"Hi, I'm Serena." She introduced herself as she showed me to my locker.
"Nate." I shook her hand and entered my combination. "You don't have to help me you know."
"I know, but I thought you might like to start making friends and that you might need someone to have lunch with. So, wanna hang?" Was she being serious? A pretty girl like her wanted to hang with me…
"Yeah sure, I've got nothing better to do. Where do you hang?"
"Just follow me." She led the way and we walked toward the oval. Sitting in a huge circle right in the middle were Serena's friends. Cheerleaders and jocks, as far as the eye could see.
"Um, I'm not so sure I should be hanging out with your friends. They seem pretty popular."
"You're right about that, and we don't choose just anyone to sit with us. Especially not newbies. You're an exception."
"Why am I an exception? What's so special about me?"
"I've seen you on the cover of magazines before. You're going out with Noah Cyrus. Your brothers were in one of the biggest bands known. I also know you're an astonishing footballer. You were destined to be part of our group." Is she for real? Choosing me for their group because of my connections. What is wrong with her?
"Why would I want to be part of a group so obnoxious and self-centered? So what if all those things are true. Why does that make me better than anyone else?" I left without another word and found a quiet place to sit and eat by myself. When I thought I would end up being the biggest loser in the school a couple of people came over to me and introduced themselves.
"Hi, I'm Finn and this is Amber." Finn was tall and looked pretty buff, with a hint of an accent. Amber was average height, with gorgeous green eyes and long, dark blonde hair.
"Are you new here?" I wasn't sure if she had an accent or not, it was a bit hard to tell.
"Yeah, it's my first day. I'm Nate, nice to meet you. Please, sit down."
"Thanks. So do you like it here? Amber and I saw you with the populars before, what happened there?" His accent was definitely Australian, no doubt about it.
"It's alright. Some Serena chick invited me to sit with them coz of my connections so I said no and that's how I ended up here. And, are you Australian?"
"Coz of your connections?" Amber questioned.
"Yeah man, I am Australian. How'd you know? I thought my accent was fading." Finn had saved me from explaining about my "celebrity status".
"Well one of my brothers is married to an Australian girl, and another is dating one. I've become pretty good at picking out Australian accents over the last eight years."
"Hang on, I've seen you somewhere before. Have we met somewhere else?" Amber was starting to get suspicious.
"No we haven't met. I'm Nate Grey. You may know me as the guy dating Noah Cyrus. Or the little brother of that band that used to be famous for ages, Connect 3. Or you might even know my band, but I doubt that."
"Oh I know you now! You're the drummer of Drop Slap! I love you guys! You looked a little different without the drum kit in front of you."
"Finally someone who knows me for me, not coz of someone else. I have one question though. What made you guys talk to me in the first place?"
"We've both been newbies here, we know what it's like. Plus, you seemed kinda cool in History today. I was going to talk to you but you left so fast."
"You were going to talk to me? Why? I'm a loser."
"I don't think you are. You're the drummer of one of my favourite bands! How can you be a loser?"
"Trust me, you'll understand when you get to know me." Just as I was starting to have fun the bell went and I had to go to math. "I'll see you guys later. Bye!"
****
"MUM! I'm home!" I shouted as I entered the house.
"Hey Nate! How was school?" I looked into the kitchen to see where the guys voice had come from. Joe was sitting at the bench eating a chicken/mayo sandwich.
"Joe? Why are you here?" I took a seat next to him and stole half his sandwich.
"Oy! That's mine. Get your own. You're such a nice brother…so anyways, how was school?"
"Some popular girl tried to get me to join their group coz of my links. I said no and sat on my own for a while until Finn and Amber came to talk to me."
"You said no to popular people? Finn? Amber? Explain."
"I'll explain when you tell me why you're at home. You haven't been here in ages." Joe took another bite of his sandwich, before placing it on the plate.
"Answer my questions or suffer the wrath of DJ DANGAAAAAAAA!" He started tickling me and wouldn't stop. I couldn't help but laugh while I screamed out for help. "Say mercy and I'll stop."
"MERCY! MERCY! Please!" He stopped tickling and let me catch my breath.
"Now answer my questions."
"Ok. I said no to the populars because I didn't want to be known as 'the guy with connections'. I can't think of anything worse. Finn is this Australian guy and Amber is this girl. They came to talk to me when I was on my own. Amber is a fan of Drop Slap." I had a proud smile on my face, knowing that someone out there really did like my band.
"Wow dude, maybe you can live up to your promise." I had promised like nine years ago that my band would be bigger than Connect 3. I remember it well coz Joe had just asked me if I wanted to join him, Shane and Jason in C3 and I said no coz my band was going to be better than theirs.
"I will, don't you worry. There's no way I won't beat you guys. Now why are you here?"
"I'll tell you when Dad gets home. Go do your homework and the time will just fly by." He picked me up from the stool and tried to carry me upstairs but I managed to wriggle out of his arms and tackle him to the ground. We started a war and it was a battle to the death. Or at least minor injury. It lasted for over an hour, and only stopped when we heard Dad's car pull up. I let Joe out of the headlock I had finally managed to get him in and we sat on the couch and pretended we had been playing guitar hero the whole time. Dad knew even though Joe was 27 he couldn't refuse a game of guitar hero, and it was even harder for him to say no if it was against someone he knew had skill.
"Joseph, what are you doing here? When I heard guitar hero I thought Nate might have had a friend over."
