This chapter starts out during the afternoon of March 8th, right before the concert that will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.
"What time is it?" I groaned. "We have been sitting here for hours!"
"It's only been 5 minutes since you last asked, and what time did I tell you it was then?" snapped Kevin. We had to come to the venue extremely early this morning (8 o'clock in the morning, to be exact) to prepare for this concert. Because it was going to be broadcast live, we had to change the performance up a lot to allow for commercial time and smooth transitions between songs.
"5:03," I mumbled. "I know, sorry, but we've been here forever! I just want to get this concert over with so I know if my life is ruined or not." I dropped my head into my hands and sighed.
Kevin leaned forward from his seat on the couch and grabbed the remote off of the dressing room's coffee table. He flicked off the television set and turned to face me. "However tomorrow goes, I just want you to be able to look back on tonight and be proud that you tried."
"I know Kev, but it's so hard. The only positive sign that she has given me today was when she agreed to watch tonight." I lifted my head out of my hands and wiped away a tear that had fallen down my cheek. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and continued. "I don't want to pour my heart out to her if she's doesn't feel the same way. I don't think our friendship could handle that kind of tension. I don't think any relationship could."
"Remember when Joe and I helped you write Just Friends? You wanted to get your thoughts off of your chest without letting Miley actually know how you felt." I just nodded and leaned back on the couch, letting my head hit the wall lightly. "Joe and I came up with the first line of the chorus, much to your disliking. Everyone knows it's meant to be, falling in love just you and me. I wouldn't have written those lyrics if I didn't wholeheartedly believe in them. They are part of the song because they are true. Ask anyone."
"Oh come on, you're over-exaggerating."
"I'll prove it to you. Hold on one sec." He pushed himself up from the couch, completely ignoring my pleas for him to drop the subject, and walked over to the door. He stuck his head out into the hallway and yelled, "Jack! Can you come here for a second? I need your help with something."
He turned to me and smirked. I simply flashed him a glare and stared at the wall in front of me.
"You called?" Jack Lawless followed Kevin back into the room, and the two of them stood in the doorway facing me.
"Fill in the blank please. loves Nick Jonas." My mouth dropped wide open and I stared at my older brother, incredulously.
"Miley Cyrus," Jack responded immediately, looking at Kevin like he had 5 heads.
Kevin laughed lightly at both of our responses. "And how do you know this, Jack?" He reached out his hand to Jack, pretending he had a microphone and was interviewing his band mate for the evening news.
"I spent four months with the two of them, and I have an older sister. It doesn't take more than common sense to know that those two are made for each other."
"Thank you Jack, that will be all." Once Jack crossed through the doorframe and back into the hallway, Kevin shut the door and turned to me. I just shook my head and stared him down.
"That doesn't prove anything, but thanks. I actually think that this odd pep talk helped." The door burst open and Joe barged into the room, panting like a lap dog.
"Guys, dad says that we have to be back on stage in five minutes to go through the whole concert again." He walked over to the fridge in the corner of the room, grabbed a water bottle, and fell down into the makeup chair in the corner.
"Where have you been and why are you so sweaty?" Said Kevin as he grabbed his shoes off of the floor in front of him and began to retie them onto his feet.
"Well, I went for a jog, and then a really crazy fan girl started running after me. I had to sprint away as Ron (his bodyguard) tackled her and waited for a cop to come arrest her." He looked up at us and puffed out his chest. "Jeeze, I must just be so irresistible."
Kevin and I laughed hysterically for a good 3 minutes straight before Joe cleared his throat, clearly annoyed with being made fun of. "Yeah, Joe, they just want your oh so sexy body."
The entire band was sitting in a large circle in the middle of the floor of the stage prep area, relaxing and talking about the show. Our dad walked through the doorway and stood in the middle of the circle, clearing his throat to get our attention.
"Okay guys, this is it. The concert that will go down in history as the most widely viewed full-length concert of all time." He took a short pause as we all let out an excited cheer. "Just go out there and perform as you regularly do, taking in mind of the set-list change and the extended breaks. Now, let's do this!" We all jumped up from the floor and crowded around him, stretching our hands out toward him.
"One…" called Kevin, followed by Joe's "Dos!" and finally, my much quieter but equally excited/nervous "Three!"
"Let's rock!" The whole band chimed in before we all ran off to our respective positions for the start of the show. To make this concert really special for all of the fans watching, we were going to have Frankie introduce us, and being the attention-lover that he is, he wanted to be lowered to the stage by the platform that we usually use to start the show. So, that left us with being raised up through three trap doors on stage.
"Remember," Joe called over to me over the roar of the crowd signaling Frankie's appearance, "after Australia we move right to the songs from the new CD, and SOS is switched with When You Look Me in the Eyes."
I just nodded and gulped. Hopefully this plan doesn't crash and burn. I adjusted my guitar nervously as I looked over to my mom. She was standing next to Joe, adjusting his outfit as a tech guy handed him a mic. I smiled and motioned for her to come over to me when she was finished.
"Mom, you are too good to us. We would go out on stage in sweats if you didn't set out our clothes to wear every day." I gave her a quick hug as she wished me luck and walked over to the wing of the stage, where my dad was talking to the manager of the venue.
"And now, please give a warm welcome to my 'favorite siblings'—I have to say that or they'll wrestle me later—Kevin, Joe, and Nick!"
