Opposites Attract

You know that saying, time flies when you’re having fun? Well, I’ve come to learn that time also flies when you’re not having fun. Think about it. Touring with the Jonas Brothers is amazing, don’t get me wrong, but the whole time we were on tour someone was mad at somebody else. JT was mad at me, Eva was mad at me, Kevin was mad at me, Kevin was mad at Joe, Joe was mad at Kevin, and it was a big giant mess. Despite all that, I didn’t want it to end. The tour bus was small and cramped, especially when we all crowded on to just one, but I loved it. Unfortunately, there’s another saying I’m sure you are all familiar with. All good things come to an end.

It was August 28 and it was a traveling day. We were going from Philadelphia to Syracuse and the boys were hanging out on Sorelle’s bus. There was eight days left of tour and only six shows left. It was almost over. I’d like to tell you that we were keeping occupied with other things and enjoying the time we had left, but I don’t like to lie. We were all dreading it.

“It can’t really be this close to the end, can it?” Dani asked in disbelief, snuggling into her place on Nick’s lap.

Nick kissed her forehead and whispered something in her ear. I smiled. They were adorable. You know who else was slowly becoming adorable? JT and Joe. He’d gotten past the whole ‘she’s weird’ thing. He wasn’t mad at me anymore either, but that didn’t mean he was my best friend again.

“Justine,” Joe chuckled, “Can you get me something to drink?”

“Would you like me to don a French maid’s outfit while doing so, Joseph?” she replied wittily.

JT hates being called by her first name and even more so, she hates being ordered around.

“If you feel the need to,” Joe responded airily.

After that, everybody erupted into fits of laughter. Then it was quiet again. Solemn expressions returned to all our faces. The six of us wouldn’t be able to laugh together much longer. The boys would have to work on J.O.N.A.S. and the girls and I would be recording our album.

“Where’s your mind?” Kevin whispered in my ear as he sat next to me.

“About three weeks in the future,” I said sadly.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close like he always did when I was upset. In the kitchenette area of the bus I saw Joe’s playful grin melt into a sad frown. JT saw it too and immediately tried to distract him. I don’t know if it worked or not.

“That’s why they invented cell phones. We’ll text and call all the time,” Kevin promised me.

“I guess,” I agreed halfheartedly.

Dani giggled loudly and I, cursed with a short attention span, looked up. She and Nick were rolling around the couch , trying not to fall on the floor, and Nick was tickling her. They were adorable but oblivious. How could they be so happy while knowing that in a few days everything would change?

“They’re good for each other,” Kevin said.

“Yeah, but shouldn’t they be sad they won’t be able to see each other as much?” I asked.

“Or maybe they know they’re strong enough to deal with a little distance,” he suggested.

“She told me she loves him,” I said.

“He bought her a present on our last day off. Did he give it to her yet?” Kevin asked.

“I didn’t hear anything about it,” I returned.

Small talk. Gag me.

“This is insane,” I finally stated.

“What?” Kevin asked, confused.

“We are having the world’s most meaningless conversation,” I said angrily.

“I’m guessing you’d like to change the subject,” he smiled.

“Yes, I would. I would like to know what the hell we are,” I hissed. It was a little more angry than I had planned to sound, but I’d definitely got my point across.

“Well, we’re um …” Kevin trailed off uncertainly.

“I’m ecstatic that I’m no longer just the girl you fool around with when no one’s looking, but I’m not so cool with not knowing where I stand in this so-called relationship,” I said a little bit louder than necessary.

Nick and Dani stopped fooling around abruptly and looked at Kevin and I. JT and Joe peered around the corner of the kitchenette. Yup, I was definitely louder than I thought.

“You could just be my girlfriend. That’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it?” Kevin asked, a hopeful grin creeping across his face.

It took me a second to realize that I wasn’t imagining things. Kevin Jonas just asked me out. He wanted me to be his girlfriend. Kevin Jonas wanted me, Emma Perry, to be his girlfriend. I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything at all. I leaned forward and kissed him. Just a sweet little peck, that’s all. Hopefully, it did the talking for me.

