So I know this isn't exactly an update, but this idea was brewing in my head for a while. So I listened to the UK bonus track, "Out of This World" on repeat for a while, and this song fic has been percolating and I just had to write it. I promise I'll update "Nowhere to Hide" and "The Drama Summer" soon! Ish… This is a Joe/Lola fic. So Lilly and Miley are only in this as their alter egos. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
I don't own the Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, "Out of This World."
--
Thank You, Gravity
To borrow a line from one of his songs, she was the kind of girl that you saw in the movies, and Joe Jonas just couldn't look away. They might not have been down by the shore, but it was the first weekend of the summer, and he really did want to ask for her number.
The girl was nothing short of fascinating, not at all like the regular celebrity wannabes in their skimpy clothes and their pretentious demeanors. He watched her dance, completely uninhibited, with her bright green hair, impossibly bright clothing and high shoes. He wasn't quite sure how she could stand to move in them. But what really caught her attention were her eyes. There was such joy in them.
She was so different from all of the other guests at these celebrity parties, who were either artfully bored or wildly drunk. As Joe was looking to have fun tonight, and he was too young and disinclined to drink, this girl seemed like his best bet. That, and she was pretty. Her eyes were really what drew him to her.
Nick came by with a two bottles of water. He handed one to Joe and noticed him staring. "So you saw her then?" he asked, gesturing to the green-haired girl.
Joe nodded with a grin as she watched her twirl around in a circle, her bright, full skirt swirling flirtatiously around her legs. Her arms were in the air and she was obviously singing along to the music. "She's amazing," Joe said, a smile engulfing his face. "I definitely need to ask for her number."
"Nuh-uh," Nick said, then took a swig of his water. "I saw her first."
Joe shook his head and chuckled. "I don't think so, little bro. I noticed her the moment we walked in."
"Ha! Liar," his brother scoffed. Joe didn't like that. The girl intrigued him to no end, and there was no way he was going to let his little brother make a move on her. Nick started to walk over to the girl when Joe stopped him.
"She's not even your type!" he protested.
Nick's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me? Not my type? I've been interested in her for months!"
That certainly mad Joe pause. "What? Wait, who are you talking about?"
"Hannah. Who are you talking about?" Nick demanded. It was then that Joe noticed who his girl was dancing with. It was Hannah Montana and her little entourage. Well, that explained things, although he was wondering what she was doing in New York.
"I was talking about the green-haired girl," Joe answered. Nick looked from the girl to his brother, to the girl again.
"Yeah, you would be. Are you going to go talk to her?"
Joe shrugged. "Maybe." He watched as she twirled again. Yeah, he definitely would. He and Nick continued to discuss the two girls, when they saw Hannah and the girl to make their way, arm in arm, to the expansive cobblestone balcony overlooking the gardens. The two brothers followed them outside. They were in luck when they saw that the huge balcony was basically deserted except for the four of them and a few others scattered here and there.
"Oh, fresh air!" the girl exclaimed, raising her arms to the sky. The girls were walking along the edge of the balcony, near the balustrade just chatting. Joe and Nick followed a little bit behind.
"You mean fresh smog," Hannah teased.
The girl waved that off dismissively. "Please, smoggy air is better than party air. And at least it's cooler out here."
"There is that," the pop star relented. "For real, how can anyone stand all those different perfumes and colognes mixing together is beyond me."
The green haired girl agreed. "Ugh, not to mention body odor!"
"EWW!" both girls said in unison.
"It smells worse than Oliver's gym socks in there!" Hannah commented, shaking her head.
"Oh, now that's not very nice! True, but not nice."
Hannah laughed and brushed it off. "Please." Her phone buzzed with a new text message and as she read it, she sighed. "I'd better get back in. Apparently, Jake's looking for me. He wants me and Mikayla to play nice. Are you coming with?"
The green haired girl shook her head. "I think I'll stay out here a little while."
"Alright, well I'll come find you later," Hannah said, and disappeared back into the party. Nick inclined his head towards the direction Hannah had gone in and Joe nodded, saluting his brother as a way to wish him good luck. He turned back to the green-haired girl.
She sighed and looked over the shadowy gardens, which were dark because the clouds obscured the light of the moon. Joe tried to figure out a way to approach her.
