any comments? Are you two together now?"

"Yes we are," Joe wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Anything to add Dani," Vanessa asked.

I just grinned. "Um nope." I laughed. "That pretty much covered it."

"So aside from the teaming up nomination, you guys have each been nominated for many separate awards as well. Now, you guys have both been nominated for best album of the year. What happens if one of you win?"

We laughed. "We basically have a deal," Nick said. "Whoever wins buys the loser food everyday for a week. And either way we celebrate."

"So you guys won't mind then if Dani wins," Vanessa asked. "Well obviously Joe won't I mean, that's his girlfriend."

"No," Joe laughed. "Um if she wins, we're all going to be so happy for her. She probably will though, because her album was amazing." I kissed him on the cheek.

"Aww how cute," Vanessa remarked. "So Dani, what if they win?"

"Um," I said. "I'll kill them all in their sleep. No I'm just joking. If they win, I'm going to be so happy for them. They really deserve it. And hey, if they do, that's free food for a week." I grinned as the boys and Vanessa laughed.

"So Tinsley Carmichael," Vanessa said. I froze and felt Joe tighten his grip around my waist. "I hear she's touring with you guys. Now, it's extremely rare for a brand new artist to be added in on a tour, let alone a big joint tour like yours, so late in the game. I believe the last person to have had that happen was our very own Danielle Touchstone. Any comment?"

We all exchanged looks, deciding who wanted to lie. "Um – Tinsley's a great girl," Kevin said after a few moments. As the oldest, he was morally obliged to talk. "We've only known her for a little under a week, but she's awesome. She's so much fun to hang out with, and she's a great singer."

"Now we've been getting lots of questions about this," Vanessa asked. "Dani, what is going on between you two? Is it like a battle of the stars or something?"

I laughed nervously. It was exactly that. "Um, no," I lied. "Like Kevin said, Tinsley's an awesome girl. And I'm really glad to have met her. She's an amazing singer, and I know she's going to make it big."

"Wonderful," Vanessa smiled at us. "Okay, so we'll see you guys later. Have fun tonight, and good luck on all of your nominations."

"Thank you," we said as we moved on. The rest of our interviews on the red carpet weren't as long and mostly asked the same questions. When we got in, Tinsley ran up to us and hugged us. Again, I noticed the longer than necessary hug with Joe. I sighed and looked away. I had to trust Joe – I did trust him. But that didn't mean it was any easier to see her little antics trying to steal my boyfriend. Much to my dismay, Tinsley was at the same table with us. I noticed how she sat on the other side of Joe. Joe put his arm around my chair, and moved in close. "You look so beautiful," he whispered in my ear. He kissed me lightly before pulling away. H kept his arm around my chair as the lights dimmed.

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"And the nominees for best upcoming actor are," Justin Timberlake was saying. I didn't hear anymore as I felt something touch my hand under the table. I looked down and saw that it was Tinsley. What the hell was she doing? Moved my hand away to Dani's lap and took her hand.

I tried to pay attention as the nominee clips rolled, but I felt a foot moving up and down against my leg. Again, I looked down and saw that it was her, again. I moved my foot away, and edged closer to my girlfriend. I didn't know what this girl's deal was, but she had to back off.

"And the winner is," Justin said. "Drake Bell!"

"I have to go get ready to present the next one," Dani said as she quickly kissed me before leaving, "I hope you win." She was presenting the Best Breakout Group award, and we were one of the nominees.

Again, I felt Tinsley's hand brush mine, only more profound now that Dani was gone. I moved her hand away. "What are you doing," I whispered. My brothers turned to look at us.

"I've told you already Joe," she said. "Dani's not good enough for you."

"And you think you are," I asked, getting annoyed. This girl had no idea what she was talking about.

"Yes," she said. "I could treat you better than she can. I could give you so many things she can't." Her hands trailed up my leg.

I grabbed her hand and shoved it off. "Stop it Tinsley. I'm with Dani. I love her! I have no idea why you'd even think I'd want anyone else."

"Dani's on," Nick said, nudging me. He leaned in and whispered. "Now's not the place." He was indicating all the cameras around the building. I looked on the stage and gasped. She was presenting it was Miley. And they had their hands interlocked, as if they were best friends. It kind of made me laugh.

"Every year, there are a lot of bands and artists that come out that are so amazing that it's hard to narrow it down to just four for the award," Dani said.

"And just the other day Dani and I were talking on the phone," Miley added. "And we were talking about who we thought was going to win. Of course we both said the Jonas Brothers, though Dani's opinion may have been a little biased since she's dating Joe." Miley winked at the audience.

"True," Dani laughed, not mentioning what made Miley biased, or rather who. "But anyways, the nominees are Girlicious, Day 26, Paramore, OneRepublic, and The Jonas Brothers." Clips played of each of our songs. Dani grinned at me from the stage when ours played.

"And the winner is," Miley opened the little globe with the winner in it and handed it to Dani. "The Jonas Brothers," they both screamed.

Kevin, Nick, and I went up to the stage. I went directly to Dani and kissed her. "Congratulations babe," she whispered.

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"This is it," I squeezed Joe's hand. "I hope we win."

"You guys worry too much," Nick rolled his eyes. "Your song is amazing."

"Yeah Joe," Tinsley added, clearly leaving me out. "It's amazing. You are such a talented song writer."

"Dani wrote most of it," Joe said.

Tinsley glared at me. I know she didn't think I hadn't noticed her trying to touch my boyfriend. Luckily for her, I also noticed Joe pushing her away. But hadn't he told me about this yet? If it was already at this point, I wondered how much she had already tried to do. I breathed heavily, trying to remember to just trust him. Nick seemed to notice this and squeezed my arm.

"And the winner for the best team up is," Zac Efron said. He handed the paper from the globe to his girlfriend.

"Our best friends," Vanessa grinned. "Danielle Touchstone and The Jonas Brothers with Way We Are."

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"Dani," I said as I came out of the bathroom in our hotel room. "Oh Dani. Where are you?" I looked around the room. She wasn't anywhere in site.

"I think she's in Kevin's room," Nick said.

I walked over there to see the room door slightly open. I heard someone crying inside. I gasped. It was Dani.

"I know she's just trying to steal him away," Dani was crying to Kevin. "And I do trust Joe. But it's so hard to watch it happen."

"Shh Dani," Kevin was saying. "You need to tell Joe all of this. He'll put a stop to this." Why hadn't she told me about it yet?

"I – I can't Kevin," she sobbed. "I need to trust him."

"Dani, everyone gets that you trust him," Kevin sighed. "But, honestly, this is insane. If Tinsley keeps doing all of this, she's going to win."

"Maybe that's for the best," I heard Dani admit. "She's so much stronger than I am. Maybe the music industry would be better off with her rather than me. Maybe you all would be."

The nerve of my girlfriend, I scoffed. She actually thought I'd be better off with Tinsley rather than her. I glared at the door as Kevin told her she was wrong. Damn right she was wrong. Why hadn't she told me any of this? Hadn't she thought I deserved to know the truth? Did she really just trust me? I didn't want to hear anymore. I just went back to my hotel room, and went to sleep.