Kickoff
By angellwings
Macy loved her job. She really loved her job. It wasn't the job she'd imagined having as a kid, but how many people actually grew up to do what they fantasized about as kids? Your dreams grow and change and evolve as you do. She was certain she'd never have been happy as a professional athlete like she'd proclaimed at show and tell once upon a time. Besides, the NFL wasn't ready for her level of skill. All the players would moan about her sex being an unfair advantage. You know, since men were babies and all. She'd known this from a very young age.
At twenty four Macy knew she was lucky. She'd already found the career she wanted to dedicate her life to. Not many people her age could say that. Most of her friends from college were stuck in crummy job and praying a door would open to get them out. But not her. She had an amazing adventurous job that thrilled and challenged her every day.
Macy was publicist to the stars and, more specifically, Jonas.
Sometime in high school she discovered she had a knack for cleaning up other people's messes. Mostly because the Lucas Brothers regularly wound up in trouble and she almost always saved the day. She'd had internships with various PR firms during college and excelled at each one. That's when she'd really discovered it was her calling. Her competitive spirit suited her well in this field and after graduation she had several offers.
But she only ever considered accepting one.
The one offer from Tom Lucas for a position on the Jonas team. Macy much preferred the idea of being dedicated to just one client. Plus, the messes she had to clean up were rarely scandalous. Mostly she straightened things the boys did without thinking.
Like Joe blatantly checking out Mikayla's ass at the Grammy pre-party, or Kevin letting a bunch of otters out of their enclosure at the Central Park Zoo, or Nick mentioning his hard core belief in Area 51 to the President of the United States. Not to mention helping their reputations recover from fame sucking starlets every now and then. Mr. Lucas even let her keep a blog about the guys and their everyday life for the fans so Macy had gained a small amount of fame herself.
And thanks to that small amount fame Macy was now going on tour with Jonas. Apparently the fans were so attached to her blog that they demanded she follow the guys on tour and keep them updated. Tom couldn't refuse the massive populations of his sons' biggest supporters so he immediately asked Macy for a favor. She agreed eagerly. She blamed the fifteen year old inside of her. Horace Mantis Macy had always wanted to tour with the guys and Macy had to let her enjoy something. She rarely let her play sports these days. Adult Macy owed her big time.
Everyone was meeting at the firehouse to load the bus and since Macy was supposed to be reporting to the fans on the guys she would be staying on the same bus as them. She would be the only girl on the bus.
With her ex-boyfriend and his brothers. Oh and their dad.
Not that things were awkward with her and Nick. They'd broken up after high school graduation and had had plenty of time to get over all of the awkward situations. They'd both moved on and as strange as it seemed…they were better friends for it. They knew each other very well. They'd both changed a bit since high school but they knew the others basic make up enough to understand and support each other. It was a very strange sort of friendship that had developed. Macy found herself deliberately not mentioning Nick as one of her exes to the guys she dated after him. She'd made that mistake a couple of times and she'd ended up dateless and alone. So she'd learned to avoid mentioning she and Nick dated. It just saved her a lot of heartbreak in the long run.
What she needed was a guy who didn't care. A guy who wouldn't be intimidated by her still being friends with her rock star ex boyfriend.
Sadly, a guy like that was hard to find.
She grunted as she lugged her suitcase out of her cargo space and dropped it onto the sidewalk. Ugh, what happened to her upper body strength? She really needed to start working out again. This was becoming sad. She was Mighty Mite Macy Misa for God's Sake. She should be able to lift her own damn suitcase.
She heard a chuckle from the sidewalk as a large callused hand gripped the handle on her suitcase and lifted it easily.
"Need some help, Mace?" Kevin asked with a smirk.
"No," Macy said stubbornly as she reached for the handle and her hand brushed against his. She recoiled immediately and blushed. "I—I got it."
Kevin quirked a brow at her and grinned. "Really, Mace? You practically threw it on the ground. Almost like you couldn't let go fast enough."
"I'm Macy Misa, Kev. The girl who holds Horace Mantis's record fastball speed, not to mention the current untouched home run record. If anyone has arm strength it's me."
"Yeah, in high school maybe. How long has it been since you played a game of softball?" Kevin asked with a teasing grin.
"Let go of my suitcase, Kevin," Macy said as she crossed her arms over her chest with a determined glare. "I can do it."
He gave her an amused look before he set down her suitcase and held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, you win. I won't be a gentleman so you can prove your point."