"Hey," he whispered to himself, trying out a line. He paced a little bit back and forth. "You from around here?" Ugh, that sounds lame, he thought.
"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" he muttered under his breath. No, that sounds worse…
"Do you come here often?" Eww, no! She seemed like a fun girl, not one interested in creepy guys.
Joe sighed in frustration and looked up to see her turning away from the balustrade and walking away.
"AHHH!" she screamed suddenly.
Joe watched in shock as one of the girl's heels got caught in one of the cracks of the cobblestones and she began toppling over. It was like slow motion. Her arms flailed in the air and she tried desperately to keep her balance, but to no avail. She fell backwards and Joe ran forward, diving forward and catching her just before she hit the ground, but not before she hit her head on the railing of the balcony.
The girl was awake, so that was a good sign. He helped her sit up and kept an arm around her to keep her propped up. She didn't look any worse for the wear, just a bit dazed.
"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.
She looked at him, her eyes a little glazed over. "Meh?"
Joe smiled. "I'll take that as a yes." She tried to get up, but Joe wouldn't let her. "That's probably not a good idea right now. Especially with those shoes. Where are you off to?'
The girl looked up, eyes still hazy. "Mars," she answered. It sounded like she didn't quite know what she was saying.
Joe chuckled. "All right, my little alien. What happened?"
"Ran into a star," she muttered, her mind still muddled. She tried to shake it off, but obviously it didn't work, as she winced and gingerly touched the spot where her head had hit the railing. She glanced at him. "My head's all mushy. Can't think, and you look just like Joe Jonas…"
He grinned at her. "Um, that last one's not because you're head's mushy."
"Huh?" She turned to look at him fully and her eyes widened.
He extended a hand to her. "Hi. I'm Joe. Nice to meet—"
"Eeeep!" she squealed as her eyes widened to the size of saucers and she tried to scramble to her feet, but Joe wouldn't let her.
"Whoa, calm down, calm down," he said trying to soothe her.
She groaned and lay back down. Joe leaned over her, checking to see if she was okay. "Did I really just tell you that I was from Mars?"
"And that you ran into a star," he added helpfully. The girl groaned again and rolled over onto her side. "But at least we know your head's clear and that you remember all of that. Um…what are you doing?"
She was lying on her side, curled up into a ball and concentrating really hard. Without looking at him, she answered. "I'm trying to get the ground to swallow me whole."
Joe couldn't help it. He started cracking up. She just looked so ridiculous, but it was so darned cute. She was far more amazing than he could have expected. "Is that something you learned on your home planet?"
She rolled over to face him and glared. "That's not funny."
"Oh, come on. It's hilarious," Joe cajoled.
"Maybe it will be in twenty years," she muttered as she sat up. He helped her to her feet. "I'd better go." She started walking away, and Joe couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. She was just so interesting…definitely unlike anybody he'd ever met before. Even her name…wait, he didn't know her name.
"Hey wait," he called out. "I didn't catch your name."
But it was too late. She was already gone.
--
For the next week, Joe scoured multiple celebrity parties, looking for his space girl, but he had no luck. He asked Nick to ask Hannah, but he sheepishly admitted that he forgot to get her number, so he was looking, too.
"How could you forget to ask for her number?" Joe demanded. "You've been obsessed with her for months!"
"Hey, I'm not the idiot who doesn't even know the girl's name!" Nick retorted. "Now help me look."
Joe sighed, then saw a flash of green. "I'll be right back," he told his brother. He fought his way through the crowd and spotted her going out onto the terrace and he followed her out there. There were people scattered here and there, but he focused on the girl.
He caught up to her and grabbed her shoulder. "Hey," he said, but as she turned around he blushed. "Uh, sorry…I thought you were someone else."
"Apparently," a deep voice said. It was definitely not his girl. It was actually not a girl at all. Joe backed away slowly, unsure of what to say in the small man in the green wig who was glaring at him militantly.
"I—uh—I guess I'll go," Joe stammered as he continued to back away but he couldn't look away.
"What?" the man said, glaring. "You never seen a man in a wig before?"
