Author's Note: A lot of songs say Joe and Stella to me, you know what I mean? But some songs scream Joe and Stella – "Say Goodbye" by Dave Matthews Band, is one of those songs.
It's not the only thing that inspired me to go full on into the JONAS fandom, though.
The trailer for Katie Holmes and Josh Duhamel movie, The Romantics, also inspired me and so did the epically awesome Nacy fic – With a Little Help From Their Friends by KriSTiNEDAHLiNG, which you can find via The Pure Horace Mantis fic community that houses everything JONAS related.
This is AU and takes place in the future when the gang – Stella, Macy, Kevin and Nick – among others are all gathered together again for a week leading up to Joe's wedding. BTW, I don't own anything except the original characters that pop up as Joe's bride, Kevin's wife and a few friends they've made a long the way.
Just For An Evening
Part One
Joe and Stella, Rated M for sex and some cursing
So here we are tonight/You and me together
"Say Goodbye" - Dave Matthews Band
Usually the radio would be playing. Or she would be on some conference call with an out of control celebrity. Maybe even a harried assistant – her own or one belonging to one of the many celebrities she called clients.
But today, the inside of the yellow Volkswagen Beetle, was silent. There was no music pouring from the speakers. There was no screeching from some anorexic actress, no freaking out from said anorexic actress' assistant. There was only silence.
Deafening silence – the kind that happened in big budget action movies to signify the hero's impending doom (that never really happened) or in a soap opera before the latest big reveal of an affair or pregnancy (that always seemed to happen) – but for Stella Malone, fashion designer extraordinaire, the deafening silence signified something more than some movie hero's impending doom or a revelation that would devastate the scheming, wayward soap opera ingenue's world.
For Stella, the deafening silence, signified the impending loss of her best friend.
Her best friend was once known for being one third of the pop phenomenon known simply as JONAS, the band he had created with his older brother and his younger brother.
He was the lead singer and designated by the army of their adoring if not somewhat frightening fans as "the heartthrob," a status he was all too happy to endure. And the heartthrob status he had attained back then only increased after he had spent a summer making the epic teen love story to end all epic teen love stories Forever April, which was only the beginning.
Despite his budding acting career, JONAS was still the main focus for him, professionally speaking. Until after his younger brother graduated from high school. Once he had graduated, the band took some much needed time off so he could focus on his first solo project while the eldest of the three brothers began making his "official" directorial debut – a musical about a struggling musician who becomes the guitarist for a glittering pop sensation on the rise.
The struggling musician role was filled – to the surprise of no one – by her best friend. In a perfect world she would have filled the role of the glittering pop sensation. But since she couldn't sing or act for that matter, she was cast in the role of costume designer, and of course she was eternally grateful. If it wasn't for the big heart of her best friend's older brother, she wouldn't be where she is now – the most sought after stylist to the stars/fashion designer on the planet.
A heavy sigh falls from her pouty lips, as she tries not to think about what happened on the set of The Music In Me.
She can feel her fingers clenching just like her jaw while her heart is trapped in a vice that's only getting tighter as she tortures herself with memories from long ago. So long ago they feel like a life time, but at the same time they're so real and vivid that the stabbing pain that's recurring in her stomach, makes them feel like they're happening right now.
She stops in the middle of the road because suddenly she feels like she can't breathe, the sound of a car horn honking followed by a familiar voice asking, "Are you lost," draw her out of her head and she turns to her left.
For the first time since she received the wedding invitation, the pout of her lips, curves into a smile.
And though she can't see herself, she knows her brown eyes are sparkling – possibly for the only time they will during the whole four days she'll be here in New Jersey. Her smile dims somewhat and she cocks her head to the side, studying the occupants in the sleek candy apple red convertible (whose color as faded somewhat with time) that held so many memories – better memories than the ones she was enduring moments before.
"Yeah," She answers after taking a deep breath. "So...Do any of you know the way back to New York?"
Bubbly laughter falls from the lips of the tiny brunette who's in the backseat of the convertible with her boyfriend. Quickly, she's scrambling over the classically beautiful red head that's in the passenger side and suddenly crawling through the open window before ending up in her lap – the black fedora on her head (that isn't even hers, but her boyfriend's) now askew.
"Oh my God! Macy!" She shrieks, punching her bestie (not best friend, bestie) in the shoulder. "Are you on crazy pills? Who climbs through a window like that?"
More bubbly laughter is the response the blonde receives before they both draw each other into a warm, but tight hug. Pulling back, the brunette adjusts her hat and smiles her familiar bright smile – the one that reaches all the way to the copper hues of her hazel eyes. "Climbing through the window was the best way I could show you how much I missed you. I mean, Stell, we haven't seen each other in forever."
Arching a perfectly manicured brow, she remarked, "Who knew forever had so many extra syllables?"
The words tumbled off her lips and she could see the change in the pretty brunette's demeanor happen immediately. Her hazel eyes dimmed, there was no more bright smile on her lips and she just seemed to deflate completely.
Obviously her mood was contagious. Not that she wanted it to be.
"You're not going to be a sour puss the whole weekend are you?" She asks, her voice suddenly small as she fumbles with the hem of her black skirt.
"Of course not. I'm getting all the sour puss-ness out of my system now. That way when we get to the house, all the negative vibes will be gone and I can be the best best friend ever. Yay."
Skepticism reigned over her pretty features, but it passed quickly. Settling into the passenger seat, she rested her head against her shoulder and murmured thoughtfully, "You might want to work on your enthusiasm. To say the least, it's a little lacking."
Her lips quirked, briefly before she started up the engine, "I'll try and remember that, Mace."