"Thank you," She said as she flicked her hair off her shoulder and popped her knuckles. She took a deep breath and then hefted the suitcase toward the firehouse garage and the cargo undercarriage of the bus. She used her hip to leverage it and dragged her left foot behind her as she walked. It was the only way she could keep moving. All the while Kevin followed closely behind her. The pressure on her fingers increased and she felt something in her shoulder pinch. Her pitching arm. Her very weak pitching arm that was a couple games of softball away from needing surgery. The pain increased and she suddenly yelped and dropped the suitcase abruptly. "Shit," she cursed as she shook out the pain in her arm. She bit her bottom lip to keep tears from rolling down her cheeks. She took deep breaths and blinked away the water that was pooling in her eyes. Now she remembered why she denied fifteen year old Macy her sports.
Her body was burnt out. She'd worked it too hard in high school.
Kevin was by her side in a flash with his hands on her shoulders and deeply concerned look on his face. "Macy? What happened? Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said with a sniffle. "I'm fine. Just…not the same girl I was in high school. That's all." She bit her bottom lip again as she looked up at him. "Would you mind taking it the rest of the way? My shoulder's killing me."
"Of course, Mace. No problem," Kevin said as he picked up the suitcase and walked with her to the bus. He stowed her suitcase under the bus and then motioned for her to follow him onto the bus. "Come on, let me show you your bunk," Kevin said excitedly as he attempted to cheer her up. "It's next to mine."
They walked up the steps to the bus and Macy froze with wide eyes. Where was she? This was not a bus. This was a swanky apartment on wheels. It was furnished like a house and looked so homey that she almost forgot she was standing in something with an engine. "Holy crap, Kevin. This is your bus?"
He smiled sheepishly and nodded. "It's not as fancy as some other peoples but we like it." He shrugged and ran a hand through his curls. "It's our home away from home. It needs to seem lived in above all else, I think."
She blinked at him. "Not as fancy as other peoples? Does this mean that this bus is considered old and plain?" She couldn't believe that was the case. Who on Earth would think this bus was plain? It was beautiful and warm and…inviting.
"According to Mikayla it is," Kevin said shyly.
"Yes, well, Mikayla's a bitch, Kevin," Macy told him honestly. "You should know that, especially. Considering, well…you know."
"Considering I dated her and let her use Jonas to revive her floundering career?" Kevin asked with a sad smile. "You can say it, Macy. It's okay. It happened, it hurt, and I'm over it. It's fine to talk about it if we need to."
"I just think that anything uttered by Mikayla should be ignored. Including her annoying overplayed single," Macy said with a sigh and a shake of her head.
Kevin smiled softly and nodded. "I appreciate that."
Macy's phone rang and she sighed before declining the call.
"Avoiding someone?" Kevin asked with a grin.
"Yes. Stella's been calling me every day with checklists about how to 'take care' of you three. And about how she's trusting me to burn anything your new stylist is putting on you that she wouldn't approve of. Apparently, that butterfly shirt Joe wore the other day really got to her," Macy said with a smirk. "I've told her to just call one of you to talk about your crimes against fashion but she's afraid it might be too…awkward."
Kevin nodded slowly. "And she might be right. Joe's still in a sort of bitter place about the whole thing."
"Well, he's the one who's being an unsupportive idiot so I don't see what he has to be bitter about," Macy said as she rolled her eyes. "Stella's supported him through two movies being filmed in New Zealand, numerous summer tours, and at least four world tours that she couldn't be a part of. She gets a job on one movie, filmed in Detroit, and he can't take it. She's not even in a different country and it's not as if he doesn't have the money to visit her."
"I know," Kevin said calmly as Macy ranted. "He's been told."
Macy paused and smiled softly at Kevin. "By you?"
Kevin nodded. "By me. He knows what I think of his little tantrum."
She chuckled. "I love it when you go big brother on them. It's an awesome sight to witness."
He smirked at her and nodded. "I appreciate that."
"Seriously, though, Kev," Macy said with a grin. "You're very good at correcting them when they go too far and I don't think anyone ever thanks you for it."
"I don't need to be thanked, Mace. It's what older brothers do," Kevin said with a shrug.
"No, it's not, Kevin. Not all older brothers are as caring as you are," Macy told him with a soft smile as she sat down on the couch in the front of the bus. "My oldest brother has barely ever paid attention to me. Granted, there's ten years between us, but still I know from experience that older brothers aren't required to care like you do."
"What about you?" Kevin asked. "You've been cleaning up our messes since high school and who thanks you for it?"
"That's different. Now that we're older you guys pay me to clean up your messes. That's my thanks," Macy said with a chuckle. "And with my salary that is all the thanks I need. Seriously. So, where's everybody else?"