"No--I mean, yes—I mean…I'm going now." Joe turned and was walking away when he saw a familiar face, giggling behind her hand. It was the girl, except this time her hair was pink.
"I see you're not waiting for us to fall into your arms anymore," she teased, her eyes dancing mischievously.
"Well, you know, my dad always says I should be proactive," Joe told her lightly. "And since you weren't coming to me…"
"You tracked down someone from my home planet?" she finished jokingly.
Joe stared at her blankly, then cracked up. "Something like that. I was afraid you'd be too embarrassed about…last time to talk to me again."
"Oh, I was. I still am, come to think of it. It's not everyday you meet Joe Jonas by falling on your butt. I wanted to crawl under a rock and avoid you like the plague."
"But here you are."
She smiled. "Here I am. I don't know. I saw you following Mr. Green over there, and I realized you were looking for me. I thought it was nice."
"Well, do you have time dance? Or talk? You know, before your spaceship beams you up."
"Ahh, so we're continuing with this alien motif…" the girl said laughingly.
"Hey, you are the one who started it."
She looked affronted. "I had just hit my head! I could have had a concussion. I think it would be fair to say that anything I said during that time should be disregarded." By unspoken agreement, the two of them began walking along the edge of the terrace.
Joe shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. It must be the hair. Seriously. What kind of earthling has green hair? That changes color?"
"Apparently that guy," the girl replied blithely, pointing to the green-wigged man who was staring at the two of them balefully. Joe shuddered and the two hurried past him. "So I suppose you want to know which galaxy I live in," she said sarcastically, looking up at him grin.
"Well, you know, I'd settle for knowing your name," he responded with a grin, reaching out a hand to steady her as her heel caught and she wobbled on the terrace. She smiled up at him gratefully as he extended his arm for her to hold on to, and she took it.
"Oh! I'm Lola. I'm a friend of Hannah's and, evidently, an alien," she joked.
"Ahh, so the truth comes out!" Joe exclaimed triumphantly. Lola merely rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. "So I bet the Star Wars movies are your favorites."
"Pssh," she waved dismissively. "Nothing I haven't seen before. In fact, you know Princess Leia? She's my cousin."
Joe laughed. "That explains a lot…the crazy hair must run in the family."
"Of course," Lola informed him haughtily. "We are royalty, after all."
"Then I am at your service, milady," Joe said with an exaggerated bow. Lola giggled.
"Well, then, you can start by finding us a place to sit, because these shoes are killing me!" Lola exclaimed as she stumbled again.
"Is wearing ridiculously painful shoes an alien thing?" Joe asked.
"It's a female thing," she muttered. "I know I shouldn't do it, but the things girls do for beauty…"
"You don't need any help in that department," Joe told her sincerely, and Lola blushed prettily. "Here we go." He led her to the large fountain in the middle of the terrace and they both sat down on the edge. Lola took off her shoes and placed them beside her.
The two of them sat down and talked for a long while, continuing the space theme for a bit, then talking about what they were doing in New York. The Jonas Brothers were spending the summer here, just chilling out and relaxing. New York City was a place they loved, and they wanted to be able to see the Yankees play at home, something they hadn't been able to do in a long time, and that they had wanted to do in Yankee Stadium's last year. And Joe was excited to learn that Lola was there tagging along with Hannah, who was working on recording a new CD with some New York based producers, so the girls were spending the summer there.
"It's been fun so much fun so far," she gushed. "We haven't been here long, and there's so much to see! I just hope that Hannah won't be too busy to hang out. She's got all these photoshoots and interviews and recording sessions to go to, and it's just insane!"
"Does it get lonely?" Joe asked. "Being Hannah Montana's friend?"
Lola smiled softly. "A little. She's always busy and I'm always in the background. But I get to go all over the place with my best friend in the entire world! You can't ask for more than that."
"No, you can't," Joe said with a grin. "So if you're spending the summer here, and I'm spending the summer here, maybe we can spend the summer here…together. You know, when Hannah's busy and stuff."
Joe looked at her nervously, waiting for a response, and smiled in relief when she shyly nodded. "I'd like that."
"Great. That's great!" Joe exclaimed. He could feel the stupid grin plastered on his face, but right now he didn't care. "Actually, the Yankees are playing tomorrow night, and we've got tickets. It'd be awesome if you and Hannah could come with us."