“Is that a yes?” he asked.

I nodded and Kevin kissed me back. Joe looked angry. He stomped to the bunks, climbed into mine, and pulled the curtain closed. I looked at Kevin and he nodded so I went over to Joe.

“You’re in my bunk, you know,” I said as I opened the curtain a little.

“So?” he said, but since his head was buried in my pillow it came out sort of muffled.

“So, I just thought I’d let you know,” I shrugged but didn’t move.

“What do you see in him?” Joe sat up suddenly, “he was a total ass to you.”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” I told him, “but somehow I just know it’s right.”

“That’s corny,” Joe mumbled and lay down again.

“I don’t like you mad at me,” I told him.

“I’m not mad,” he said into my pillow.

“Then why don’t you talk to me like you used to? Or hang out with me?” I asked sadly.

“Go away,” he said without looking up.

I did what he said. JT talked to him after that. Kevin and I played Guitar Hero for a while then Dani and Nick joined in and we all played Mario Kart. When the bus stopped we put the games away and headed outside to meet up with Mr. and Mrs. Jonas.

“I want you all in bed early tonight because you have a radio interview at 5AM and a photo shoot for TWIST magazine at noon,” Paul told us.

Denise waved a handful of keys in the air and smiled. “Room assignments!” Then she noticed my hand in Kevin’s and frowned. “Maybe we should switch up the room assignments,” she suggested.

“Why?” Kevin asked defensively.

“Because a little change never hurt anyone. Especially not you two,” she chuckled and nodded at our interlaced fingers.

“Oh,” Kevin said softly. I guess he forgot he was holding my hand.

“Nicholas and Kevin, you’re in room 102,” Denise said and tossed Nick the key. “Justine and Danielle, room 104,” she called out and gave the key to JT. “Joseph and Emma, room 107.”

Oh no. That could not be good. Apparently Joe didn’t think so either because he silently took the key and headed for the elevator. He was walking so fast I practically had to run to keep up with him. Inside the suite, he wasn’t any better. He just threw the key on the table by the door and stomped into the bedroom.

I heard an angry “No” leave his mouth as I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

“What’s the problem?” I called out.

“There’s only one bed,” he yelled back.

I left my toothbrush on the counter and sprinted to the bedroom. There was a queen sized bed in the middle of it. Great. Just great. There was no way Denise knew about this. If she did, she would have put two people of the same gender in our room instead of us. Joe took his phone out and called a couple of numbers before slamming it onto the nightstand and groaning loudly.

“What?” I asked.

“No one is answering their damn cell phones. We can’t switch rooms,” he said angrily.

I shrugged and headed back to the bathroom. Besides the faucet running the suite was quiet, Joe must’ve just gone to bed. I decided that at tomorrow’s concert I was going to perform the song I’d written on the bus the other day. Joe needed to hear it. I turned the water off, put my pajamas on, and went back into the bedroom. I chuckled to myself upon seeing the chair Joe had propped up against the window to keep the curtain completely shut. The boy likes his darkness. I slipped into bed and lay as close to the edge as possible. I was silently praying Kevin wouldn’t get angry about this.

Joe’s cell phone alarm went off at 3:30. It was obnoxiously loud. I groaned sleepily and opened my eyes. Somehow Joe had ended up a lot closer than I would’ve liked. His arm was around my waist and his face was buried in the back of my neck. Perhaps this part could be left out when Kevin asked how I slept. I slipped out of Joe’s grasp and grabbed his phone, but since I had no idea how to work the damn thing it just kept blaring. I smacked Joe’s shoulder.

“What do you want?” he moaned sleepily.

“Turn your God damned alarm off,” I hissed and gave him the phone.

He pressed some button and curled back into the blankets.

“Don’t you dare go back to sleep. You’re going to get your ass up and you’re going to do it now,” I said and smacked his shoulder again for good measure.