"Still packing," Kevin said with a roll of his eyes. "Nick's matching outfits and making sure he has enough extra clothes packed in the event of a spill, God forbid. Joe started packing at 1 o'clock this morning and still can't decide which bandanas to take. And dad, well dad's too busy panicking about last minute plans to realize mom's already packed his suitcase for him."
"And Frankie?" Macy asked with a smirk.
"Pouting that he can't stay here for the summer with all of his friends," Kevin said with a sigh. "What happened to the days when he looked up to the three of us? Now we're just an inconvenience."
"I'm sure that's not true, Kev. I mean, it's gotta be hard for him trying to find his place in the world given his world famous older brothers," Macy said as she placed a hand on Kevin's arm. "It's not you that's an inconvenience. It's what other people think they know of you that's bothering him."
He smiled softly and gave her a grateful look. "How did you get so good at this?"
"What?" Macy asked.
"Fixing things?" Kevin asked with a chuckle. "You were pretty good at it in high school but now you're…well, a professional, literally."
Macy shrugged and laughed lightly. "Once sports weren't an option I had to pick up some sort of hobby, didn't I?"
"Do you miss it? Sports, I mean," he asked curiously.
"Sometimes. I'm a very active person and in high school whenever I was forced to slow down I would practice. Didn't matter which sport. Just something. And in those moments now…I can't do that. Not really. It's…just sad," Macy said with a sigh and a shrug. "The closest I've come to sports in the last few years is foosball and air hockey. Which I have mastered, by the way. You don't want to play me on either of those things. I will beast you."
"Beast me, huh?"
She nodded. "Like a rabid dog."
Kevin laughed and shook his head. "Not an image I wanted to have, Mace."
"Sorry," she said with a giggle. "It's the truth, though."
"Hey, you two," Joe said as he barged onto the bus. "What's shakin'?"
Macy felt a bit of disappointment at Joe's entrance and bit back a sigh. She'd been enjoying spending time alone with Kevin. They were so rarely left alone. Mo and Curly were always lurking somewhere, she thought as she bit back a scoff.
"Nothing, Joe. Just having a conversation. Is everyone done packing?" Kevin asked.
"Yes, finally. Mom convinced Frankie to finally stop dragging his feet and finish packing just as Nick and I finished," Joe said with a sigh. "I remember when he used to beg to go on tour with us. What happened to that kid?"
"He turned into a teenager," Nick said as he pushed Joe forward and stepped onto the bus as well. "That's what happened."
"Yeah, well, Teenage Frankie makes me miss the Frankie that used to eavesdrop and set up secret night clubs with a cover charge. That Frankie was our buddy. This Frankie just sits in his room and mopes," Joe said with a sigh.
"He'll grow out of it," Macy assured them. "He's still the same kid. He's just going through a rough patch. That's all."
"You hope that's all," Nick told her with a weary expression.
"I don't hope it, Nicholas. I know it," Macy said with a slight glare and a shake of her head. Cautious Pessimism and Unabashed Optimism would always be their downfall, whether friends or something more.
Nick smiled at her in amusement and held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I know better than to argue with you when you look at me like that. You win."
"Not because you think I'm right, though," Macy grumbled. "I don't like it when you simply concede. At least let me fight for it a little."
"I know you're competitive, Macy, but that's not enough for me to cause a fight," Nick said with another infuriating amused grin.
Kevin shook his head and smiled kindly at Macy. "You can fight with me if you want. I won't take it personally."
Macy chuckled and shook her head. "I appreciate it, Kev, but that's not necessary. Sweet of you to offer, though."
Joe smirked at Kevin and mimicked Macy teasingly. "Sweet of your offer, though, Kev." He gave them both a knowing look. "Am I going to spend the whole tour listening to you two flirt?"
Kevin glared at him and Joe shrugged.
"What? It's an actual question that I'm curious for the answer to."
Kevin glared at him again and Joe rolled his eyes and headed to the back of the bus.
"Fine, don't answer! I already know you two can't stop anyway," Joe called over his shoulder with a chuckle.
"Yeah," Nick said as he cleared his throat and looked down at the floor. "This isn't awkward at all."
Macy blushed and looked away from both Nick and Kevin. She'd better get used to this. She had a feeling this tour was going to be full of awkward moments.
They finally got on the road and made it to the next city in record time. This is where the tour would kick off and where they would be staying for the night. It appeared the crew and the band wanted to start the celebration early because as soon as they arrived and were checked in to their private floor, out came the beer and, surprisingly, the champagne. It didn't seem so classy in paper cups though, Macy decided as she accepted a cup from one of the crew that was passing by.
