TWO AND A HALF, Joe.
"Nicholas Jerry Jonas, get your ass outside right now!" Angie's shrill voice could scare the shit out of anyone, easily. It was something you learned to love after knowing her for eighteen years. Plus, she made up for it by being the best aunt in the world. Except for right now. Right now, I wanted to kill Angie.
All I wanted to do this summer was play music and make-out with Alex. I had the whole thing planned. I'd be sitting on my lazy ass day in and day out, occasionally going out to parties and the beach, but spending the majority of the time in bed, with Alex. Ah, Alex. Damn, that girl was hot. And all mine. How lucky could anyone get?
"I'm coming Angie. Just shut up." Nick slammed his suitcase shut, rolling his eyes towards me. He was most likely thinking the same thing as me, which was how annoying Angie was. See, instead of spending the summer at our nice home in California under the hot summer sun, we were being shipped off to Gaston, Florida with Angie to meet her fiancée and his family. Why my two brothers and I had to go, I had no clue. The only one out of the three of us who didn't mind was Kevin.
Speak of the devil; Kevin's head of over-fluffed curls poked itself through the doorway of Nick's and my room. He had been sporting a goofy smile since he arrived that morning. It was great to see my brother again, don't get me wrong, but he was seriously too perky for me.
"You guys, Angie's getting seriously pissed. She's been calling you for like, twenty minutes. The plane leaves in two hours." And he was gone as soon as he'd come in. I stood from the bed slowly, pushing my hands through my thick black hair. I wasn't ready for this at all.
Angie had gotten engaged two months ago to her boyfriend of two years. We were all extremely happy for her, especially since she was more like our sister then our aunt. His name was Austin and his family was loaded. That was seriously all I knew about the guy. Yeah, I wanted to get to know him, but I didn't want to be stuck with him and his freaky family for three months. They could be a fucking cult or something.
All right, let's not skip to conclusions. The thing about Angie's relationship was that it had to be real. Angie didn't need money, our families were extremely well off, and she was never one to rely on someone else. Coldhearted, bitchy Angela Harlow Jonas had fallen in love.
"Come on, dude," Nick shook me from the thoughts as he shook he flicked his mess of curls out of his eyes. How was I even related to either of my brothers? I looked nothing like them with near pin-straight, short hair compared to their free, tightly curled locks.
"Coming," I replied easily, grabbing my suitcase and carrying it down the modern glass steps of our home. The front door was held open by one of the staff. Alan, Alfred? I couldn't remember. I nodded at him as I walked out and toward the limo waiting for us. Angie was already inside, chatting away on her cell phone as she waved me in. I took a seat, staring out the window in displeasure.
I had tried everything to get out of this trip, even feigning sickness. None of it worked. Angie finally beat me with the guilt card, saying that if I really loved her, I would do this one small thing for me. She mentioned he had a little sister who brought some friend every year, and they'd be showing us around. Two chicks that had nothing better to do then to spend their summer on some dingy island? They must be real lookers, man.
The ride to the airport, as well as baggage check and boarding the plane, went relatively fast. The plane ride though, seemed to drag out forever. I wanted to shoot myself in the face by the time we landed.
Stepping out of the airport, another limousine was waiting for us. God, Angie liked to make an entrance. The balmy Florida air hit me with a rush of warmth, sending both Kevin and Nick's hair into an uncontrollable frizzy mess. You had to laugh at that, especially with the way both of those boys take care of their hair. Could they get anymore girly?
"Angie, what's with the limos?" I asked, turning to my aunt. Her face was beaming as she turned to me with a shrug.
"Austin sent them. He's so sweet!" She bent down, stepping into the stretched car with class and elegance that you just couldn't be taught. You had to know it from birth. I followed, tripping over the edging and flailing into my seat. Apparently, I never had that grace. The sight sent Nick reeling as he tried to get into the car. He always was the idiot brother.
Another short car ride and we were outside a Victorian-looking house, aged to perfection. You could tell it was old, but the tall structure still managed to look breath taking. God, do I always sound like such a fag? Anyway, I figured quickly that this was our home for the next three months. Depression hit me fast. It wasn't the house, just the thought that I was officially stuck.
"Get your bag, duckweed." Nick pushed passed me, slamming my shoulder with his own. He was joking of course, but that still hurt. I'd have to get him back for that. I got out of the car, taking in the surroundings. Right behind the secluded house was a beautiful beach, darkened by a shadow from the house cast by the setting sun. I couldn't help but think how romantic it would be to bring Alex here.
I reached down to grab my bag from the trunk, but another hand had already grabbed the strap. I looked up seeing a guy much taller then me with sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes nodding at me. He stuck his free hand out, waiting for me to shake it.
"I'm Austin." I took his hand, shaking it as hard as I could. Austin basically beamed manliness, which was more then just intimidating, mind you. He chuckled at me. CHUCKLED. I made him laugh. Pathetic. "Come on," he nodded towards the house, walking up the long stone path to the front door. Kevin had stepped in front of me, Nick behind, as we made our way.
"Just stay out here for a second, okay? My sister is kind of pissed because you're stepping on her territory." He walked in ahead of us, leaving the door open for us to hear all of their conversation.
"They couldn't even carry their own shit?" A bitchy comment from an equally bitchy tone wafted from the doorway. I was not going to be dealing with divas for the next three months. Kevin walked through the door graciously, Nick and me in tow.
"Don't blame us," Kevin began.
