A/N: SO INCREDIBLY SORRY for the long wait. Funny thing is that I actually started writing this chapter the same day as I posted the last chapter. But then teachers decided to surprise us with lovely tests and projects. Joy. So I know I could have done it in my spare time, but I'm a procrastinator . . . anyways, thanks for all the wonderful reviews! You're all amazing, as always. Right now I probably should be sprinting on a treadmill after the amount of butter on that popcorn not too long ago, but this is more fun. So if I become insanely overweight, it's all your fault! Nah, just kidding. Enjoy the chapter!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"Congratulations, boys! You're going home!"
Why? That's the only thought running through my mind. Why? Just as I was at the top of the world, why did this have to happen and bring me crashing down?
"What?" Joe said after a few moments of awkward silence. "What do you mean? Like, is the money back? Did you fix the problem, or are we just starting over? And what do you mean by home? Another tour in a foreign country or do we get some time off? Just . . . what?"
He read my mind.
"Well," the manager continued, completely oblivious to the heartbroken glances Nick, Joe, Miley, and I were all sharing. Is it wrong to want to rip his head off right now? "We caught the guy that hacked the network and took the money. Fortunately, he only spent a fraction of it, all of which will be paid back to you boys. And then I was thinking that after this, we could hit the recording studio and work on those songs you've been writing lately, hopefully we'll have a CD out by the end of the month. Of course, with a new CD comes a whole new round of concerts and tours, so we can begin planning for that as soon as the CD is finished."
The silence was unbearable. Kevin and the manager seemed thrilled about all of this, where as the rest of us looked defeated. And I know that I can't hold the boys back from living their dream and doing what they love, but could our relationships handle the strain of it all? This is exactly what happened last time. Everything became too much and life seemed to give up. But not this time. This time, I'm going to do something. I'll do whatever it takes. I'm not letting this slip through my fingers. Not again.
Just as I was about to speak up, Nick beat me to it. I looked up at him, hoping that he was thinking the same things as me. After all, it's always been like this. If he doesn't want to stick around for me, he should at least stay for the relaxation. Being a teen heartthrob can be stressful.
Instead, he said something completely different. "When do we leave?"
We all looked at him with wild expressions full of mixed emotions playing on our faces. Was he serious? Was he really going to just give it all up? After trying so hard to win me over and everything we've been through, it he just going to say that none of it matters?
I stared at him, tears brimming gin the corner of my eyes. "How could you?" I whispered, on the verge of pinching myself to see if this was just some horribly realistic dream. For the first time in a while, I couldn't look him in the eyes. Instead I just walked out of the room, fighting the tears until I was at least wrapped up in my comforter.
Even after a few measly seconds, I was bawling my eyes out. I didn't want them to leave, especially not now. At the sound of an extra sniffle, I looked up only to find Miley standing in the door frame, her face stained with tears just like mine.
We didn't have to say anything at all. She walked over to my bed, sat down, and hugged me. I wrapped her up in the comforter with me, and together we cried. When you're breaking down like this, sometimes all you need is a friend.
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"Miley, you can't keep unpacking my things. I'll have to go eventually."
Miley and I were standing in Joe's room as he walked back and forth between his closet and his suitcase, resting contently on his bed. But every time he would put something in, Miley would take it out and set it to the side. I would be doing the same exact thing to Nick . . . but you know what happened.
"No," she said, yanking yet another pair of skinny jeans out of the suitcase, "you don't. Just tell your jerk of a manager that you're busy. Something else has come up. You need a break from the whirlwind life of being so famous. Just tell him something to make you stay. Please."
I sent him my most desperate look. "Yeah, Joe, you guys can't leave. Not after everything that's happened in these last few weeks. Just . . . please."
Joe honestly looked like he was about to cry. No matter what he says now or will say later, he eyes are watering. He's on the verge of going over the edge. Joe looked down at the shirt in his hands, and set it down. Back in the dresser. Not in his suitcase.