She probably shouldn't have another. She'd already had two, and champagne had a tendency to go straight to her head. As she finished her third cup she stumbled just a bit and immediately set the cup down on the nightstand in Joe and Nick's room. Their room appeared to be the epicenter of the party and while it was entertaining to watch everyone at their most hilariously buzzed Macy could feel herself reaching her limit. It had been a long day and, for someone with a relatively low alcohol tolerance, she'd had far too much to drink.
She moved to take a step and immediately tripped over her own feet and landed against a very solid chest.
"Whoa, careful," the voice said as a pair of strong arms steadied her against his chest.
"Sorry," Macy mumbled with a nervous gulp. "I may be just a tiny bit tipsy."
Callused hands squeezed her arms comfortingly and a deep chuckle reverberated through the air. "Let's get you out of here, yeah?"
Macy nodded as her arm was looped through his and she was led from the room into the hallway. "You don't have to miss the party for me, Kev."
"Somebody has to make sure you get to your room safely," Kevin said with a grin. "And everyone else is too far gone to be trusted."
"You didn't drink?" Macy asked.
"No, Nick and Joe and I have a deal. Two of us can drink at once, but never all three. That way there's always one of us with a clear head and none of our reputations are compromised when we're in public," Kevin told her. "I'm surprised you don't know that, Ms. Public Relations."
"I wish I had. It would have made all the workdays up to now a lot less stressful," Macy said with a smirk as she allowed herself to lean against Kevin as they reached her hotel room door. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and removed the room key. She opened the door and stepped inside the room. She bit her bottom lip nervously and motioned for Kevin to come inside.
"Ah, Mace, I don't know if that's really such a—"
"Kevin, its fine. I have no plans to ravish you. Promise," Macy said with a smirk.
Kevin quirked a brow at her and smirked in return before he squared his shoulders and responded with a flirty bravado Macy didn't even know he had. "Too bad."
Macy blushed and smiled shyly. "Just get in here, idiot."
Kevin chuckled. "Yes, ma'am. If you insist."
Macy absently ran her tongue over her teeth and grimaced at the unclean feeling it left in her mouth. "First things first, I'm brushing my teeth. Ugh." She walked into the bathroom and Kevin followed and leaned against the doorframe.
"How much champagne did you have?" Kevin asked curiously as he noticed her sway before leaning against the bathroom counter.
"Just a few cups."
"How many is a few?" Kevin pried.
"Three. Champagne is not my friend, Kevin," Macy said with a chuckle as she wet the toothbrush and squeezed a bit of toothpaste onto it. "Did you know that toothpaste commercials purposefully use too much toothpaste as a way to get consumers to use and buy more toothpaste? You really only need half of what they show people using in the commercials."
"I actually did not know that," Kevin said with an amused grin.
"See? I have just saved you a good chunk of money," Macy said with a nod. "Not that you need to worry about that, Rock star."
Macy began to vigorously brush her teeth and glanced around the bathroom as she did so. She spotted the tub and the shower curtain bar and her eyes lit up. She immediately hopped up on the edge of the tub and held out one arm to balance herself as she gracefully walked across it. Kevin pushed off of the wall and watched her anxiously. Tipsy Macy and balancing on a small ledge could not end well.
"Maybe you shouldn't do that while you're brushing your teeth," Kevin suggested worriedly.
She paused and did a spin on one foot to turn to face him. She took the toothbrush out of her mouth and chuckled. "I do this all the time at home. I'm fine."
"Yes, but you haven't normally consumed a decent amount of alcohol before you do this at home. I'm sure," Kevin said as he stepped into the bathroom.
"I was a gymnast. A balance beam is way thinner than this," Macy told him as she hesitantly stepped down and put away the toothbrush. She rinsed and then smirked at him. "Don't worry. I'm not going to fall."
"Uh huh," He said sarcastically. "Because you definitely weren't leaning on me in the hallway just a minute ago like you couldn't steady yourself."
"I guess I'll have to prove it to you," Macy said with a grin as she hopped back up on the edge of the tub. She pointed one foot and kept the other flat as she gracefully positioned her arms. Kevin's eyes widened and he took several steps toward her. She spun so quickly that Kevin lost count of the number of rotations she did before she seemed to stop on a dime and place her other foot down flat on the ledge. She lifted the other leg behind her and extended arms as she leaned her upper half gracefully toward the floor. She made a clean diagonal line with her extended leg and arms and Kevin blinked at her in shock.
