Disclaimer: I don't own JONAS or Popular.
A/N: I know this is really odd and everyone is a little out-of-character, but this was an exercise to see if I could write a JONAS story inspired by Wicked. If you haven't seen the musical or read the book, Wicked is a look at the friendship between Glenda and Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) from The Wizard of Oz.
Dedication: For faerietaleredux because 1) she has yet to jump on board the Joe/Stella train, 2) she writes AU like no one else, and 3) she suggested writing an OZ story when she heard I was going to Wicked. Apparently the play-inspired fics are our thing.
Macy Misa wasn't like other girls. She played more sports than should technically have been possible, but the coaches were willing to make an exception for her because it wasn't every day that an athlete like her came along. And being exceptional wasn't always the best way to make friends. Boys were often intimidated by her or thought of her as one of the guys. And girls tended to be jealous of all the time she spent around the boys, even though she wasn't dating any of them.
She wasn't popular.
In fact, she really only had one friend - Stella Malone. Stella, who was blond and perky and friends with one of the most popular bands in America. Stella had everything going for her, and people never could figure out why she chose to hang out with someone like Macy. But freshman year they had been teamed up in PE for badminton, and Macy had made sure Stella got an 'A' even though she couldn't serve to save her life. So Stella had taken the girl under her wing and they had become friends.
Most of the time, Macy was fine with her life. She liked sports. She wasn't even jealous of Stella's popularity; she was genuinely happy for her friend. She was glad that Stella was such good friends with the Lucas Brothers. She was eagerly waiting for the moment when Stella and Joe would finally stop dancing around each other and just start dating.
Even if Joe's smile made Macy's heart race faster than running a mile.
Cause she knew that Joe and Stella would be happy together. She knew that Stella was 'that girl' – the one who guys wanted to be around.
Macy wasn't that girl.
As long as she didn't spend too much time thinking about it, she was okay. But today, she had allowed herself a moment of weakness.
"Hey, Macy," Stella said, her concern evident. "What's wrong? Did you guys lose the game?"
Wiping a tear off her cheek, Macy tried to act like nothing was wrong. "No. Still undefeated."
"Then what's the matter?"
Shrugging, she replied, "It's nothing important."
"Macy Misa, you're my friend. If something is wrong with you, it is important to me. Now spill!"
"I guess I just wish that sometimes guys would notice me; that I didn't feel so invisible."
Stella's squeal of excitement made Macy jump. "Oh, I can't tell you how long I've waited to hear you say that!" The blond grinned down at her friend. "I can totally help you."
"Huh?"
"Macy, I'm a professional stylist. Once I'm done with you, boys will be lining up to ask you out."
"I don't know Stella," she replied slowly. "I want a guy who likes me for who I am."
"High school boys never like a girl for their personality, silly. At least not at first. It's all about appearances. Once you draw them in, they'll love you. But first you have to catch their attention." Stella grinned. "That's where I come in."
"I don't know, Stell…"
"I'm not taking no for an answer," her friend insisted. "In fact, we'd better head straight to my house to get started. With a little work, we can make you totally popular. Not as popular as me maybe, but definitely close."
Macy knew it would be pointless to argue at this point; when Stella made up her mind about something, she was relentless. Sighing, Macy gathered her things and headed out of the atrium to find Stella smiling up at Joe.
He glanced over at Macy, giving her one of his trademark grins that always made her feel just a tiny bit dizzy. She muttered a quiet, "Hello," and waited for Stella to finish talking to him so they could leave. As she stood there, she noticed that Joe didn't have his messenger bag with him, and they had a math assignment due the next day.
"Hey, Joe," she asked suddenly. "Did you already finish all the math?"
"What math?"
"The three pages of homework he assigned at the end of class."
Joe's eyes went wide. "I'd totally forgotten. Thanks, Mace." He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing chills to run down her spine. "You totally saved me."
"Speaking of saving," Stella interrupted, bringing the focus back on her, "we'd better go, Macy. I have my work cut out for me."
It had taken all night for Stella to create Macy's new look, and the stylist had insisted on coming over bright and early to put it into action. Macy felt absurd in the short shirt, form fitting shirt and heels, but her protests fell on deaf ears. She figured she'd just wear it for one day, sneaking a pair of tennis shoes into her backpack.
Joe was facing his two brothers, listening to Nick and Kevin argue when all of a sudden both of them stopped in mid-sentence.
"Wow!" Kevin stammered his eyes wide.
"Yeah!" Nick blinked like he was trying to be sure what he was seeing was real.
Joe rolled his eyes and turned around to see what the big deal was. He froze as he saw Macy walking down the hallway in an outfit that showed off curves he had never imagined she had. Her hair was falling in artfully messy waves around her face, and her makeup made her eyes smolder.
She looked like a brunette Stella clone.
He groaned, knowing exactly what had happened. His best friend had gone into make-over mode. He was immediately annoyed because Macy had been fine the way she was. And he didn't like the fact that the guys, including his brothers, were ogling her. She was a sweet girl who deserved to be treated with respect.
He also didn't like the look in her eyes. She looked overwhelmed by the attention and a little sad. When he saw her back into her locker as some guy from the football team tried pathetically to flirt with her while looking down her blouse, he decided to take action.
"Hey, Macy. Thanks for reminding me about the homework yesterday. I had some trouble with the last few questions. Do you have a second to look them over?"
Her eyes filled with relief. "Sure, Joe. How about we head to the library before class?"
Ignoring the glare from the jock next to him, Joe gestured for Macy to lead the way. As they entered the library, she stumbled and almost fell.
"Stupid heels," she muttered.
"Why are you wearing them if you hate them so much?"
As she plopped down into a chair, she replied, "Cause Stella said they made the outfit work."
"Why is Stella giving you fashion advice?"
"She was giving me a make-over so people would notice me."
Joe frowned, "You didn't need a make-over. You were just fine how you were."
Macy blushed. "Well, no one but you appeared to think so."
"Who cares what people think? You're a great girl who doesn't need to be flashy to be pretty."
"Thanks," she replied quietly. There was an awkward silence which she finally broke by asking, "Do you want me to look at your homework?"
"No. I just thought you needed an escape from the Neanderthal back there."
She gave him a small smile. "Thanks."
"Do you really think I don't need the new look?"
He looked her right in the eyes and said, "You don't need the heels or the makeup or the outfit. Not that you don't look nice, cause you do. But I like you better as Macy."
She bit her lip. "Maybe I'll just wear my sneakers then. There's nothing I can do about the outfit, but I packed some shoes in case my feet started to hurt."
He looked thoughtful for a moment before standing up and removing his sweater. "Here. You can wear this."
"I couldn't…" she began.
"I insist. It'll look better on you anyway."
She gave him a shy smile that made his stomach feel strange. Swallowing, he smiled back.
"We'd better get to class," he said as she pulled his sweater over her head. Picking up her backpack, she nodded and followed him out of the library and back into the hallway.
"Macy! What happened?"
Stella bounded towards them, obviously displeased that her hard work had been undone. Macy's eyes went wide with worry, but Joe slung his arm around the petite girl's shoulder reassuringly.
"Macy and I decided that she looked better this way," Joe said before heading to class with his arm still around the brunette, leaving a stunned Stella behind.
Macy couldn't help but wonder if maybe she could be 'that girl' after all.