Miley and I were beaming from ear to ear, and it wasn't long before Joe's expression mirrored ours. We furiously ran back and forth from the bed to the dresser, putting everything in its rightful place. Every now and then we'd hear roars of laughter coming from Kevin and the Jonas' manager, but the guilt didn't last long. We were just about done when my boyfriend walked in.
He spotted the scarce amount of clothes in the suitcase and realized what was going on. "What are you doing? Come on, you know we have to pack and go. Stop moping around and just do it," Nick spat at Joe. What was his problem lately? Why was he acting like such an idiot?
He turned on his heel, ready to stroll out of the room, when I leaped forward and grabbed his wrist as tightly as I could, just so he wouldn't get away. "Why?"
"What?" He asked, clearly agitated.
"Why? Why are you going along with this? You tried so hard to win me back, to make everything right again, to what? Just throw it away in the blink of an eye? No! I won't let you! I'm not saying you have to stop doing what you love. In fact, I would never say that, but you can't do this Nick. You can't do this to me. Not to us. Not again."
The apologetic look in his eyes made me think I'd said something right to change his mind. Wrong.
"What do you know? What does anyone know? I'm doing this. We're doing this," he shot a death glare at Joe, "and no one's stopping us." He thrust his wrist back and it slid out of my grip effortlessly. He took one last angered look before walking out the door.
Oh, crap, here come the waterworks again. Wiping a tear off my cheek, I glanced at Joe. He looked pissed off. More angry than I've ever seen him before. "Are you alright, Lilly?"
I sniffled and rubbed my slightly sore hand. "Yeah, I'm fine." Another tear rolled down, and that set him off. Next thing I knew, Joe chucked the shirt he had in his hands at the wall and bolted out of the room, after Nick.
Miley and I chased after him, but he was much faster and beat us to Nick's room. Within a matter of seconds, Joe was standing right in Nick's face, ready to knock him unconscious at any moment. "Excuse my language, but what the hell is your problem lately?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Nick rolled his eyes and tried to step aside, but Joe blocked him.
"Where do you get off treating everyone like that? Where do you get off treating Lilly like that? She's your girlfriend! You love her! You've loved her for years! I've heard you say it more than once before! So why the hell are you acting like such an idiot?!"
Like I said, Joe was pissed. If this was a cartoon, his face would be the color of a tomato and smoke would be flowing out of his ears. But then again, cartoons are funny. And this is anything but funny. Yet I couldn't fight the butterflies that erupted in my stomach when Joe said that. Nick really loved me? He has for years? This is freaking amazing.
There was silence. Miley and I stood in the doorframe, shock written all over our face. Joe was still fuming at Nick, only a few inches away from his face. Nick just looked taken aback. He looked angry, hurt, sorry, confused, and overall just . . . not like himself.
"I . . . I . . . I'm sorry. To everyone. Sorry," he whispered softly. Looking around and realizing that the only place he had to himself was filled with people, he swerved around Joe and sprinted down the hall and in to the hall closet.
"He just needs to think things over," Miley said, reminding us that he needed to sort some things out and talking to him right now wouldn't help.
I put a hand on Joe's shoulder and he sighed deeply, frustrated and regretful at the same time. "Thanks, Joe. Thanks for knocking some sense in to him and sticking up for everyone, and sticking up for me. It really means a lot to me," I said softly, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Miley knew it meant nothing so she didn't worry about it, and instead gave me a smile.
"Your wrist doesn't hurt, does it?" She asked, motioning towards my cast-clad right arm.
"Nah, it's just fine. But next time I go to grab Nick's wrist, remind me of his strength, alright?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. Joe smiled. Coiling his arms around Miley's waist, I smiled back. "You two are so adorable," I cooed, making them flush.
Joe, still red, shrugged it off. "Come on, girls, we have some unfinished unpacking to do."
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Later that night, after Grandpa, Kevin, and the manager went to the store to buy a few things, I decided to make some sugar-free instant pudding. That way Nick can have some too, no matter how much of a jerk he was today.