She could barely walk a few seconds ago and yet alcohol didn't impair her grace and athleticism. How did that work? That shouldn't be possible. She stood up straight and then leapt with both legs off the ledge and landed with her feet firmly planted. She extended her arms upward with her palms out and smiled like polished well practiced gymnast she was. She turned toward him and hopped off the ledge with more style and grace than his dancer; wanna-be singer, ex-girlfriend had in her little toe.
He blinked again and shook himself. Where had that comparison come from? Why would he compare Macy to his ex-girlfriend? They were just friends. Always had been. She suddenly wobbled on her feet and the poised pose she landed in fell away. She yelped as she fell against Kevin's chest for the second time that night. She chuckled and blushed focused on his t-shirt instead of his face.
"Sorry."
"You can do all of that without a single misstep and yet walking while drunk is completely impossible for you. You are some kind of woman, Macy Misa," Kevin said with a laugh as he cupped her elbows with his hands to help hold her steady. "I don't know what kind yet, but I know there's no one else out there like you at all. That's definite."
"Is that good or bad?" Macy asked sheepishly as she slowly met his eyes.
He smiled softly and nodded. "A good thing. A very good thing."
"Kevin, are we friends?" Macy asked hesitantly. Kevin looked startled at her abrupt question and gulped as he thought about his answers.
"We always have been, Macy. You know that."
She bit her bottom lip nervously. "Have you ever considered being anything…more with me?"
Kevin looked stunned at the turn of conversation and was convinced it was because of the champagne. They'd both avoided discussing whatever was between over the years because it just seemed awkward. They knew it was there. It was the elephant in the room they'd been living with since Macy's senior year of high school. No way would Macy have had the courage to bring it up without a little liquid encouragement.
"You know I have," Kevin said honestly.
"Then why hasn't either of us ever done anything about it?" She asked. "Nick and I are over it so that can't be an excuse anymore and, yes, we work together but so did Joe and Stella and everyone was fine with that. So…what's stopping us?"
He stared at her for a long moment. "I—well, when you put it that way I don't know how I'm supposed to respond."
She smiled softly and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You could kiss me."
"Macy, you're drunk."
"Not drunk, tipsy. There's a difference. Besides, this should have happened years ago. I've tried to get over you, Kevin. I have. But it's ridiculously hard to find a guy who's okay with a girl working for her ex-boyfriend. It intimidates every guy I've dated. I try not to tell them, but sooner or later they found out anyway. Most men are insecure idiots but not you. No one is as sweet as you are either nor do they seem to understand how competitive I am. You do. You just…you get me, Kevin. You always have and you always will. I can try to move on with another man all I want, but you're the only one it's going to work out with. We both know that's the truth whether I'm drunk, tipsy, or sober," She told him as she glanced between his lips and his eyes anxiously. "I just need you to meet me halfway, Lucas. Can you do that?"
His hands moved from her elbows to the small of her back as he pulled her closer. His eyes drifted to her lips and he nodded slowly. She was right. Macy was always right. "I—I can do that."
She grinned and leaned into him. "Good, then kiss me."
He immediately closed the distance between them and captured her lips eagerly. She moaned against his mouth and he deepened the kiss and pushed her back against the bathroom counter. She pulled away for a split second and giggled as he lifted her and sat her down on the counter. She was back to kissing him a second later when he came to stand in-between her legs and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her hands found their way to his cheeks and then caressed along his cheek bones before she started to run them through his dark curls. They pulled apart again to catch their breath and Macy beamed at him.
"See? That wasn't so scary, was it?" She asked with a smirk.
"Macy, you're scary as hell and you know it," Kevin said with a chuckle. "If you wanted to you could hurt me more than anyone else in my life. I'm…exposed around you. That's why I've never made a move. You scare me."
Macy looked down at his chest from her position seated on the counter and absent mindedly played with the buttons on his shirt. "I would never hurt you, Kevin. I don't want you to be scared of me."
He put a hand under her chin to tilt her face upward and catch her gaze. "That fear is a good thing, Mace. I scare you too. Admit it."
She smiled softly and looked down for a split second before she brought her eyes back to his and nodded. "You do. If you ever hurt me I'm not sure if I'd recover and that terrifies me."
"I'd never hurt you either, Macy. But I think that fear and vulnerability, combined with everything else I feel for you, means that I…that I love you," Kevin said just before he took a deep calming breath. "No, I don't think. I'm certain."
She blinked at him in shock. "You love me?"
He nodded.
She beamed at him again before surprising him with a deep kiss. She kissed him for a long moment before she finally pulled away and rested her forehead against his. "I love you too."
He smiled and gently ran a hand across her upper arm. "I think I'm going to enjoy this tour. A lot."
Macy chuckled and wrapped one of his curls around her fingers. "Me too, Kev. Me too."