"Yeah, we wanted to but…" I looked at Nick, who stepped in to finish my sentence.
"But Austin wouldn't let us."
Finally, we got a good look at the rest of the Winchester family. The whole family in its entirety looked pretty normal, but what really caught my eyes was the gorgeous blonde standing before me. I looked her up and down slowly, barely taking in her brunette friend who Kevin had already seemed to take a liking too. Hopefully, the brunette was the bitch.
I couldn't tear my eyes from the girl I assumed was Austin's sister. They looked pretty similar. They were both good looking, but this chick had the body of a winner. She even beat out Alex, which was a hard feat. I stuffed my hand in my pocket, grabbing my cell phone and texting Nick quickly. 'Wow, she's gorgeous. I hope I end up with her'. I most likely shouldn't be betraying my girlfriend on the first night here, but you can't blame a guy. The brunette stepped forward, putting out her hand towards Kevin.
"I'm Julia." Simple enough. Julia. Kevin shook her hand vigorously, telling her his own name. He was already blushing, that idiot. I rolled my eyes, my cell phone vibrating in my hand. 'The blonde?' I nodded in Nick's direction. He threw me a thumbs-up. Then I looked back up, catching the girl's eyes only for a moment. That was before her father came in, whispering loudly and angrily to Angie.
"They're well-mannered Christian boys, Robert. They won't take advantage of your daughter, if that's what you're thinking." My eyes shot up to the blonde, whose face was slowly growing bright red. I almost laughed, almost.
"It's not my daughter I'm worried about, Angela. I'm worried about your nephews." Thank God Nick started cracking up, because I don't think I could've held it in for a moment longer. Letting those girls take advantage of us would be welcomed, though I would never voice that opinion. Austin reentered the room, looking completely annoyed.
"It'll be fine dad. They aren't going to do anything stupid." Little did Austin know the Jonas boys were the kings of stupid. I just remained silent, staring intently at the blonde.
The woman I was assuming was Amanda, Austin's step-mom, excused herself from the room as everyone left. Now it was just us versus these two gorgeous girls. Suddenly, Nick was stepping forward.
"I'm Nick!" God, he was annoying. He threw his hand up in the air and shoved the other in his back pocket. Nick had always claimed that it was a nervous habit, but secretly, I think he just liked feeling his own ass. The girls exchanged annoyed glances before the blonde stood and stuck out her hand. I kept my eyes on her, wanting to take in everything about her.
"I'm Cynthia." Ah, she speaks. And like an angel, at that. So the voice matched the beautiful face, and her name was Cynthia. She stepped back from Nick, looking us all up and down slowly. "So if you're Nick, and you're Kevin, then you must be Joe?" She pointed right at me. I couldn't even speak; I just kept staring. What the fuck was wrong with me?
"Yes, he is Joe. And he is also awkward. And yes, I'm Kevin," he stepped forward, taking Cynthia's hand in his own and shaking it gently. I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit jealous that both my brothers had gotten a chance to touch the angel like figure before us, and I couldn't even talk to her.
"Why are you staring at her?" Julia was directing this towards me, a hateful look on her face. Apparently, something was funny about this, because Nick and Kevin were cracking up. I couldn't bring myself to voice the fact that I thought she was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen, so I just shrugged. Was that really all I could do?
Austin entered the room, watching us all as we (well they) conversed. I just hung back, trying my hardest not to stare at Cynthia again.
"So, is he mute or something?" Austin asked, placing a protective hand on Cynthia's shoulder. Was he glaring at me? Oh God, that was scary.
"No, not at all. He usually doesn't shut up." I sent Nick deaths glare, forcing him to immediately back down. Austin just shrugged.
"Okay, well, cots are set up. Show them the way, Cyn." Now she was leading us around the house? Suddenly, I was very happy.
"It's up three flights of stairs. You can't miss it." What the fuck was up with this Julia girl and her constant attitude? "I'm going swimming. Come!" Only if I get to see Cynthia in a slinky bathing suit. "You can come too," she finally finished, turning towards Kevin. Then she turned and trotted up the stairs, leaving us alone with Cynthia.
"Want a tour?" Uh… okay? I looked from Nick to Kevin, noticing neither of them was really interested. Nick was texting ferociously as my pocket vibrated non-stop. I couldn't wait to read those. Kevin was just watching Julia's fleeing form, obviously wanting to follow. That left me.
"Sure."
Cynthia whipped around from the bottom step, looking at me hard. She really didn't think I talked, did she? I just smirked. She looked adorable when she was confused.
"Okay, let me just go get my stuff."
"I'll come!" I mustered up the energy to jump up the steps after her fast enough to catch her. She only cast a simple glance back at me before climbing the squeaking stairs. We finally reached a solid oak door, which Cynthia proceeded to knock on lightly. Julia opened it, gabbing into the phone. I didn't even give her a second glance as I took in the room. It was quaint and actually awesome. It seemed to have perfect acoustics, and the three cots Austin was speaking of were on the floor, arranged freely.
"So we sleep in the cots, but what about you guys?" I spun around to face the girls, Julia looking completely shocked.
"So, you do speak?" I just rolled my eyes. This girl was seriously getting on my nerves. Cynthia nudged her, stepping forward as the brunette left the room.
"We sleep in the hammocks."
"Why the hell would you sleep in a hammock?"
"It's tradition." She replied with a simple shrug, grabbing a few things and shoving them into the pockets of her dangerously miniscule shorts. "Let's go."
Like I could say no now.