Oh, How the Tables Have Turned

The trouble with mornings is how they always make you think about everything you try your hardest to push to the back of your mind every night. As I open my eyes to the sound of my radio alarm, everything continuously floods into my immediate thoughts. I groan, reach around and raise the volume so as to drown out my thoughts. But the song didn't help any.

When you look me in the eyes,

And tell me that you love me,

Everything's All right,

IT'S ALL RIGHT!

Psh, says you Nick! I buried my head in my pillow as the song ended and the radio personality came back on.

"And that was "When you look me in the eyes

By the Jonas Brothers! They are such hotties! And if you

Want to hang with the hotties, just join me at the Malibu beach

Saturday night where they will be jammin' with Hannah Montana!"

Those were three hotties that I definitely did not want to be thinking about. I slapped my hand on the snooze button and climbed out of bed into my fuzzy duck slippers. Joe gave them to me for Valentines day. After a moment or two, I kicked them off my feet underneath my bed. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and tried to think about the day ahead, but that didn't help either.

I got to school and pasted a smile on my face.

"Hey Miles," I greeted Miley at our joint locker. That we shared. Hence the word "joint".

"Hey Lilly! Did Joe invite you to the beach concert? Hannah's gonna be there!"

Typical Miley to barely greet me and go straight into the conversation.

"Hannah who? Oh…Montana."

"No, Hannah Alambama! Of course Montana!" She shoved my shoulder playfully as we both fumbled for our math books. "So are you coming?"

"I don't know, Joe hasn't mentioned it." I looked at me shoes and mumbled, " None of them have mentioned it to me…."

"What?"

"Oh nothing….nothing. Its just….Miley can I talk to you?"

"We are talking."

"You know what I mean!"

She laughed. I didn't think it was funny.

"Yeah sure…what abo-" she was cut off as her cell phone rang. "Oh my gosh, Nick just texted me! He is so sweet! Look:" She showed me her phone as I read the message Nick wrote her.

"Miley, your hair is so brown and your skin so shiny and smooth. I can't wait to jam with Hannah on Saturday! I hope you can make it…..:)"

"Awwwwww," She pressed her hand against her chest and leaned against her locker. I rolled my eyes and walked away. Miley needs to learn to be independent before she can be with someone else. But she will never listen to me. That reminds me of someone else who just won't listen.

I got through the rest of the day by sort of just sinking away into my thoughts. Usually, they would've been about Joe and how much I was looking forward to seeing him etc. etc. I was thinking about the Jonas Brothers…just not that one/third Jonas in particular….

Friday night Miley and I were hanging around at Rico's after going to the mall for outfits for tomorrow night. I hadn't been able to actually talk to her all week because every time I tried, Nick would call her or Joe would text me about something stupid. Like how my hair shone like his new tambourine or something like that. As I took another sip of my mango smoothie, I decided to try again to confide in my best friend.

"Miley?"

"Um..hmmm?" she grunted.

"If you weren't dating Nick, which other Jonas Brother would you chose?"

She looked at me strangely, as if I asked her why the sky was blue.

"Um…that's really weird Lilly. I don't think I would go with either of them if I couldn't have Nick." She laughed. " I mean, come on! Would you date Kevin if you didn't have Joe? I mean, come on! He's Kevin!" She laughed and took another sip of her papaya-peach smoothie.

I didn't say anything for a while. Miley noticed and out of the corner of her eye I saw her mouth slowly drop.

"Lilly….no…….."

I raised me eyes to meet hers.

"Maybe?"

"When did this happen?" At least I had her full attention now.

"Well, um, a couple weeks ago. When we all went to the beach." I paused. She didn't say anything, silently urging me to tell her everything.

"So, a couple of weeks ago, remember? You had a concert up in San Diego, and my mom said it was to far for me to come along. So I just decided to go down to the beach. When I got there, I saw Kevin. He was just sitting on the beach…by himself. I don't know, he seemed really different than his usual self. So I went and sat next to him. We got to talking, about everything. Random things, you know, stuff people never usually think about. After a while, we just sat in silence. Then he started talking. I just sat and listened to him. When he finished, I just started talking and I got so much off my chest. Kevin listened the entire time. Joe and I never talk like that. Well I mean , we talk, but he never seems to listen, not completely. I felt totally at ease with Kevin. We stayed until it got dark, and just before I got up to leave, I saw the outline of his body lean over and place a gentle kiss on my lips. It only lasted a second or two, but it was probably the most meaningful kiss I have ever shared with a guy, much less a Jonas."

"Lilly oh my gosh!" Miley grabbed both my hands in hers and squealed. "Oh my jonas!"

"Miley?"

"Uh huh?"

"No."

"Right."

"So….what do I do?" At this point, I was desperate for any advice Miley was going to fish out.

"Um…how should I know? I've found the Jonas of my dreams, " she leaned back and sighed, little animated hearts coming into her eyes. I rolled mine and got off the stool I was sitting on.

"Ok, well, I'm gonna go home and get ready for tomorrow." Confiding in my best friend actually didn't help me as much as people say it does.

"Lil' wait, do you really care about Kevin the way you say you do?"

Wow, that was slightly profound. I had to take a second to pause and think about the question.

"Yeah…I think I do." I looked at her. " I know I do."

She smiled. "Then we both know what you have to do."

"That's easier said than done. Miley, I still love Joe, but you know, like a brother or a best friend! I'm afraid of hurting him. And this scar won't go away like the one in his hand did."

We giggled at the memory. Joe at the American Music Awards…he was just a little to excited backstage and just toppled right on over as he was walking­­--or rather falling—on broken glass.

Miley cleared her throat, becoming serious again. "Lilly, you know if you don't end it you'll be hurting all three of you. You, Joe, and Kevin."

I knew she was right, but she still hadn't explained to me how I was supposed to go about this endevour. I needed time to myself, to think through my actions long and hard. If I messed this up, I would be losing a lot more than just a boyfriend.