"That would be awesome." Then she hesitated. "Although, in the interest of full disclosure I should probably tell you that I hate the Yankees. I'm a Red Sox fan."
Joe laughed. "I don't know if I can get past that…but for you, I'll try."
"I appreciate it," Lola joked. The strains of Simple Plan's "My Alien" interrupted their conversation. Joe couldn't help but laugh when he realized it was Lola's phone. She glared at him and looked at her phone. It was Hannah, telling Lola that it was time to go. "Looks like my home planet's calling. I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Joe helped her stand and slip her shoes back on. "Yes. Could I get your number? I'll call you with the details."
They hurriedly exchanged numbers and Joe helped Lola hurry back to the party.
As soon as she left, Nick approached his brother. "So did you find your space girl?"
Joe nodded, pretty sure that the stupid grin was still on his face. "She's out of this world."
--
The next day, they went to that Yankees game (which the Yankees lost, much to Lola's delight and Joe's consternation).
"I'm telling you, that call was completely bogus!" Joe exclaimed animatedly to Lola as they sat in a Baskin Robbins after the game.
"You're just being a sore loser. He was safe by a mile and you know it!" Lola retorted.
"And you just can't accept that your team cheated to win, so there!" Joe stuck his tongue out at her.
"Guys, guys!" Hannah interrupted with a laugh. "You guys are being ridiculous. It was just a—" Nick slapped his hand over her mouth.
"Don't say it was just a game," he said warningly as he removed his hand.
Hannah glared at him. "Fine. Just…apologize to each other and make up."
Lola snorted and turned her back on Joe. "I'm not talking to him."
"Well, I'm not talking to her," he snapped, doing the same. After a few moments of silence, Joe asked, "So Madame Tussauds tomorrow afternoon?"
Lola turned to face him and grinned. "You're on."
Hannah sighed and shook her head. "You're both crazy. You argue throughout the entire game, I think you're going to kill each other and then you make plans for tomorrow?"
Joe and Lola exchanged glances, then looked at Hannah. "Yeah." "Pretty much."
The two of them did indeed go to Madame Tussauds the next day, sans Hannah (who was recording) and Nick (who was just creeped out by wax figures). They spent half the day just taking pictures with random wax figures (Joe wanted to pose next Michael Jordan, Lola wanted a picture with the Spice Girls). The museum was fun, but Joe's favorite part was the Chamber of Horrors, where Lola clutched his arm so tightly, he all but lost circulation. He, of course, teased her about it later, but he secretly loved the feel of her hands on his arm.
Afterwards, they took a cab to Central Park and just walked around, enjoying the day. That was pretty much the pattern for the next month and a half. Joe and Lola spent a lot of their time together, either with Hannah and Nick, or Kevin and Frankie. Joe really loved spending time with her. She was definitely unlike anybody he'd ever met before. She spoke honestly, which was sometimes good and sometimes bad (like when she spat out the escargot at the fancy French restaurant they had gone to and announced really loudly that it tasted like a salty loogie, which got them kicked out of the restaurant), but always refreshing. Whenever she said anything, he knew that it was what she was really thinking. She was really random at times, too, which he loved and she was so much fun. There was just something about her that made him ridiculously happy when they were together.
They went to baseball games, Broadway shows, visited all the famous New York landmarks…but most of their time was spent just walking around, window shopping and talking. Every once in a while, the brothers had to do a show or make an appearance in or around the city, and Lola and Hannah were almost always there.
It wasn't long before their affinity for each other's company attracted the attention of the press. Soon, there were photos of the two of them in all of the major tabloids, and their new favorite past time became reading tabloids, seeing what they had to say about the two of them.
"Okay, apparently this whole alien thing isn't exclusive to you," Lola commented, sitting in the Jonas penthouse, reading one of the articles about them. "I didn't even know tabloids wrote about extraterrestrials."
Joe peeked over her shoulder and laughed. "Well, you are reading the National Enquirer. And I'm telling you, it's the hair!"
