Opposites Attract

I hate birthdays. I hate my birthday because people sing to me, loudly and off key, and I have to pretend I actually like all the presents I’m sure I’ll never actually use. I hate other people’s birthdays because I have to find something that I hope they won’t have to pretend to like and then never use. It’s actually quite challenging. I mean, what do you get for the guy who has enough money to buy birthday presents for the entire West Coast? And that’s not even an over exaggeration.

First I thought about clothes, but he’s got all the latest styles. I could get him a guitar, he’d like that, but the nice ones cost way too much money. And seriously, what else is there? He’d use a Starbucks gift card, but that wouldn’t be very thoughtful. I had been sitting on the couch in my empty house trying to figure it out for a while, but nothing was coming to me. Then Dani came in.

“Still stuck on what to get Kev for his birthday?” she asked with a smile as she plopped down next to me.

“Yup,” I said and sighed dejectedly.

“What about jewelry? I know it’s usually the guy getting jewelry for the girl, but he’d wear it. And he was really bummed out when the chain broke on his David Yurman necklace,” Dani reminded me.

I laughed. “David Yurman? I can’t afford that.”

“Kevin wouldn’t care about the brand, all he’d care is that it’s from you,” she told me.

“I know but …” I whined and trailed off.

Dani gave me a stern look. “Quit whining and start shopping.”

I took her advice. I went to the jewelry store in the mall and looked around forever before finally deciding on what to get Kevin. The necklace he’d broken was a David Yurman dog tag, like Nick’s. It didn’t have diamonds on it like Nick’s did but it was still pretty cool and he was unhappy about the chain breaking. That was why I decided on a white gold dog tag necklace, it’d be the perfect replacement. I even got it engraved on the back. It said As Long as you're in the picture, it's perfect. That took a while though, so I had to shop around while I waited. When it was done, the jeweler showed it to me before he put it in the box. It really was perfect.

I’d remembered the exchange that had taken place when I had been in the hospital and knew it would be the perfect thing to have engraved. He’d love it; I was sure. Dani seemed to think so too. She’d gone on about how it was going to be his favorite gift for a half hour. But once we were at his party, I wasn’t so sure.

“This is going to be awesome,” he exclaimed after his parents gave him the keys to an apartment he was going to be sharing with Joe.

Nick and Dani had both chipped in to buy a brand new Gibson Les Paul for Kevin. It was white, his favorite color, and he loved it. Joe had When he got to my present, he gave the small box a rather skeptical look. He pulled the paper off slowly, which was driving me insane. Kevin smiled when he saw the dog tag. He flipped it over, read the inscription , and smiled even wider.

“I love it,” he whispered and kissed me softly.

“Good,” I smiled back, “Now let’s have some cake. I’m hungry.”

Kevin shook his head and laughed. We had cake and ice cream and talked and laughed all night. Eventually just about everyone had retired to bed. Denise was still trying to clean up but Paul had had already disappeared upstairs. Dani had gone home; Nick had gone to bed. Joe had followed shortly thereafter. Kevin sat next to me on the living room couch, playing with the dog tag I’d got him.

“Do you really like it?” I asked.

“I love it, Em,” Kevin smiled, “like I love you.”

“I wasn’t really sure about. I could have found something else but, I don’t know, I guess I didn’t have enough time. I can take it back, I have the receipt,” I rambled.

“I just said I love it. You know, you’ve never struck me as insecure before,” he said thoughtfully.

“I’m not insecure,” I said a bit too loudly.

“Usually you aren’t. But just now you were,” Kevin told me, “and it took me by surprise. You’ve got that sort of ‘I don’t care what anybody thinks’ attitude.”

“I care what you think,” I whispered softly.

“I realized that when you started rambling endlessly about taking back the best birthday present I’ve ever received,” he smiled, and kissed my forehead.

“Even better than your own apartment?” I asked.

“A thousand times better,” he said, and kissed my nose, “Because it was from you.”

“Really?” I asked.

“For the millionth time, YES. Why is that so hard to believe?” Kevin asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

I took a deep breath. “Because with you, it’s never that easy. Because with you, it’s never straightforward or obvious. I hate you and I love you all at the same time. You drive me insane and make me smile. You make cry and then turn around and make me laugh. Sometimes I wish I could read your mind, because I never know just what you’re thinking. You’ve hurt me more than anyone else ever has, and still you make me happier than anyone else ever has. I’ve tried to figure it out, but I’ve come to the conclusion that our relationship is something that just can’t be analyzed. When I met you, I thought you were a pompous ass. Then, for some unfathomable reason, I fell for you. I didn’t even mind being your dirty little secret; I just wanted to be with you. I’ve never felt like that before. I’ve never felt so compelled to be with someone that I’d give up my dignity. With you, I did. You’re so different than all the other guys I’ve been with that sometimes I don’t know how to act around you. I don’t want to ever hurt you or let you down. It’s so hard to believe that you like the dog tag because it’s from me. I’m nothing special; I’m just me. Ordinary Emma. You’re Kevin Jonas, you could have any girl you want, and you want me. It’s stupid, but I’m still having a hard time believing that.”

“Sometimes, Emma,” Kevin whispered as he tucked a stray strand of pink hair behind my ear, “opposites attract. There’s no rhyme or reason. Two people just fall in love.” He kissed my lips softly, looked up at me, and his hazel eyes were shining, “Irrevocably and unconditionally, they fall in love.”

The End