J&S~J&S~J&S~J&S~J&S~J&S~J&S~J&S~J&S
"They're here! They're here!" Joe Lucas hears the happy shriek of his fiancee and he can't help but swallow.
The sound of the swinging the heavy double doors, to her parents' lavish and sprawling colonial era home opening, is what he hears next. Then its the rushing of her footsteps, followed by the rustling of leaves that crunch underneath and a mixture of voices and sounds follow – there's his sister-in-law Kate's distinct proper British tone, Macy's signature squeal, Nick's always subdued tone, Kevin's excited chatter and of course the melodic tone that belongs to his best friend.
None of the sounds – not even her voice – compel him to move from his precarious perch by the window. He had been looking out the window along with his fiancee, anxiously waiting the arrival of the four most important people (not including his parents and youngest brother Frankie, of course) in his life. But instead of rushing to greet them like she had, he stayed behind.
He wasn't sure if he would get the chance to just stare at his best friend (the most important of the four) during all the craziness the next four days would bring, and he just had to seize this moment (since he had let all the others pass him by).
The crisp, fall air had given her high cheekbones a warm peach glow and the slowly setting sun had created a halo around the golden blonde of her hair, that she was wearing long again. Her (obviously) meticulously selected outfit of a billowy violet top, cuffed dark denim pedal pushers and black pumps highlighted the things he wasn't supposed to notice about her – like the length of her legs, the subtle curves of her thin frame – but like always, he noticed them, anyway.
Sighing, he turned away from the window just as her brown eyes caught his gaze. His legs felt like jelly and his feet felt like they were stuck in cement as he made his way outside where they were all still gathered around Molly, his fiancee whose own blonde hair (hers was of the soft wheat color, though) was glowing from the slowly setting sun as well.
Stepping behind her, he willed his hand to stop shaking, as he placed it against the small of her back while his eyes connected with his best friend's once again. Somehow his stomach lurched and tightened at the same time because of the lingering sadness he could see amongst the depths of her brown eyes. His throat is thick and it's hard for him to swallow and his lips slowly quirk upwards – giving her a practiced smile instead of the big, goofy grin he's been giving her since they were four.
She echoes his practiced smile with one of her own and he wonders if he'll get to see "his" smile cross the pout of her lips at any point during the four days that they'll both be here.
"Since you're the first ones here," Molly's husky tone catches his attention, making him blink for a moment as he has to jog his memory about why everyone's here. "You get first picks on the rooms and have tons of time to get settled before dinner starts."
"You actually lived here as a kid?" The awe in Macy's voice surprises no one as they make their way inside.
Despite sharing a spacious Malibu bungalow on a private beach with Nick and an equally spacious Green Point, Brooklyn loft and seeing Kevin and Kate's own New Jersey estate, the home in front of her inspires a grandeur she's never seen.
They're left alone at the bottom of the stairs while Molly takes the two couples up the winding staircase.
It's times like this he almost wishes she was like all of his other girlfriends – threatened by the presence of his best friend's existence and their relationship – but she isn't. She's calm and warm and so understanding it nearly makes him sick, but at the same time all of that only makes him more in love with her.
"Hey," He manages to get out despite the sudden thickness of his throat, brought on by the smell of her perfume – Chanel No. 9 – the same one she's worn since he bought her a bottle on her thirteenth birthday.
"Hey." She says back, her voice wavering ever so slightly.
For what feels like hours, they just stare at each other – brown eyes flanked by perfectly curled, delicate lashes locked on dark chocolate eyes flanked by absurdly long eyelashes – and don't move. The silence of reality, the harshness of too many words unsaid, too many opportunities not taken swirls around them and it's painfully awkward – something they've never been – and they don't know what to do.
"Congratulations." Slips past the raspberry of her pouty lips.
"Thanks." Tumbles off the pink of his.
And then it's more prolonged silence.
"So..." Comes off both of their lips at the same time and bouts of laughter follow, but they die quickly.
"You should probably get up to your room. Dinner's going to be ready soon. And we both know you take forever to get ready." His voice sounds somewhat normal as he teases her.
"Right," She nods elongating the word. "Because it doesn't take you like five years just to get your hair perfect. I should go make sure there aren't any mirrors in the hallway. We wouldn't want you to get distracted by your reflection as you come down the stairs for your big rehearsal dinner."
The teasing inspires honest laughter between them and the smiles gracing their lips after the laughter organically fades away, aren't practiced, but genuine. There's nothing awkward in the air and they don't feel like they're treading on foreign ground, they're basking in the familiar and relief floods both of them.
But it's all over before it starts.
Molly is back by his side, her tiny frame pressed against his and she's smiling warmly at his best friend saying without the hint of saccharine sweetness, "I'm glad you're here, Stella."
There's a forcedness to the smile that crosses the raspberry of her pouty lips and a strain in her voice (things only he notices), "There's no where else I'd rather be. My best friend's getting married, after all."
End Note: I'm warning you now this fic is incredibly bittersweet and borderline angsty. If you've ever heard "Say Goodbye" you know what I mean. I'm anxious to know what everyone thinks of this so I'll be thankful for each one that I receive and if you have any criticisms do not be afraid to lay them on me. I only ask that you make them constructive.
BTW if you didn't know or I didn't make it clear, Molly, Joe's fiancee was his co-star in Kevin's directorial debut The Music In Me. When Stella's reflecting in her car and doesn't want to think about what happened on the set where she was head costume designer, she's talking about Joe falling for Molly.
Molly is played by Dianna Agron who is best known for her role as Quinn Fabray on the Fox hit Glee. The other original characters I mentioned in the author's note will be popping up in the next chapter.