The Closest Thing We Have To Magic

My fingers grasped the strings of the backpack as I attempted to release it from the squeezed corner in my suitcase. I heaved a sigh of relief when it finally landed on my lap. I sat up and tossed the bag on my bed and rummaged through my suitcase looking for the necessities for tonight.

The back up dancers were having a small gathering/party at Lindsay’s and Alexia’s cabin. To spice up our life here on the set of Camp Rock 2, the older girls had decided we needed a get together of just the dancers. We set on a full out all girl sleepover planning to stay up late talking about hair, makeup and boys. I had a feeling that part would be situated on me about Nick.

I ran my fingers through my hair letting my natural waves fall back into place. I had packed my pajamas, my toothbrush, a hairbrush and my iPod touch all stuffed in the small bag.

I glanced at the time on my phone, 5:45pm. Tossing it in my messy suitcase, I debated what to do next. Everybody was supposed to arrive at their cabin around 8 or later. I decided to run over to Shay’s and hang out with her before heading over together.

Break it off boy
Cuz you got me feeling naughty
Wanna know boy
If I could be your Shawty(sexiness)
Set it off boy
Make me hot all over my body

Dropping down to my suitcase, I scrambled through it to find my phone. Break it Off by Rihanna was my ringtone for Nick and I was anxious to talk to him. I hadn’t been able to talk to him all day with our busy schedules. I found my phone under my sweaters and pulled it out. Flipping it open, I answered.

“Hey Nick.”

“Hey Cady.” Hearing his voice was all it did to make a smile appear on my face. Sighing contently, I collapsed on my bed to have the conversation.

“I really hate doing this, but I need a favor from you.” Nick stammered.

I knit my eyebrows in confusion. “What is it?”

“Do you have any plans tonight?”

I glanced down at my packed backpack. “Well there’s a party that some of the older girls are throwing just for the dancers. Why?”

Nick sighed in frustration. “Never mind then.”

Sitting up I rested my back on the headboard and began to draw random circles on my comforter. “It’s not till 8. What’s the matter?”

He hesitated before answering. “Here’s the thing. John said he wants to talk my parents and all three of us for a quick meeting to talk about the progress the movie and such.” He paused. “I don’t even see why Joe and I have to go. Kevin is the only who’s actually interested in going. But Mom is making us.”

“And the problem is?” I questioned not seeing where this was going.

“Frankie caught a cold, from God knows what. And Mom needs someone to watch him till we come back. You’re the first person I thought of so I told her I would call you and ask.”

“I can do it.”

“You will?” Nick asked surprised.

I shrugged. “Yeah. I don’t have to be at Lindsay’s and Alexia’s till 8. And plus, Frankie’s my best friend, remember?” I chuckled at the last part.

“Thank you Thank you Thank you.” He exclaimed. “I’ll make this up to you somehow.”

I laughed. “It’s okay. I really don’t mind. I’ll be over in about five to ten minutes.”

“Alright see you then. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I took a soft velvet jacket out of my suitcase and pulled it over my outfit. The layered baby blue and pink tank tops stuck to my naturally thin body along with my Hollister skinny jeans. I slipped on my shiny black flats and grabbed my backpack off the bag.

I better text Shay, I thought. I turned the pockets in my jacket inside out and texted Shay.

Hey I’m really sorry but I can’t over before the party. Mrs.Jonas needs someone to babysit Frankie tonight. I’ll be at Lindsay’s around eight. Sorry!

I walked down the familiar trail whistling a random tune in happiness. A few days had flown by leaving me in a state of bliss. The sun was out shining reminding me the other day in the forest. I smiled at the thought and sped up my pace to reach the cabin sooner. My phone shook me as it buzzed in my jacket pocket.

No problem babe. See you later!

I replied with thanks and proceeded on my way. A couple minutes later, I arrived at the Jonas’ cabin. I decided to knock, since this wasn’t a party but more responsible. Bringing my fist to the wood door, I lightly knocked two times and waited.

The door flew open and Kevin’s anxious face appeared. “Hey Cady thank goodness you’re here. We have to leave in about two minutes.”

I followed Kevin into the kitchen. I could hear frantic voices coming from all around the house as they scurried to be ready on time for the meeting with the director. I entered the kitchen to find Nick patiently waiting for the rest of his family. He was leaning against the small counter and surfing his Blackberry. His professional look was plastered on him, as he wore expensive looking black pants and a Ralph and Lauren button down shirt.

