This chapter takes place on February 26th, 2 days after the Oscars fiasco. The boys have a day off in Kansas City, Missouri before the concert on the 27th.
Today we had a day off, a rare occurrence for us since last September when we started this insane touring schedule. Kevin, Joe, and I were sitting in our dad's car as he drove the three of us downtown to meet with a LiveNation representative.
Joe and Kevin were arguing over what color car Joe should buy when we got home to LA in the summer. Apparently Joe had insulted Kevin's taste when he stated that green cars look like someone has puked on them (Kevin's first car had been green). I sighed and stared out of the window at the double yellow lines dividing the road.
I still wasn't quite over the events of the other night. Miley and I were technically still talking to each other. Although I wasn't about to call her on my own account, yesterday she called Kevin and asked to talk to me for a moment or two. I seriously considered either pretending I was busy or just flat-out telling her off, but I had to remind myself that we were still friends. Besides, I found an excuse to leave the conversation after about 2 minutes—before I let my emotions get the better of me.
My dad announced that we had arrived, and pulled the car into a spot in a parking garage across the street. I looked up at the skyscraper before me. This contract with LiveNation was going to help our careers, but I was beginning to resent it. We still had over a year and a half of touring to go, and I was already physically and mentally exhausted.
The office that our meeting was in was on the 45th floor, so the elevator ride up took quite a while. Joe and Kevin were still debating on car colors.
"Are you serious Kev? Light blue? What am I, a girl? Why don't I just get a hot pink car with sparkles and streamers instead? That would make it sooo much more masculine," cried Joe. Granted, there were quite a few other people in the elevator as well.
"Dad's car is light blue! What, are you calling him a girl now?"
Apparently it was getting a little too heated—while waving his hands in the air in emphasis, Kevin smacked a fifty-something-year-old lady in the back.
"Ah, oh, I'm so sorry ma'am. I…"
"Save it young man. Sir, please control your children, this is a workplace for Christ's sake!" she shrieked. The elevator dinged signaling that it had reached the 24th floor, and with a huff, she stomped her way out the elevator door.
We silently stared after her until the door had shut again. As soon as she was out of sight, the entire elevator burst into laughter.
One of the younger suited businessmen turned around and faced Kevin. "Thank you so much. We have all had to deal with that disagreeable woman for years now. I never would have had the courage to confront her like that."
"Um, thanks? But it really was an accident," Kevin blushed. Before we had to face any more awkward comments, the door opened at the 45th floor.
Our dad led us to the third office on the right side of the hallway and knocked. The door read 'LiveNation Kansas City, Mr. Herald Farnt.' I stared quietly at the other doors of the hallway. One of them read 'Mr. Miles Kent.' A picture of Miley flashed in my mind.
Stop it Nick. Today has nothing to do with Miley, and thinking about it won't make you feel any better.
A portly man with a shiny, bald head opened the door and greeted my dad with a handshake. I filed into the room behind Joe and Kevin and sat in one of the four chairs lined up in front of Mr. Farnt's desk.
"Hello Jonas family. I invited you here today to make an additional proposition for this concert tour. As you know, you have a concert coming up next Saturday in Tampa, Florida."
I yawned and sank down into my chair. I felt like my presence in this meeting didn't even matter. My dad would make any decision for the band the way he saw best for us. Even though he did consult the three of us for our opinions, Joe and Kevin always agreed with his decision. Even if I didn't think that the contract was going to work out, I was always overruled.
"Well, I would like to record that concert and make it available, live, on pay-per-view," he leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands together on his desk, waiting expectantly for our thoughts.
"What would we charge though?" my dad questioned. "Wouldn't people who paid for tickets already be upset if we charged less to watch it at home?"
"LiveNation has been deliberating this for a while now, and we think that charging $25 would be a good deal. We would also sell commercial time to fill in between songs."
"I think it's a great idea, personally. With tickets selling out so fast, a lot of fans didn't even have the opportunity to purchase them. What do you boys think?"
"I like it too dad. Even if this does anger a few fans, I think it will work to the advantage of those thousands more who couldn't come out to the concert. Have you done interest polls?" asked Kevin.
"Actually yes." He pulled out several thick packets from the filing cabinet behind his desk. "From the Jonas Brothers official website, 86 percent of fans who claimed to have not seen the concert yet said that they would be interested in a pay-per-view version of the concert. Also, 43 percent of fans who had already seen the concert were interested in seeing it again."
"Wow, in that case, I'm in too," said Joe, reaching forward and grabbing a mint out of a dish on Mr. Farnt's desk. "Who am I to deny thousands of obsessed fan girls their chance to see more of this," he added, patting his chest.
Mr. Farnt chuckled. "How about you Nick?"
"Um, I don't really care. If you guys think it's a good idea, then I'm okay with it."
"Well it's settled then. All you have to do now is sign and the Jonas Brothers with be seen, live, in thousands of homes around the world."
"Why don't you boys go find something to occupy yourselves while I read this. Come back in about 10 minutes."
I pushed myself up from my chair and walked out of the room. I held the door open for Joe and Kevin, and then we walked down the hallway and into a lounge area near the elevators. I liked this room so much more than Mr. Farnt's stuffy office. It was mostly blocked off from the hallway and offices, and had a few vending machines along one of the walls and two large windows that overlooked the south end of the city.
"I'm pretty excited about this deal. This means that we're getting even more exposure," said Kevin as he walked over to the window and looked down at the street below.
"I know. I can't believe how much our careers have grown over the past year. I'm glad that we switched over to Hollywood Records. I think that was the kick start that we needed." Joe took a bouncy ball out of his pocket and was bouncing it off of the glass of the vending machine.
I sighed and sank down into a chair in the corner, shutting my eyes almost instantly.
"You alright Nick, you seem kind of out of it," said Kevin as he walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Not really Kevin. Things haven't been going all that well for me lately. Plus I'm exhausted."
"Miley again?" I nodded and placed my head in my hands, rubbing my temples lightly. "Dude, you just need to get it over with and tell her how you feel. Her answer can't be worse than what you're putting yourself through now."
"I know Kev, but I just don't think I'm strong enough to face her. I know I'll chicken out. Either that or she'll laugh in my face. I can't decide which is worse."
Joe walked over to us with a strange look on his face. I would describe it as a mix between confusion and constipation. "You alright Joe?" Kevin asked, laughing.
"I have an idea…" he started very slowly. "It works out really well with this pay-per-view thing, and you wouldn't have to face her directly." A mischievous smile crossed his face and he sat down in front of me. "So here's what we do…"
I don't usually trust Joe, but maybe this plan will work out and I will finally tell Miley that I love her.
I'm sorry that this chapter had no Miley/Nick or concert action, but this information is really important to the rest of the story. There are two planned chapters left, and I have an idea for a third, so if you have any ideas, let me know. Please review! I really appreciate them!