Part II: Extended

A couple of minutes of conversation, exchanging casualties and small details. The two winning fans, reluctantly, complied when a call for them to depart came. Rhiannon was still shy, nervously glancing around at whatever she could pretend to be interested in. She was in accompaniment with the Jonas Brothers, by invitation from Joe Jonas himself, but her spirits weren't lifted easily. Kevin wasn't focusing on the pair, he'd gone off to chat with some stage manager. He'd always been interested in what went on behind the scenes, oddly enough. Rhiannon and Joe were left alone, him sitting smugly on the couch, spread out; flirting in his own subtle way.

"So Rhi," Joe questioned, looking up at her.

"So Joe..." She shot right back, not intimidated or overwhelmed by his fame nor fortune.
"Hey Rhi? Who's your favorite band?" Joe asked, half expecting the answer to be the band he himself was a part of.

"I like the old stuff, you know? Modest Mouse was one of my favorites, but barely anyone these days has heard of them!" Rhiannon scuffed her feet awkwardly, she wasn't one to express her opinions, more to nod and pretend like she had no mind of her own.

"Wait, Modest Mouse?" Joe questioned, his voice raising it's volume a slight bit. He'd always loved the oldies as well, but Kevin had always been opposed to bringing back the golden age. "I love them!" The boys brown eyes sparkled, as he got into the beat playing inside his head.

"Well, it would've been, could've been worse than you would ever know.
Oh, the dashboard melted, but we still have the radio.

Oh, it should've been, could've been worse than you would ever know.
Well, you told me about nowhere well it sounds like someplace I'd like to go.

Oh, it could've been, should've been worse than you would ever know.
Well, the windshield was broken but I love the fresh air y'know."

Joe sang, his eyes closed and mouth belting out with the pipes of a true musical artist, before Rhiannon without thinking accompanied him through the rest of the song. He'd noticed her singing, and was listening to her voice. Angels, they were hard to come by, sure, but Joe at that very moment knew he was face to face with an angel. Her melodic voice rang through the room, reverberating off the walls and filling Joe's ears with the most silky sound he'd ever heard.

Rhiannon was broken from her trance, Joe had stopped singing. She shuddered, and returned her usual position with her head face down in her lap. She never sang, never.

"Rhiannon, that was amazing. Look, you know I would never say that but--" he gasped in awe, "Wow!" he mouthed.

Part III

"Ma'am, we can't accept this." The cashier grumbled uninterestedly. He handed her the penny.

"Why the hell not?" Laken imposed, looking at her penny sarcastically. It was Canadian, big deal. "You're all racist, aren't you? You can't take a Canadian penny, pathetic."

Kevin watched, perplexed. He wore a hoodie, and sunglasses barely concealing his identity. He grew impatient, sifting through the customers on line.

When he reached the register, the scene hadn't changed.
"Miss, I'm not allowed to accept that." The cashier defended, his ground stood.

"Then take a charge, cheapskate! It's a damn penny." She shoved the box of tampons in his face, "Are you really going to deprive a woman of feminine products? So much for respect for women-kind." She animated, causing a scene throughout the store.

"Here," an arm extended out to her, Laken's eyes following it back to Kevin Jonas, offering a penny. Laken groaned, accepted the penny, and finished her business. She turned for the door, only to feel a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, you're welcome." Kevin hinted, a slightly dazed look on his face.

Laken turned, a look of disgust on her face, as she looked the star right in the eye.

"Kev, it's not like you wanted to help. You just wanted to get to your Redbull faster." She surveyed the item in his hand.

He wasn't expecting his identity to be so obvious, and lingered for a moment. "Look, whatever. I'm sorry alright?" Kevin grunted, slightly amused.

"I guess I owe somewhat of an apology." Laken played along, satisfied that he'd given in.

"Why is that such a big deal?" He prodded. Kevin didn't understand why she couldn't go on without causing a scene.

"Maybe it's called dignity? I'm supposed to just accept disrespect, yeah, that's logical," Laken retaliated.

"Maybe it's called hard-headedness," the Jonas Brother shot right back. He wasn't used to this much tension upon first encounter. He'd have been lying if he'd said that he thought his last name didn't make a difference.

"Look, if insulting random strangers is one of the top priorities on your agenda then you need a serious reality check," She was fired up now. "Irritability!" She waved the box of tampons in his face, "At least I have an excuse."

Kevin ignored what she'd just said, were girls supposed to be so open about what was going on with them? "That's not the only thing on my agenda! I sit on the bus and hunch over cans of Red Bull like an addict too!"

"Wow, Kev!" She almost laughed, but for the sake of maintaining her tough our shell concealed it. "Get a girl or something," Laken suggested dryly.

"Yeah, maybe I will," Kevin pondered the idea, a night away from his life as a rock star, with a girl who wasn't dating him because of his celebrity status.

"Fine, do that then!" Laken retorted, what kind of response was that? 'Maybe I will?' Juvenile, much?

"So I'll pick you up at eight?" Kevin smiled, pearly whites glistening in the ever-so fortunate sun that randomly shone down on the convenience store.

Laken just smiled, and pivoted into the other direction.

She opened the door, and stopped mid-way through it.

"See you then, Jonas." Laken smiled, a hint of smugness painting her face. She couldn't help but smile the whole way home.