After showering and getting dressed, we met up with everyone else in the lobby. We had a quick breakfast in the hotel restaurant and then we were in a car on the way to the radio station. Kevin and I sat next to each other and I was falling asleep on his shoulder. He handed me a Strawberry Mocha Frappuccino and my eyes immediately lit up.

“Where’d you get that?” I asked.

“There was a Starbucks right next to the hotel,” he said while sipping his Chai Tea.

I nodded and resumed leaning on his shoulder except this time I wasn’t falling asleep, I was drinking my frappuccino. We arrived at the radio station at about 4:45 and we all crowded into a sound booth. It was the six of us and two people from the actual station.

“So today we have some special guests with us,” A woman named Samantha announced into a microphone, “The Jonas Brothers and Sorelle!”

We all said hi into our mics.

“We have some questions for all of you,” The second radio person, Dan, said.

“Bring it on,” Joe laughed. He was a good actor, but I knew he was still upset.

“What’s it like touring with the Jonas Brothers?” Samantha asked the girls and I.

“It’s amazing,” JT gushed.

“So much fun,” Dani added.

“There’s never a dull moment,” I put in, “And we’ve definitely learned a lot from the boys.”

“Any relationships?” Dan asked .

I didn’t say anything and neither did Kevin. It was Nick who spoke up.

“Dani and I are dating,” he said and took her hand. She lit up like a light bulb.

“That’s so cute,” Samantha cooed, “So how crazy are the fans?”

“We’ve definitely had some crazy fan experiences,” Kevin laughed.

“Yeah some girls tried to lie to the security guards and tell them they were our sisters so they could get backstage. It was pretty funny because obviously we don’t have any sisters,” Joe told them.

It went on like that for what seemed to be forever before we finally got to leave. Then it was off to the photo shoot. It was at some studio somewhere close by so it didn’t take long to get to. We had to change into different clothes and have our hair and make up done and then we went on to a set.

“We’re going to do some frames of the boys first,” the photographer announced.

So for a half hour or so, the boys did various poses and fooled around in front of the camera. Then the girls and I did ours. It was pretty cool. After that I thought we were going to be able to leave but the photographer stopped us.

“I heard on the radio this morning that you two are dating,” he pointed to Nick and Dani, “Can I get some shots of you two?”

They agreed so we had to hang around for, like, another half hour. Then it we went to the venue. It took a while for the stage to get all set up but then it was time for sound check. The girls and I ran through our set and then boys went through theirs. Usually we watched, but not tonight. I took the girls into our dressing room and played my new song for them. JT caught on quickly so I decided to let her play the guitar. There was a keyboard in the dressing room so it only took a few minutes for me to figure out what to play.

“Dani, you still play violin, don’t you?” I double checked.

“Yeah,” she answered, “Why?”

“Do you think the girls from the Jonas Brothers’ string section have an extra one kicking around?” I asked.

Dani ran off to find out and when she came back she was toting a violin. I smiled triumphantly.

“JT and I will start. You just play whatever you’re feeling,” I told her and then JT and I began.

We played through the song with Dani and it sounded amazing. I couldn’t wait for Joe to hear it. Kevin popped his head through the door a couple minutes later.

“New song?” he asked.

We nodded.

“You guys are on in 10. The boys and I are headed for lockdown,” he told us.

Kevin kissed my forehead as he walked away and the girls headed for the stage. The crowd was roaring as we played through our set. Then, just as I saw the boys walk into the wing, I walked over to the piano.

“Who wants to hear a new song?” I yelled into the mic.

The fans yelled and the boys gave me confused looks. Our set was supposed to be over. I just smiled as JT switched her electric for an acoustic guitar and Dani grabbed the violin and walked to the front of the stage.

“This one’s called Breathe,” I said, and started to play.

I see your face in my mind as I drive away,
Cause none of us thought it was gonna end that way.
People are people,
And sometimes we change our minds.
But it's killing me to see you go after all this time.

