Chapter 4: In which Joe finds out that Lola is, in fact, Lilly.

Thanks again for all the reviews, I know I haven't replied to any of them, but I will soon. Updates will definitely be less frequent after this (I've been on a small break all weekend since I've been out of school since early Thursday, but it's back to the grind tomorrow).

The Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana don't belong to me. Sad.

KJKJKJKJKJKJ

Chapter 4: Kevin

When Joe found out the Lola was Lilly, he was kind of a wreck. He realized that he had kind of screwed up. Although it wasn't completely his fault, it didn't change the fact that he made a mess of things. Butt hey, we're guys. It's what we do.

It had been a couple of weeks after we met Lilly. I couldn't stop thinking about her. I knew she was thinking of someone else, but I couldn't help thinking about her. That might also have been because Nick wouldn't stop talking about her.

Except, not to me. Every time I saw Nick and Joe together, Nick was talking to him about Lilly. About how he should have been nicer, how he should get her number from Hannah and apologize, how he still had a chance to be…Nick would always stop mid-sentence whenever saw me, so I never knew exactly what he was going to say.

I was a little confused. I thought Nick knew that I liked Lilly, so why did he keep talking about her? I knew he always hated it when I talked about girls that had burned him. Well, Lilly hadn't exactly burned me, but I was still kind of sad about her not wanting to date me.

For his part, Joe didn't want to talk about Lilly, which was good because I was still a little mad at him for treating her the way he did. All he wanted to talk about was Lola. Apparently there was trouble in their dating/not dating paradise. Seriously. No one knew if they were officially dating. I didn't know, Nick didn't know, Hannah didn't know, and apparently Joe didn't either.

"She's just been so distant. Like, we used to talk every day and now I'm lucky if she'll answer my calls. And when she does, she'll talk for a few minutes and then make up some lame excuse about why she can't stay on the phone. She rarely answers my texts or returns my calls. I don't know what I did wrong…" We were sitting in our living room, lounging on the couches and just hanging out.

"Maybe she's just really busy? It can probably get hectic being Hannah Montana's friend…" I suggested.

"And yet Hannah still manages to find time to talk to Nicky here every night," Joe said gesturing towards Nick. A thought occurred to him. "What if she found someone else? What if she's dating that Mike guy?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Does Lola seem like the kind of girl that would do that to you?"

"No," he admitted. "But I just don't understand why she'd just stop talking to me. I thought we were going somewhere. I mean there's just this connection between us. Or I thought there was…"

I felt so bad for him. He just looked so torn up over the whole Lola thing. I tried to cheer him up. "We'll be seeing them tonight. Maybe you can talk to her about it then?" We were doing another concert with Hannah, this time in Santa Monica. Since Lola and Mike were usually there, Joe could definitely try to corner her tonight.

"Kevin, you're the romantic one. What should I do to try to win her back?"

It was Nick who answered. "Maybe you can apologize to Lilly."

"What does Lilly have to do with any of this?" I asked. And why was Nick so insistent on Joe apologizing to Lilly?

"Do the math. Lola's good friends with Hannah and Mike, Lilly's good friends with Hannah and Mike…" I saw his point, but there also seemed to be something else that maybe Nick was hinting at. I just didn't get it.

"So you think Lola and Lilly are close friends?" I asked.

Nick muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Closer than you think." I wasn't sure though. Nick could be so strange sometimes. He started speaking again. "Maybe you can just call Lilly up and apologize– Miley would be more than happy to give you her number."

Joe and I looked at each other, and then looked at him. "Who's Miley?" Joe asked.

"Did I say Miley?" Nick winced and slapped his forehead. Repeatedly "Er…I'll be right back." He jumped to his feet, pulled out his cell phone and ran to the hallway. I couldn't make out what he was saying but he sounded apologetic and panicked.

"Your little brother is weird," I told Joe. He grinned at me.

"Yeah, so's my older brother." Nick came back in a minute later.

He looked a little nervous. "So I have a little something to tell you. It's about Hannah." I was pretty floored when Nick was done with his explanation.

"So does that mean that Lola and Mike are aliases, too?" Joe asked.

Nick hesitated. "You're going to have to ask them yourselves."

We got the chance to later, when we were in concert venue in Santa Monica. We got there first, as usual and were sitting backstage waiting. Hannah came in a little while later, followed by Mike and a very reluctant looking Lola. Her eyes brightened when she saw Joe, but they dimmed again pretty quickly.