My feet tapped on the kitchen tile floor as I walked closer to him, causing him to look up and see me. A smile crept onto his face when he saw me. Setting his phone on the counter, he quickly walked over and gave me a huge hug.

“Thank you so much for coming.” He whispered in my ear. His arms wrapped around my waist as I dropped my bag with a soft thud on the ground and did the same.

I stepped back and smiled. “No problem. Where’s Frankie?”

“I’m pretty sure Mom is with him right now. I’ll take you to them.” He grabbed my hand and took me down the hallway the bedrooms were in. I saw a glimpse of Nick and Joe’s room before he pulled me into Kevin and Frankie’s room.

Frankie was lying down in bed with the comforter’s tucked around him with his mother sitting on the side of his bed. His face was flushed and his body looked tired out.

“Hey Mom, Cady’s here.” Nick pointed out. Mrs. Jonas turned and gave a warm smile.

“Cady I am so glad you could babysit tonight.” She faced me with a relieved expression on her face.

“It’s absolutely fine. I just need to know about his medications if he’s taking anything.”

“Just follow me into the kitchen. I’ll show you everything there.” I nodded and gave a small wave to Frankie who gave me a weak smile in return.

I followed Mrs.Jonas into the kitchen where she gave me the bottle of medication pills and their cell phone numbers. “Call us if you need anything. We won’t be gone for long. At the maximum, probably two hours.”

Mr.Jonas stuck his head into the kitchen. “Everybody ready to go?”

“Almost honey. Where’s Joe?” She asked.

“Here.” Joe announced stepping into the kitchen.

“Alright let’s go. Thanks again Cady.” Mrs.Jonas said.

“No problem.”

The five of them left the cabin leaving me alone in the Jonas’ cabin with just the Bonus Jonas. I peeked into Frankie’s room and saw he had fallen back asleep and proceeded back to the kitchen. I decided to make Frankie a small snack just in case he became hungry when he woke up. Opening the cupboards, I scanned the food trying to find something to make. I spotted varieties of food ranging from soups, macaroni and cheese and tons of junk food. Mrs.Jonas surely did know how to feed her boys.

I pulled out the macaroni cheese and set out to make it for dinner. It was almost six fifteen, so I made enough for the both of us. Putting a pan on the stove I turned the setting to high and waited for the water to boil. Dumping the macaroni inside, I saw a radio on a small table nearby. I turned the knob a few times to find a good station to fill in for background music.

“Cady?” A small voice called out from down the hallway. I walked down to Frankie’s bedroom and saw he had awoken and was sitting on his bed with a pillow propped against the headboard.

“Hey best friend. How you feeling?” I sat down on the side of his bed.

He yawned. “I’m still tired and my throat hurts.”

“Well what if I give you dinner now, and then you can take the medication to stop making your throat hurt.” I suggested.

He shrugged. “Okay.” He jumped out of his bed showing his SpongeBob pajamas.

I chuckled at the pajamas. “I like your pajamas.”

Frankie grinned. “Thank You.”

Fifteen minutes later, the eight year old boy was fed and had willingly taken his medication. With a burst of energy, he ran to the couch and snuggled into the pillows. I stole a cookie from the cookie jar and followed him.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” I asked taking a bite from the cookie.

His face lit up. “Yeah! Let’s watch Wall E!” He exclaimed.

“Do you know where it is?”

“Yup. I’ll put it in.” He offered. Frankie climbed off the sofa and found the DVD. Pushing it into the DVD player, he sat down next to me and began to watch the movie.

Halfway through the movie, Frankie’s eyes started to close. He leaned against my left shoulder slowly falling asleep. Cautiously, I picked up the remote and decreased the volume to a minimum that could be softly heard. I adjusted my body so my feet were stretched out on the couch with Frankie lying down next to me. I continued to watch the movie as I periodically made sure Frankie was still asleep.

I glanced outside through the windows and was startled to see dark clouds covering the sky. Earlier today, it had been sunny and clear of clouds but that had taken a full spin. It was merely only seven but looked almost midnight with the clouds. I hoped it would rain, but not lightening. Definitely not lightening. I enjoyed rain, and the peace that it brought with it. But lightening destroyed the peacefulness. When I was younger, I would never be able to fall asleep because of the lightening. It would light up my room making ordinary objects seem almost like murderer weapons. I used to have to sleep in my parent’s room to feel even somewhat safe. Even though I was now 15, I would occasionally get scared of the lightening and the rumbling thunder.