Mmm mmm mmm
Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm
Mmm mmm mmm
Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm

Music starts playin' like the end of a sad movie,
It's the kinda ending you don't really wanna see.
Cause it's tragedy and it'll only bring you down,
Now I don't know what to be without you around.

And we know it's never simple, never easy.
Never a clean break, no one here to save me.
You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand,
And I can't breathe without you, but I have to.
Breathe without you, but I have to.

Never wanted this, never wanna see you hurt.
Every little bump in the road I tried to swerve.
But people are people,
And sometimes it doesn't work out,
Nothing we say is gonna save us from the fall out.

And we know it's never simple, never easy.
Never a clean break, no one here to save me.
You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand,
And I can't breathe without you, but I have to.
Breathe without you, but I have to.

It's 2am, feeling like I just lost a friend.
Hope you know it's not easy, easy for me.
It's 2am, feeling like I just lost a friend.
Hope you know this ain’t easy, easy for me.

And we know it's never simple, never easy.
Never a clean break, no one here to save me.
And I can't breathe without you, but I have to.
Breathe without you, but I have to.
Breathe without you, but I have to.

Sorry (oh) Sorry (mmm)
Sorry (eh eh) Sorry (mmm)
Sorry (eh eh) Sorry (mmm)
Sorry

“Thank you, Syracuse!” I shouted and the girls and I ran off stage. Nick, Joe, and Kevin took that as their cue to run on. I couldn’t help but notice that Joe looked a little upset. I guess the song had gotten to him. Not that it was my goal to upset him or anything like that. I just waned him to know how I was feeling. We watched the boys play their set and we were expecting them to sit center stage to play Lovebug, but they didn’t.

“We’re going to play a new song for you tonight. It’s called The Adventure, I hope you like it,” Joe said into his mic.

I wanna have the same last dream again,
the one where I wake up and I'm alive.
Just as the four walls close me within,
my eyes are opened up with pure sunlight.
I'm the first to know,
my dearest friends,
even if your hope has burned with time,
anything that's dead shall be re-grown,
and your vicious pain, your warning sign,
you will be fine.

Hey, oh, here I am,
and here we go, life's waiting to begin.

Any type of love - it will be shown,
like every single tree reach for the sky.
If you're gonna fall,
I'll let you know,
that I will pick you up
like you for I,
I felt this thing,
I can't replace.
Where everyone was working for this goal.
Where all the children left without a trace,
only to come back, as pure as gold,
To recite this all.

Hey, oh, here I am,
and here we go, life's waiting to begin.
Tonight,
hey, oh, here I am,
and here we go, life's waiting to begin.
Tonight,
hey, oh, here I am,
and here we go, life's waiting to begin.

I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me

Hey, oh, here I am (do this with me),
and here we go, life's waiting to begin (do this with me).
Hey, oh, here I am (do this with me).
And here we go, life's waiting to begin,
life's waiting to begin.

Joe smiled at me as they started playing their next song. I smiled back. If I wasn’t mistaken, everything was good again. At the end of their set, when the boys came off stage, Kevin gave me a quick kiss and rushed off.

“Shower,” he offered as an explanation.

Joe smiled apologetically. Since Kevin had obviously claimed the first shower, he didn’t rush off. Dani and Nick had already disappeared, and JT had gone off somewhere as well so it was just the two of us. We stood there in the awkward silence for a little bit before he finally spoke up.

“I’m sorry,” Joe said softly, “I was trying so hard to get you to see what ass Kevin is that I acted like one myself.”

“It’s okay. You were right, he was an ass. But he’s not anymore,” I told him.

“I know. I guess I was just jealous,” Joe admitted.

“Truce?” I asked hesitantly.

Joe smiled. “Truce.”

“Good,” I said, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“And I hope you know, I meant what I said in the song,” he continued, “I really can’t breathe unless you do this with me.” I smiled and he added, “Figuratively anyway.”