I glanced up for a moment to find Nick leaning against the doorway. "Uh, Lilly?" Nick cleared his throat. "Can I, uh, talk to you for a minute?" I gave him a skeptical look. "No yelling or violent wrist grabbing or harsh words, I promise," he offered, giving me a small smile. I may as well have just melted right there.
"What do you want?" I wasn't going to make myself sound happy or eager or angry or frustrated. No emotion.
"I just, uh, I came to apologize."
I stopped stirring the mixture in the bowl and looked at him, giving him my full attention. If we wanted to say something, now would be the opportune moment to say it. He stepped forward and grabbed my hand. Instead of squeezing back like I normally would have, I let it rest limply in his hand. No emotion. Not until he gives me an explanation.
"I'm sorry. For everything. I know I was being a jerk. But I just thought that, you know, if this was going to happen again, I should distance myself from you. It would make it easier on both of us. If Joe hadn't stormed in my room and set me straight . . . I'm pretty sure you and I wouldn't be together right now."
I smiled warmly, glad to have him back to normal.
"And I know we've had our fair share of weird talks, full of expressing our feelings and whatnot, but after today, I wanted to remind you of something. Joe was right. You're my girlfriend and I love you so much that I'm sure it can't be healthy. I have for years. Ever since we first started going out, in fact. And I swear, if I had known that someone stealing our money would lead us to this, I would have done it a long time ago," he smirked, pulling me into a hug, resting his chin on the top of my head.
I breathed in his cologne, beaming once more for the day. "I love you, Nick. I'd give anything to keep us together. Anything but up, that is."
"And trust me, Lilly, our manager will get an earful if he so much as even tries to break us apart and have us leave again. I'm sticking with you this time. For good."
I was speechless. So instead, I smiled.
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God, this is the most rollercoaster-ish day of my life. It's giving me freaking whiplash. First I woke up with Nick as my boyfriend for the first time in a year, then Miley and Joe got together, then we all went bowling, came back, found out the boys were leaving, and we were all sad, and then Joe decided he wasn't going to and then Nick was being idiotic, then he wasn't and was really sweet instead, and now I'm upset again. All within the time span of less than a day.
Told you it was messed up.
When Joe and Nick's manager came back, they told him what they thought and how they weren't leaving us. They needed this, they said, and found good reasons to stay, each guy shooting an adorable look to his girlfriend. They chewed him out for making them do all those hectic things. They said that they needed a break, even if it was just a small one.
But the manager wouldn't hear it. Any of it. He snapped back about how they desperately needed this after what had just occurred, and even offered to let the boys help produce the CD and put whatever songs they like on it.
And honestly, I don't blame them for siding with the manager.
I mean, this has been their dream for years. Even if they had decided to stay with me and Miley, I wouldn't let them do it. This is their life, their goals, their hopes and dreams. They couldn't throw it away for some silly girls.
But the thing is, they aren't too upset about it. They have something planned, I can feel it. Nick and Joe weren't nearly as upset as before. Nick and I promised to keep in touch, we were going to make this long-distance relationship work, and Joe did the same with Miley. They were upset, but not nearly as heartbroken as Miley and I.
The manager gave them some time to pack up their things, and then they left. For good. Who knows when I'll see my best friend and boyfriend again?
So, for the hundredth time that day, I did the only thing that made sense to me in this crazy world.
I cried.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Haha, I finally update and then you get a crappy chapter like this. So dramatic. Sorry. My bad. But, I have news! It's both good and bad, depending on how you look at it. But anyways, Next chapter is the last chapter! Unless something incredible weeds its way in my mind, the next one is the last one. And so as to not keep you waiting, I'll start typing it literally right after I post this. And if I don't finish it tonight? I'll work on it in my spare time. It will be up very soon, a week at the latest. I double pinky promise. Trust me, you don't go around breaking those kinds of promises. Anyways, Thanks to all of my spectacularly tremendous reviewers! I swear, I'm probably the worst writer on here, just because I don't update for so long, but you guys still review! Thank you! So, please leave a review and expect the ending soon! Bye!
Paraket17
PS: Sorry for the long author's note!