I took my guitar pick out of my pocket and strummed the first few chords of Year 3000, Kevin joining in as he picked up my progression. The second that we were raised onto the stage, flashbulbs illuminated the entire arena, and cheers erupted over the crowd.
After we finished the song, Kevin walked up to the front of the stage and addressed the audience. "I would like to thank each and every person who is watching this performance tonight. Whether you are sitting at home on the couch right now or you are dancing in your seat in the audience, Nick, Joe, and I appreciate your continued support and know that you guys are our greatest fans!" Another round of screams ripped through the arena.
Joe ran up and started touching the hands of the fans in the first two rows. "We have mixed up this concert a little to make it extra special for all of you, and we have a few surprises up our sleeves."
I walked over towards Kevin and stepped up onto an amp behind him. "Now, let's get this party started! Right now we would like to play you a song very near and dear to my heart. Just Friends!" I did a quick back flip off of the amp and ran back to my mic for the start of the song.
(A.N. This isn't part of Joe's plan.)
During the concert, we had done a few unique interactions with the audience. Before we performed the songs from our new album we showed a video of us recording in our Gibson Tour Bus. However, the biggest moment of the concert had yet to come.
When you love someone
And they break your heart
Don't give up on love
Have faith, restart
Just hold on (hold on)
Hold on
Hold on!
"Thank you Tampa for coming out here tonight to support us. It means so much that our fans appreciate all of the hard work we are doing." Joe called over the roar of the crowd. "And thank you to all of our home viewers for helping us make history tonight! We couldn't have done it without you!" With that we all ran offstage. We had a few minutes to chill and prepare for our encore, so I went to my dressing room to get my cell phone.
When I picked it up the front screen was lit up and said '1 New TXT Message from Miley.'
I smiled and flipped open the phone, quickly responding to the short sentence that she had written.
Nick-
Tell your brothers that I wish them the best of luck. I'll be watching my TV from the front row—my living room couch, so flash me one of those trademark smiles and have fun!
3 Miley 7:04
Miley-
Thanks so much. It means a lot to me that you are watching. Stay tuned for the encore, I have a surprise for you.
-Nick 8:49
I pushed the phone into the pocket of my jeans and made my way back to the stage. Okay, this is it Nick. Either this plan finally gets Miley and me together or our friendship is over for good. At the wing of the stage, a tech manager handed me my guitar and gave me the signal to walk back out to my mic, which had been moved to the center of the stage.
I took a deep breath and sat down on the stool in front of it, completely turning the thousands of screaming girls on mute as I focused on the television camera directly in front of me.
"This concert I am going to be doing something a little different for the encore. As you might have noticed, we skipped a few of our key songs during the show. I wanted to perform them now so I had the chance to dedicate each one, specifically."
"First, let me reintroduce my brothers, who will be accompanying me on guitar." Joe and Kevin came onstage, with their guitars hanging on their shoulders, and stood behind me on either side of my stool. "The first song that we will be performing is one of my personal favorites. I would like to dedicate it to a very special lady in my life that is at home in LA right now, watching this performance."
Kevin strummed the first chord progression of Hello Beautiful and I jumped right into singing the first verse. Unlike our album version of the song, I was going to be singing both verses.
Hello Beautiful
How's it going?
I hear it's wonderful in California
I've been missing you its true
But tonight I'm gonna fly
Yea tonight I'm gonna fly
Cause I could go across the world
See everything and never be satisfied
If I couldn't see those eyes
Hello Beautiful
It's been a long time
Since my phone's rung
And you've been on that line
I've been missing you it's true
But tonight I'm gonna fly
Yea tonight I'm gonna fly
Cause I could go across the world
See everything and never be satisfied
If I couldn't see those eyes
"Thank you guys. It really means a lot to me that you liked this version of the song. Ok next, I need to request the help of an audience member. Joe, can you help me out?"
"Right little bro. Okay, will the lucky fan with the ticket in section P, row C, seat 13 please see a security guard? We would like you to join us on stage."
After a short wait, a young girl—probably about 8 years old—walked up to me and I gave her a huge hug as she sat down on my stool. "What's your name, cutie?"
"Stella." She blushed and looked down towards the floor.
"Well Stella, is there anyone that you would like to dedicate this next song to?"
"Um, my best friend Sammy is in the audience, so I guess that I would like to dedicate this song to Sammy and to my brother Colby."
"There you have it Miami, this next song will be dedicated to Stella, Sammy, and Colby. I would also like to send a shout out to one of my best friends, you know who you are. I never told you this before, but I wrote this second version just for you. I urge you to read into the lyrics, because they truly express how I feel."
We did the CD version of When You Look Me in the Eyes, and during the song, a few tears slipped down my cheeks. After I had strummed the last chord of the song I turned the camera and waved. "Thanks for watching. You guys are the reason that this concert was possible. Oh, and to that friend, I'll call you later." I ran over to Kevin and Joe and gave them high-fives, and then we ran off the stage.
Some 2750 miles away, Miley sat on her couch, staring incredulously at her television set, which had now gone black. After a few moments of comprehension, tears began to stream down her face and she buried her head into one of the couch pillows.
OMG I'm soooo excited! Tomorrow I get to see the Jonas Brothers in Atlantic City! My next chapter will be a lot more realistic with the concert scenes because I will have factual information! I'll let you guys know how it goes… Please review!