Lola rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever. Listen to this. 'Not much is known about Joe Jonas's current main squeeze, Lola Luftnagle, or her pop star best friend Hannah Montana. Extensive research has been done on both girls and nothing can be found about where they came from. Says one source close to the girls, 'You can't find anything on them because they're from the galaxy of Kieuid and are visiting earth for a little while to test out their mind control tricks.' Neither Ms. Luftnagle or Ms. Montana could be reached for comment, although another source claims that Ms. Luftnagle's favorite planet is Jupiter.' This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
Joe smirked. "More ridiculous than the one claiming you were Haley Joel Osment's long lost sister?"
"Yes! More ridiculous than that one! And this part about me being your 'current main squeeze'?"
Joe smiled shyly at her. "I don't know…I kind of like that part." Their eyes met, and there was this moment of…something between them. Joe didn't quite know what to call it; he did know that he couldn't suppress the urge to lean in and press his lips to—
"Hey guys!" Nick said as he barged into the living room, Hannah in tow. Joe and Lola jumped back from each other. Nick looked back and forth between the two of them. "Did we interrupt something?"
"No, not at all Nicholas," Joe said through gritted teeth.
"Oh. Good." Nick obliviously plopped down on the sofa between them. He looked at the coffee table laden with magazines. "More tabloids? What are they saying this time?" He picked up a magazine and Joe sighed. It looked like the kiss was going to have to wait. But that was okay. They had all summer.
--
Over the next month, Joe tried his best to muster up the courage to kiss her, but he kept chickening out. Now, it was a week before Lola and Hannah were leaving and Joe figured it was now or never.
"Joe, where are we going?" Lola asked laughingly, lifting her hands to remove the blindfold Joe had placed over her eyes.
"Nope. You'll see when we get there," Joe promised. He led her into a large, air-conditioned building and then into an elevator.
"Can I take off the blindfold now?" Lola demanded. "My hair is getting itchy."
"Deal with it. We're almost there," Joe told her. She pouted, but let him lead her to where he was taking her. After a few more minutes, Joe finally removed the blindfold and Lola gasped. They were standing in the middle of an empty planetarium, a projection of the night sky lit up on the dome.
"This is beautiful!" Lola exclaimed excitedly.
"You like it? I rented out the place for the morning, just for us. And just watch…" Joe paused, then looked at the technician working the planetarium. "Steve, go ahead!"
Suddenly, it was like Joe and Lola were zooming through space, and soon, Jupiter filled the screen. "It's your favorite, right?" Joe said cheekily. Lola nodded and threw her arms around him.
"This is amazing!" Taking him by the hand, she dragged him to the seats in the very center of the sphere. They watched, holding hands, as they took a tour of the whole universe. Afterwards, the image of the night sky reappeared and they tried to pick out constellations as best as they could.
At one point, Lola sighed and tightened her grip on his hand. "I can't believe I have to go home soon…I wish I didn't have to."
Joe chuckled and reached over to stroke her cheek. "I wish you didn't, either." He chuckled. "I know! I'll hide your spaceship."
"I wish you could." Lola smiled sadly. Suddenly, looking in her eyes, all the courage he needed was there. He leaned over and kissed her gently, his hand still tightly in hers and he draped his arm loosely around her waist. A feeling of utter happiness and contentment settled in Joe's stomach and he held her closer to him. After a few minutes, they broke apart and she pressed her forehead to his. "What are we going to do?" she whispered.
"I don't know. But we'll work it out, I promise." Joe smiled reassuringly and kissed her again.
Fifteen minutes later, Steve had to kick them out of the theater to let the viewing public back in, but they walked out and explored the rest of the museum, still hand-in-hand, as if they were afraid to let go of each other.
"And to think," Lola said with a little giggle. "This all started with me falling on my butt."
"But I caught you," Joe pointed out.
"You did. Thank you."
"No," Joe quipped as he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "Thank gravity."
--
So I hope you liked it. It's all a little random. But yes. Anyway, I'll update my other stories soon! Oh! And the paragraph at the beginning of the story is from the Jonas Brothers' cover of the LFO song, "6 Minutes" which is one of my faves.
Anyway, I'd love it if you guys reviewed to tell me what you thought and everything. What you liked, what you didn't, constructive criticism…I'm always looking to improve my writing!
Thanks for reading!
-v