"Nate? Friends? That's a good one!" Joe started laughing and fell off the couch. Dad gave him a weird look before heading to his study to put his briefcase down. When he came back to the lounge Joe called out for Mum and she joined us.
"Ok, so you all know I'm here for a reason and I hope you're ready for some amazing news." He went on and on about how great the news was for five minutes and only stopped when Mum told him to get on with it. "Alright. As you know, Jess and I have been dating for eight years. And last night…"
"Just get on with Joe!"
"…I proposed."
"Hang on. What? You? Joe Jonas, my brother, the loser, the freak, the joker, the-"
"Nate, I get it. You're surprised. I'm sure you all are, but it's true."
"Was she stupid enough to say yes?"
"NATHANIEL!" Mum and Dad yelled at the same time.
"Sorry. But seriously, was she?"
"Nate! I'm not that bad…She did say yes! Which means, I'M GETTING MARRIED!"
"JOSEPH! This is incredible!" Mum was bawling her eyes out and Dad had a huge smile across his face. "My baby is getting married!"
"Mum, Jason's already married, I'm sure this isn't that big a deal."
"But it is. That means I only have two babies left!" Mum grabbed me in her arms and gave me a huge sloppy kiss on the cheek.
"Muuuuuuuuum!" I complained, only to see Dad glaring at me. "Shouldn't you be happy? Joe is getting married, which means there's going to be a wedding. You love weddings."
"Oh my goodness. Nate you're right. This is going to be so much fun. I have to get together with Jess as soon as possible! There are so many plans to be made. Have you decided on a date?"
"Not yet, but we have one in mind…"
"When, when, when? Which season is it in? Winter, autumn, summer, spring?"
"End of winter, beginning of spring. February 29th, next year."
"Why that date? Other than it being the extra day of the year, everybody does that."
"Because that is the day we went on our first date."
"Awww, you remember the exact date! That is so sweet!"
"More like that is so lame. It's been eight years and you remember that?" As if Joe had a memory that good.
"Don't you remember when you and Noah went on your first date?" Joe looked at me with a serious face and I started to get worried.
"Uhh, no. That was ages ago. I can't even remember what year I met her…" Is it really such a big deal? I hope not. "She probably doesn't either, so I don't see what the problem is. So Joe, how did you propose?"
"Well…"
Last Night
~~~~JOE'S POV~~~~
"Joe, I've lost count of the number of times you've surprised me over the last eight years. Where are we going this time?" Jess was sitting in the passenger seat of my red Ferrari Spyder (I don't care if he would have one or not, I just think they're cool lol)
and I was taking her to a special destination in the middle of nowhere. We had been in the car for an hour and a half and Jess was getting fidgety.
"You'll find out when we get there. And no hints, you'll never guess where we're going anyway."
"But Joseph! I never torture you like this!"
"That's because you aren't as creative as I am, and you know it tortures me more when I'm not being surprised. Guess what."
"What?"
"We're here!" I stopped the car and jumped out to open Jess' door and help her out. She tried to sneak her blindfold off but I held it in place. I moved her six paces onto a pre-marked cross. My eight helpers moved into their positions, a single line in front of Jess. I removed the blindfold and her jaw dropped.
"O-M-G! You got me EIGHT Elmos! That's even cooler than the last time you got Elmo to give me something!"
"An Elmo for each year we have been together. And each of them has a surprise for you. Start with this one." I motioned toward an Elmo and Jess walked over to him, or her, I'm not sure whose in the costume. Elmo number 1 pulled an envelope out from behind his back and handed it to Jess. She read it aloud.
Hello Beautiful
She looked over at me as she read the first line of our song. I nodded my head toward the next Elmo and Jess moved over. Elmo number 2 had another envelope, inside the paper read,
How's it goin'?
This time she immediately moved to the next Elmo, who also had an envelope. This one had more lyrics.
Tonight I'm gonna fly.
Elmo number 4 was already holding the envelope out for Jess. She took it and read the piece of paper inside.
Cause I could comb across the world.
Jess had already begun moving to the next Elmo as she read this one.
See everything.
She now had three Elmos left.
And never be satisfied.
Jess was down to the last two and she opened the envelope from Elmo number seven slowly. The paper read,
If I couldn't see those eyes…
One Elmo was left. She stood in front of him and looked at me. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist.
"Ready beautiful?"
"Ready." The final Elmo retrieved a box from behind his back and handed it to me. Jess spun to look me in the eyes as I got down on one knee.
"Jessica, will you marry me?" Tears welled in her eyes and she buried her face in her hands. I gave her a minute to think and patiently awaited her answer.
"Yes Joseph, I'd love to marry you!" I stood up and kissed her. When our lips met I felt a tear roll down her cheek. I hugged her and as we pulled apart I saw the Elmos had taken their heads off. All of our closest friends stood around us and eventually held us in a group hug.
Present time.
"And that's how it happened…"
"Aww Joseph, I always knew you were a romantic boy. That was very sweet of you." Mum had tears in her eyes and she was making her way over to me to engulf me in a hug.
"You had your closest friends there but not your brother? That's not fair!" Frankie started whining.
"I had Jason and Shane, they're my brothers…" I saw all hints of a smile withdraw from his face as I started laughing. "I didn't have you there because I thought you would complain about how lame it was and ruin the moment."
"Good point. Well, I guess I'm happy for ya bro."
"Thanks Nato. Now how about some tips on getting that Amber girl…?"