Suicide Doors

Chapter Six

By: Jondy Macmillan

School the next day? Torture.

Joe was counting down the seconds until lunch, praying that his teacher didn't pass back the results of his literature pop quiz; the 'rents wouldn't be very appreciative of the big fat 'D' he was ninety five percent certain he'd gotten. It was going to take a lot of prep to convince them that sometimes living the rockstar life meant failing conventional academics.

With so much blatant talent, it had to be expected there was a tradeoff. In the form of his brain dying a little every time he saw the name 'Shakespeare'. Ugh.

Yeah, a lot of prep was required, and he just didn't have it in him today. Not when Nick was acting like such a spaz, all lovestruck and dumb, asking him to go on double dates when Joe obviously didn't need any help in the date department. At all.

He just…liked being single right now, was all.

When the bell rang, signaling nearly a full hour of freedom from the monotony of lectures and testing anxiety, Joe jumped to his feet. He needed to find Nick and talk to him about this Penny thing. 'Cause while it had seemed like a good idea at first, really, it wasn't.

How much did they even know about this girl? She could be like, undercover paparazzi. She could be an agent from their label, trying to spy on them and find out if their newest songs were coming along alright. Hell, she could even be a serial killer. What if she was planning on strangling Nick to death with his own guitar strings?

Joe had always had the most overactive imagination of his brothers, excepting Kevin who mostly only used his to think about creatures with furry paws and big moon eyes, but usually Nick was there to talk him down. God, being in love was totally making Nick slack off on his brotherly duty.

That was just, not acceptable. See, Penny was bad for him.

Technically speaking, Joe was supposed to meet Stella for lunch. They'd been planning on working on some project for history, but really, dead guys didn't hold a candle to Nick, who probably knew more about the French Revolution than those dudes who'd actually revolted. So Joe could just claim he'd hunted down Nick for research, if Stella asked. Which she would.

She had like, a complex about being blown off. Joe didn't really understand it, although maybe in retrospect he did kind of ditch her a decent amount. Like, maybe, a lot.

She was a good friend though. She'd understand that Penny had to be stopped from devouring Nick like the soulless succubus she so obviously was. Really, it was for the good of the band.

Unfortunately for Joe, Macy Misa just didn't understand the importance of his mission. Oh, sure, maybe she would have if he did something silly like explain it to her, but sometimes it was kind of hard to get a word in edgewise with the girl.

"Ohmigod, Joe of JONAS! Hi! How are you?"

"I'm-"

"I saw Kevin of JONAS yesterday at the park! He's so sweet," she gushed. Joe opened his mouth to say something, anything to relay the importance of stopping the she-beast Penny, but Macy just barreled on.

"Did you know that your brother is super sweet? He bought me ice cream and taught me all about how to use soundboards and mixers, which you know, I've never realized would have a direct impact on my life like that," she explained in a voice that was too serious for the subject matter, "But Kevin said I had to learn the how pivotal these things can be to musicians like you and oh-"

Joe zoned out for a second, unable to comprehend why Kevin would blow it with the girl he liked like that. Talking about soundboards and mixers, seriously? It was ever so slightly better than the way he normally acted like a super-dork around girls he had crushes on, but infinitesimally so. Kevin was lucky, really, the Macy thought he'd hung the moon and the stars, as evidenced by her recounting every word Kevin had ever said.

"Macy, that's-"

"-and I wanted to ask if you would be willing to give a speech to my fanclub. I mean, I know you guys are super busy, and of course Kevin couldn't come- just you and Nick of JONAS-"

Nick. Right. Joe had to focus on the mission here. Find Nick. Save him from impending doom.

"-but we'd all really appreciate it. I haven't asked up until now because I was trying to work up the nerve, but seeing as how it's your last year here- gosh, I really meant to ask before Kevin graduated but for some reason when I see him I end up talking really fast and have trouble getting words out. You know what that's like, Joe of JONAS? Of course you probably don't, I mean you're so cool and famous and dreamy-"

Joe needed to leave now. He took a step back.

Wait, was that a lacrosse stick in Macy's hand?

Joe dodged left just as Macy swung right, but he wasn't fast enough. He ended up with the netted end right in his side, and man, for a little girl Macy hit hard, even by accident.

"I am so sorry!" she squealed, "Oh, gosh, oh, are you okay?"

Kevin had his hands full with this one.

"I'm fine," he gasped, even though it kind of felt like she might have ruptured his kidney. Whatever, you only needed one of those, right?

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Macy apologized, her doe eyes wide. She really was very pretty, and perfect for Kevin. Joe wished them all the luck in the world. As soon as he got his breath back.

"Look, Macy, I think the fanclub thing sounds fine," Joe choked out between gritted teeth, half from annoyance, half from pain.

"Really?" she shrieked. Practically everyone in the hallway turned to watch her jump up and down like a five year old at a birthday party. She threw her arms around Joe's neck and dangled there until he grunted in pain, "Oh- I mean, um, sorry."

"It's okay," he pasted on his most benevolent, Mother Theresa-imitating smile, despite the fact that he was seriously considering running to the nurse's office for ice in case his spleen decided to implode, "I just have to talk to Nick about when we could do it- wait, yeah, that's good."

He was struck by inspiration.

"What?" Macy asked sweetly, "What's good?"

"Um, asking Nick. I should do that. Right now," he made a vague gesture with his hands, "I don't suppose you've-er, seen Nick?"

"Nick of JONAS is in the outdoor atrium, playing guitar," Macy enthused. Then something dark flitted across her pretty features, "She's with that girl, the one that stole his song."

"He's dating her," Joe explained, wincing as the words passed his lips.

"Really? I'll have to post that on my fansite. She doesn't seem like his type," Macy worried at her nail with her teeth, like the concept of Nick dating someone that didn't fit him seriously concerned her.

