Disclaimer: I do not own the Jonas boys. I, like every other girl in America (and various other countries) wish I did.
Summary: Just a short one-shot about Joe and a connection he makes with a nine-year-old in the audience. I always think that Joe doesn't get a "deep" story, so here goes nothing.
Start
Joe could barely hear himself over the sound of the screaming girls in the audience. He stepped towards the edge, careful to avoid the hundreds of hands reaching out to touch him. They were about to sing Hello, Beautiful, and he had to pick a girl to sing too. It was routine at every concert they did, but tonight he felt that he was going to pick the girl that really stood out to him.
There. The small, red-haired girl in a knee-length jean skirt and a pink top. He pointed, and the girl behind her screamed excitedly. He shook his head, and jabbed his finger a bit more aggressively towards the red-head. He watched her point to herself, her eyes widening a little in shock. He watched her turn to her mother, say something, and watched her mother push her forward encouragingly.
"Hey there, cutie," he said, beckoning to her. "Don't be scared." He put on one of those charming smiles he knew he had, even though he wasn't cocky -- think about it this way, every day girls say he's the hottest man on earth. It could get convincing after a while. "What's your name?"
"Carleigh," she said, almost a whisper. He handed the extra mike to her, never breaking his smile.
"And how old are you?" he asked. He got the OK from Kevin that they were ready to play out of the corner of his eye. He got down on his knees so he could make eye contact with her, reassure her.
"Nine," she said, into the microphone. She held it away from her herself, surprised at the sound of her voice vibrating through the arena. She blushed and chewed on her bottom lip, twisting her ankles nervously.
"Nine? I was nine, once. Guess what?" Keep looking at her, Joe. He scooted a little closer to her, and she took a step back. He smiled brighter this time, and scooted closer. She took another step back. It became a game, and soon she was back towards Nick, who was standing with his guitar near stage right. She grinned shyly at both him and Nick, and then stepped away from Nick as if she was afraid that he bit.
"He doesn't bite, Carleigh," said Joe. "Guess what?"
"What?" She doesn't say this into the microphone, she just says it to him. He noticed that she had a habit of looking someone, even him, directly in the eye when she was talking or being talked too. It was a quality he hadn't seen in a long time. He also noticed that she had brilliant, emerald green eyes.
"We're going to sing to you, 'kay?" He took the microphone from her, placing it on the small table behind the curtain. He held out his hand to her, and she took it hesitantly.
Her hand was so small inside his. He took her to the front of the stage, and the first chords of the song burst through the stadium. He heard Nick sing the first lines almost subconsciously -- he was lost in thought. How could a little girl like Carleigh here, turn into those skinny, screaming, typical American teenagers? The ones who spent more time texting their friends or strangers rather than talking to their families, the ones who idolized stars who drank, did drugs, and got busted for DUI. The ones who wore skimpy clothing in order to get boys to like them, who submitted themselves to several things that were dangerous to them? Poor Carleigh -- her future was paved for her already. Abercrombie & Fitch clothes, a cell phone with unlimited texting, IM-ing strangers, skipping dinner with her family because she was "watching her weight."
He couldn't help but feel sympathetic.
The song ended. He didn't even realize he was singing. He turned to Carleigh, who was blushing furiously and smiling at the same time, and said, "Take care of yourself, cutie, okay? Be the awesome person I know you can be." He didn't say this into the mike, of course, and said it just to her, whispering it into her ear.
She nodded. He didn't know if she actually heard him or not, but as she climbed down the stairs with the help of several security guards, she turned to him and held up two thumbs, grinning.
She returned to her place in the crowd, and Joe couldn't see her face. He sighed and turned back to his brothers, saying with his eyes that he had just had one of the deepest moments of his life. They nodded, and then he turned back to the crowd, feeling good.
He already had about two million ideas for a new song.
Author's Note: So this is my intro to Jo Bro fan fiction. Please read, review. Give me a few pointers, maybe. I know Joe's a bit out-of-character, him being the crazy person that he is. But I thought that he deserved something different, and I was contemplating this.