Joe noticed, too. You could just see his heart sink. I really did feel bad for my brother. I watched Nick walk up to Hannah…or Miley…or…whatever. I watched him walk up to his girlfriend and give her a kiss. He whispered something to her, probably an apology for spilling her secret. Oh young love. And speaking of young love…

Joe awkwardly walked up to Lola and gave her a hug. They were both stiff and looked nervous, not at all like how they usually were with each other. Geez, what was with her? Lola was a cool girl and all, but she had no right to treat my brother like that! I was about to go say something to her when Mike stopped me.

"They need to work this out on their own," he said. I sighed. I guess he was right. But that didn't mean I had to like it. He and I sat down to watch the show.

"So I know Hannah has a secret identity. Does Lola have one, too?" he tried to joke. I didn't think she could get any stiffer, but I was totally wrong. And beside me, Mike tensed, too.

"Yeah, I do," she "But I don't think you'd like her." There was a niggling feeling in my mind that there was some connection that I was missing but I couldn't figure out what it was.

"I'd like you however you are," Joe said sincerely. He definitely meant it. I'd never seen him this serious.

"No, no you wouldn't." She turned away from him and I saw the sadness in her eyes. If she was so upset, why was she doing this to him? I asked Mike, but he just shushed me.

"Lo, I don't know what's going on but please, whatever I did, I'm really sorry."

"I know. And I'm sorry, too." Joe's shoulders sagged in relief.

"Then will you go out with me tomorrow night?" I knew that it took a lot of courage for him to ask, and he held his breath as he waited for her answer.

She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Joe. I can't do this anymore."

"What?" Joe's whispered question was exactly how I was feeling watching them. I didn't get it. They were getting along so well before and then this…

She turned to face him. "This—this pseudo relationship thing or whatever we have. I meant to tell you this before, but I thought you deserved to hear it in person. So…I'm sorry."

"I don't get it!" he cried out in frustration. He looked hurt, confused, upset. "I thought you liked me. You know I really like you!"

"I know that you think you do. But you can't have a relationship with someone when they don't like part of who you are. It's not fair to you, and it isn't fair to me, either."

"But I like all of you! Secret identity or not, I like you," Joe pleaded. He tried to take her hand in his but she pulled away.

"No, no you don't. You like Lola. You like the girl with the colorful hair and funky clothes but you don't like me. You even told me so." It started to click then. Nick's hint. Lola's hint. Oh my…

"I don't understand," Joe whispered.

"My real name is Lilly Truscott." And she ran out. I couldn't be sure, but I thought I saw tears in her eyes. Mike was right behind her, probably to make sure that she'd be okay.

Joe just stood there numbly. Nick and Hannah (I had a hard time thinking of her as Miley) walked up behind me.

"What just happened?" she asked.

"Joe just found out that Lola is Lilly," I answered. She looked around for Lilly and when she didn't see her, she made as if to leave but I stopped her. "Mike went out after her. I know it's a little callous, but sound check is in a few minutes and you need to stay here." She nodded mutely and pulled out her cell phone, probably trying to call Lola/Lilly.

Joe walked over and sat down next to me, still uncomprehending. "What did I just do?

Nick sat down next to him, and put an arm around him. "Do you want to tell us why you didn't like Lilly?"

"That was the problem," Joe answered. "I did." He threw me an apologetic look, but I just shook it off. "I felt really drawn to her, but I didn't want to screw things up with Lola and so I just pushed her away. God, if only I shouldn't have told her there was something about her that I didn't like. Now she thinks I can't like Lilly and this is just so screwed up!"

I didn't know what to say to him. But I had a pretty good idea of what to say to Lola.

We had to do our set, first, and it was obvious that Joe was a little off his game. He tried his best, but he kept forgetting the words and sometimes he just stopped singing altogether. It was a relief when it was over. Nick walked with Joe back to the dressing room, most likely talking about Lola.

I went to go find her. She was outside the back entrance, sitting on the stairs. Mike was sitting next to her and he looked up when I opened the door. He nodded at me and got up, leaving me alone with Lola.

"So you were kind of seeing someone, huh?" I asked lightly. Looking at her and knowing that she was Lilly, I felt a surge of attraction but I tamped it down. She wasn't meant for me. But I did have a feeling that she was meant for Joe.

"Yeah, I was. But I guess not anymore." She didn't even look up at me. She just sat there with her arms wrapped around her knees and staring forward.

"But you could still be seeing him if you wanted to be," I said sitting down next to her. "He still wants to be seeing you."

Lola laughed mirthlessly. "Right. He hates Lilly. And he probably hates Lola now that he's found out that she's Lilly. Or that I'm Lilly. Or—you know what I mean."

I bumped her lightly with my shoulder. "He likes you, whoever you happen to be, and I know that it's tearing him apart thinking that he's lost his chance with you."