My eyes started to feel heavy as I mindlessly wandered through memories in my head. I set my head back against the pillows and opened one eye and checked to make sure Frankie was still asleep before and attempted to fall asleep.

I wasn’t sure how long I slept, but I was awoken to whispering and shuffling. A door shut close loudly and then a whisper-yell could be heard. My eyes wanted to stay glued shut, but I reluctantly opened them slowly. My arm was stuck underneath Frankie’s head, making it unmovable.

When my vision cleared, I could see the Jonas’ family in the kitchen quietly talking. Nick glanced over at me and when he saw that I was awake, walked over to me with his adorable smile. Mrs. Jonas started to walk over to me also after seeing Nick.

“Hey there cutie. Sorry about waking you up, Joe decided to slam the front door shut.” Nick apologized as he came over and gave me a soft kiss on my forehead.

“No it’s okay. I didn’t even think I would fall asleep. We were watching the movie and Frankie fell asleep and I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

“It’s perfectly fine. I’m just glad Frankie got to sleep. I was afraid I was going to have to put up with him tonight after taking a nap in the afternoon.” Mrs.Jonas thanked me.

I gently lifted Frankie’s head and removed my arm from its position. I tossed my legs over Frankie carefully enough not wake him and jumped off. I slid my arms underneath his small body and took the 70 pounds into my arms.

“Here, I’ll take him.” Nick offered holding out his arms. I debated for a moment before setting Frankie into his arms. As I relieved me arms from the extra weight, I looked up into Nick’s eyes and made eye contact for a brief second. His eyes bore into mine causing time to stop and let me gaze into his eyes. I smiled softly and then snapped out of the trance as Mrs.Jonas spoke.

“Here’s your pay tonight.” She said holding out a few bills.

I took a step away from her and shook my head. “I don’t need to be paid. I had fun being with Frankie tonight.”

“I insist. We needed you at the last minute. You deserve this.” Mrs.Jonas pressed the money into my hands. I looked past her shoulder and eyed Nick who was still standing in the living room with Frankie. He nodded slightly indicating for me to accept.

I hesitated. “Okay. Just this one time though.” Mrs.Jonas smiled sincerely. “You’re welcome to stay with us for dinner. I know you made dinner for Frankie, and it looks like you haven’t eaten.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m supposed to be at a friend’s place tonight.” I declined. Right then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out and opened the phone. 1 New Message

Lindsay and Alexia canceled the party. There’s supposed to be a huge thunderstorm tonight and there’s a thunderstorm warning out. We’re going to do the sleepover another night.

“Actually, looks like plans have changed. If it’s alright, I’ll stay for dinner.” I backed down from my previous answer as I read the text.

“No problem. You’re more than welcome to join us.” Mrs.Jonas repeated. “Dinner will be ready in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

Nick took this opportunity to put Frankie back in his bed. Till dinner time, I hung out with Joe and Nick talking about random things that any teenager would talk about it. Mrs.Jonas announced dinner was ready a few minutes later. Dinner passed by peacefully as Nick’s parents slyly drilled me with questions about my hometown and background.

I washed my plate in the sink and set it outside to dry. Lightening crackled outside of the cabin illuminating the trees and trails outside of the cabin. I stared at the thunderstorm wondering how in the world I would be able to walk back to my own cabin.

“Cady?”

I turned to Mr.Jonas who was standing next to his wife. “Yes?”

Mrs.Jonas spoke up. “The local news said the area is under thunderstorm warning and I’m not too comfortable with you out there by yourself walking back to your cabin. You can stay the night here. Nick can give you his bed and he can sleep on the pull out couch in the living room.”

I graciously accepted the offer. “Thank you so much. I have my bag I was going to take to my sleepover, so I have all my things. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome honey. Nick, show her where everything is. Go to bed soon everybody.” Mrs.Jonas instructed. “All of you have early call times tomorrow.”

“Sure thing Mom.” Nick kissed his mom goodnight before picking up my bag. He grinned at me and sent me a look that clearly had the message ‘It was going to be an interesting night.’