"I'd hold off on the fansite thing," Joe warned, "Until we're sure they're solid, I mean."

"You're right!" Macy beamed, clapping her hands and nearly decapitating him with the lacrosse stick, "Good plan."

Joe was rather intelligent, except for that whole literature debacle. He beamed right back, acknowledging his extraordinary prowess in all things sensible and brainy. Macy didn't have to know that Nick and Penny wouldn't be staying together because Joe had decided to exorcise the she-beast. That would just offend her delicate sensibilities, Joe thought, maybe. Although with the way she wielded athletic implements enlisting Macy in the demon outing might not have been a bad idea.

"Macy," Joe asked just before he turned to leave, "What do you think Nick's type is?"

It was a viable question. Joe had never really thought of Nick having a type, other than someone sweet, who knew her own mind. That seemed to be the ongoing theme with most of the girls Nick paraded- well, no, Nick never paraded girls around. That was Joe's job.

"Oh! Oh? Well, I always thought that Nick of JONAS would go for someone more like…hmmm…" Macy pursed her lips and thought about it, long and hard. Joe was this close to telling her that he didn't have time for her gears to turn and that the question would just have to wait when Macy snapped her fingers and said, "I know. I always kind of thought that Nick would end up with a girl like- like you, Joe."

That he hadn't expected.

"Like me?"

"Yeah!" Macy slapped a fist into her hand, like she was nailing down an idea, "You know, a girl who's funny, smart, good at music…maybe dark hair."

She blushed a little, touching her own hair, and while Joe knew she was thinking of herself, Joe was thinking that he had dark hair. He was funny and smart and good at music, so why would Nick need a girl version of him? Nick had the real him.

Except- wait, no. Where was his mind going? Why would Nick be romantically interested in his own brother? Aside from being wrong in a multitude of ways, that was just…really, it was just ridiculous. Seriously, this is why he needed Nick, to quell his overactive mind.

"Okay. Um, thanks, Macy."

"No problem!" she chirped, waving goodbye, "Let me know about the fanclub!"

He would. He just couldn't think about that now, about asking Nick that when his baby brother obviously needed to be saved from this demon of a girl that was making him…not brotherly enough, not there to give Joe all the attention he required.

Call it middle child syndrome or whatever, but Joe needed Nick to…to be there, really. Penny had only gone on one, maybe two dates with him and already she was stealing away Nick's time.

It occurred to Joe as he fled the scene that he might be thinking too harsh of Penny. After all, it was his own genius idea to set her up with Nick. Their dating was giving him the taste of freedom he'd been craving.

But somehow, when he thought of the way Nick had spent most of the summer waiting up for him whenever he went out solo, freedom didn't matter so much.

Family was what was important. He'd just have to find a way to balance family with his partying needs. He could have his car with suicide doors and his little brother sitting in the passenger seat, couldn't he?

After all, Joe thought as he turned the corner towards the open air atrium, family was-

Not this. Family wasn't this sensation that washed over him like a tsunami, like hot lava, like an avalanche.

Joe couldn't breathe. He felt like maybe, over there, where Nick and Penny stood so intertwined that he could barely tell where his little brother ended and the she-demon began, maybe their suction cupped lips were somehow stealing away all his air.

Watching Nick's tongue tangle with Penny's, the way his hands grabbed at her hair and her back and her butt, lust sliced through him like a blade, pierced him until he couldn't move from the spot. It wasn't towards the girl, with her sunshine hair and her sugar pink tongue twisting against Nick's mouth.

His Nick's mouth.

When had his baby brother become this way? This man-boy demi-god, with his masculinity so blatantly on display in the flex of his biceps as he grabbed, in the brush of his stubble as he kissed her, elicited tiny moans from her throat that Joe couldn't quite hear from where he stood.

The lust settled low and burning in his belly, while possessiveness overtook it.

This couldn't happen. She had to let go of Nick, now.

Joe took a step forward, ready to scream, to shout, to rage against them. His hands were clenched into fists and he was breathing hard, even though it felt like every breath he took was labored and difficult.

God, this show they were putting on was almost obscene. Did she just put her hand in Nick's pocket? Like she was trying to feel him up? That was disgusting. Fucking whore.

He took another step, and another. He would stop this. He would.

No one would touch Nick like that ever again. No one but-

It felt like the entire world was crumbling. If the halls of the school had begun to cave in, Joe wouldn't have been surprised.

He wanted to stop Nick and Penny from kissing. But more than that, he wanted to run away, from the gravity, from the recognition of the thoughts that had been sifting through his mind, sand through an hourglass.

Joe Lucas just realized; he was a monster.

So he did what any monster worth his salt would do.

He ditched school, grabbed his car, and high tailed it up to the city. At least if he gave himself alcohol poisoning, he wouldn't have to think about it.

A/N: I don't know why I did this story in past tense. It's currently killing me; I wish I could go back and switch to present, but I'm entirely too lazy. Um, and 'kay, I'm currently watching Beauty and the Beat and why is Stella wearing an Arizona sash? I swear to god, if they're changing where this gig's set, I'm going to be hella upset. Wikipedia ('cause god knows that never lies –sarcasm-) and all the other sources online say it takes place in Jersey…um, so right, if it turns out they've now decided on Arizona, it's too late to change this fic and you'll all have to excuse me for the fact that Disney is full of wishy-washy idiots. Then again, this fic probably never would have happened if I didn't think they were in Jersey- my knowledge of Arizona is limited to Prescott, and it certainly isn't enough to form a story. Oh god. I'm in a really babbly mood right now. Thank you for the reviews, guys- you have no idea how much I appreciate knowing that people are reading and liking this story! Please review this chapter, and I'll try to update quicker!