She didn't say anything to that, but I hoped I was getting through to her.

"Tell me one thing," I requested. "Do you like him?"

"Yes, but—" I cut her off.

"Just leave it at that. That should be enough."

"How is it enough if I like him but he doesn't like me?" she demanded. She looked at me and I saw tears in her eyes again.

"But he does. He was lying when he said he didn't. I should tell you that he felt really drawn to Lilly. But he felt guilty for it because of Lola, so he tried to push Lilly away." I took her hand and squeezed it. "He really does like you. Both sides of you."

"Really?" she sniffled.

"Really. And I think you should let him have the chance to tell you." I got up and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go." I led her to our dressing room where Nick was still talking with Joe. They fell silent when they saw us.

"We'll just leave you two alone," Nick said, getting up from where he was sitting next to Joe. The two of us walked out of the dressing room and I was closing the door when Nick stopped me from closing it all the way. "Shh," he whispered and he crouched down and peeped through the crack. I was tempted to close the door on him but I wanted to see what happened, too, so I copied him.

I saw him stand up and the two awkwardly stared at each other for a moment.

"I'm sorry," she said softly taking a step towards him. "And if the offer still stands, I would love to go out with you tomorrow. Actually, no." She paused and calmed herself. "Joe Jonas, would you please go out with me tomorrow night?"

There was a long silence, but then Joe walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. He pulled off her wig and her blonde hair tumbled down her back. "Yes," he whispered into her hair. "And I'm sorry, too. Just know that whether you're Lola or Lilly, I want to be with you." He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and just held her.

Nick and I crept away quietly. When we came back later to get Joe for the last song, they were still there, holding each other. And for them, in that moment, it was enough.

KJKJKJKJKJ

I lay in the bed, my head still groggy and unclear. There was a throbbing pain in my arm. Why did it hurt and why was it in a sling? Oh yeah, I'd been shot. Well, that sucked. The door opened and people entered, talking in hushed voices.

"Don't stay too long," a voice was saying. "He's still weak."

A couple approached my bedside. My parents.

"Hi mommy," I said weakly.

"Oh honey!" she cried, grabbing at my hand. "I'm just so glad you're okay!"

"How's Lilly? No one will tell me." My parents exchanged a look and I felt a rising panic in my chest. She wasn't dead, was she? "How is she?"

"She's still in surgery," Dad answered. I felt relieved. "But they don't know if she'll make it."

I closed my eyes and held back tears. I thought back to the shooting. I could remember bits and pieces of it. The shooter sneaking up and hitting Joe over the head, standing in front of Lilly, Lilly trying to calm the guy down, that piercing pain in my arm and falling to the ground, more shots…I felt my eyelids drooping.

"How's Joe holding up?" Another worried look.

"He has Heather with him," Mom said. "They're coping."

"You'll let me know if anything changes?" I asked. It was getting harder to stay awake.

"We will. We're glad you're okay, sweetie." She leaned over and kissed my forehead.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I sunk into oblivion. I woke up later and there was no one in the room. I thought about Lilly and Joe. God, he must be a wreck right now. And I hated being in here by myself, not knowing what was going on. I made a decision. I pressed the call button for the nurse and waited.

"I need to be with my family," I said when she came in.

"Mr. Jonas, you need to rest," she started to say but I cut her off. I may have been week, but I was still stubborn.

"I need to be with my family," I insisted. She looked at me a moment, nodded and left. She came back a few minutes later with a wheelchair. She helped me in and wheeled me out to the waiting room.

"Kevin, what are you doing?" mom shouted.

"I'm waiting to hear about Lilly." I asked the nurse to wheel me towards Joe, who looked haunted and tense. He wasn't crying now, but he had been. He looked almost as weak as I felt. He sat up as I neared him.

"Kevin, you need to be in bed," he said quietly.

"No, I need to be out here," I answered. I reached out and grabbed his hand with my good one.

He needed to be strong, and I needed to be there for him.

So we sat there in the waiting room, hands clasped, and waited.

KJKJKJKJKJ

So there's chapter four! Next chapter will be their first date! Yay! Um, I don't really have anything else to say, which is weird…

Oh! I would totally loved it if you guys reviewed. To ask questions, tell me how I'm doing story/writing-wise, or make suggestions. So please review and let me know what you guys think! Constructive criticism is awesome and flames make me a sad panda. And no one likes sad pandas.

Thanks for reading!
-v

(p.s I'm writing another Loe story called "Just a Dream," just in case anyone is looking for something else to read. And thanks again for reading this story!)