Later that day…
"Well, I think we did enough work for today," Miley said, sitting down on the beach.
"Yeah, we asked fifteen people for their favorite color and we'll just ask our family for the remaining five later," Nick agreed, sitting down next to her on the sand.
The sun was starting to set and most of the tourists and locals were packing up from their day at the beach. Within a few minutes, Miley and Nick were the only people left on the long Malibu beach. A gentle wind blew by, causing Miley's hair to brush against Nick's face. He sighed.
Like I'm waiting,
Like I'm strained to feel,
He loved her. And he always had. Just before, he only loved her as the best friend that she was. Now, he loved her for much more, so much that if he kept it inside any longer, he'll burst.
But how can he tell Miley he loved her, when she had Jake? How can he put that kind of guilt and stress on his best friend? How can he force her to choose between them? How can he, when he knows she will pick Jake?
So Nick will wait. He will put off the confrontation for as long as possible. Save himself the heartbreak.
"Come on," he said, standing up. "We should go back now."
"Are we going to Hannah's today?" Joe asked after dinner was finished.
"Maybe," Kevin shrugged.
Nick was confused, "Wait, what?"
"Hannah called when you were down at the beach. She invited us over to help with the song we're going to sing for the audition—since it's Wednesday and the audition is Saturday and we still don't know what we're playing," Kevin explained.
"Yeah, that's my bad," Nick laughed.
Joe sighed impatiently, "So are we going or not?"
"Why do you care so much?" Kevin asked.
"Uh," Joe stumbled, "nothing…"
"Okay…" Nick and Kevin shared a look, "Well let's go then, for whatever Joe's unnamed reason is."
Soon after, their car pulled into Hannah's driveway and the Jonas brothers headed inside. Hannah and Lilly were watching TV when they arrived.
"Hey guys!" the girls greeted from their spot on the couch.
"Hi Hannah," Joe turned his attention to the blue-haired girl. "Lola, what are you doing here?" Only he asked this in a way that sounded like he was expecting her here all along.
She smiled, "You can't honestly be surprised I'm at my best friend's house."
Joe shrugged, trying to hide a grin that was about to overtake his face...
About a hour later, Hannah and the brothers were pretty much at the same place they started at. The song was still unfinished (not even close) and they were getting no where.
"Okay, why don't we take a break on the song and think about something else. Then we'll go back and maybe we'll get inspired," Hannah suggested.
"Yes, you will need lots of inspiration," Lilly said.
"Shut up, Lola," Nick replied.
Lilly ignored him, "Hey what is your band name? The Jonas Brothers?" Lilly laughed.
"Yes, exactly that," Kevin said.
"The Jonas Brothers?" Hannah repeated. "You couldn't come up with anything better than that? Really?"
"You might as well call yourself Kevin, Joe, & Nick!" Lilly laughed even more.
"More like Joe, Nick, & Kevin," Joe argued. Lilly doubled over in laughter.
"Uh, I don't think our lack of creativity is that funny," Nick said.
Lilly tried to catch her breath from all that laughing, "Oh, to me it is." And then she burst into another round of hysterical laughter. This time, she was rolling on the ground.
"Why don't we take five," Kevin suggested. "And let Miss Laugh-a-lot calm down here."
Joe walked off to pick Lilly off of the floor and Nick went to the bathroom, leaving Hannah and Kevin sitting at the counter barstools.
Hannah shook her head, "You guys are hopeless."
"Then why are you helping us?" Kevin asked.
"Because I thought it would be cool if you guys became famous. And helping out is what friends do."
"Are sure that's the only reason you keep inviting us over?"
"…well, it's the main reason," Hannah admitted.
"And what is the minor reason? Could it be that you want to spend more time with a certain someone, but feel too scared to be alone with him, so you ask his brothers and Laugh Attack to come along?"
"It's possible."
"I see."
I can't understand,
I wanted you still.
"Hannah," Kevin sighed, "why haven't you told Nick yet?"
"There is nothing to tell," Hannah said. "I mean, what do I say? 'The break-up was a mistake and I want you still'?"
Kevin nodded. Hannah shook her head.
Meanwhile, Joe was bending over to pull Lilly up from the ground. He took her hand and pulled her up. She finally stopped laughing enough so she could stand straight.
"Really, Lola. What is so funny?"
"I don't know. It was just really funny."
"Lola Ryan, you are one strange girl." A second later, both of them started cracking up about absolutely nothing at all.
"What (laugh) are we laughing about (laugh) now?" Lilly choked out between her laughs.
"I have no (laugh) idea. I'm laughing because (laugh) you're laughing."
"And I'm laughing (laugh) because you're laughing."
"Okay, on (laugh) the count of three, let's stop. One…(laugh)...two…(laugh)(laugh)...three…" They paused for a moment and then started laughing again, even harder.
Lilly liked laughing. It made her forget about her problems, if only for a short while. And she was happy Joe was laughing too. It was so much better than seeing him on the verge of tears. It was a relief to know that she won't be hurting Joe any more.
And then Lilly noticed that Joe still hasn't let go of her hand. He pulled her up from the ground five minutes ago…She also noticed how he was standing closer than necessary to her...Then there was the fact that Hannah, Nick, and Kevin had already left the room but Joe stayed here...with her... Lilly stopped laughing.
Joe saw Lilly's sudden change of mood and stopped as well, "Lola? What's wrong?"
I still wonder:
Am I still stuck in your head?
In your head?
It couldn't be. Joe could not be falling for her. Again.
Lilly looked up and saw that caring look in Joe's eyes, he was staring at her so lovingly…
No. This is wrong. This is not supposed to happen. This wasn't part of the plan. Lola's plan had backfired, just like Hannah predicted. Sure Joe wasn't in love with 'Lilly' anymore, he's in love with 'Lola', the real Lilly. But real or fake, he's still going to be heartbroken—again—when Lilly picks Jackson.
Which means they went all this way just to go back to square one.
A short chapter, but I wanted to update so I could wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Next order of business: I have a problem. I don't know how this story will end, which is bad since I'm the author.
I asked you who you wanted Lilly and Lola to end up with and you told me. (Actually you only care about Lilly. It doesn't matter to any of y'all who Lola ends up with, which I find really funny.) First of all, I'm getting the message that you don't like Jackson. Okay, I get it. No Lackson. And that leaves Joe and Oliver. I have gotten a lot of reviews from Loe supporters, and I've also gotten reviews from "diehard Lolivers". (That's you, AHigherOctave!)
The poll on my profile says that Loe is winning. I have a few more things planned for this story and then it will lead down to the ending. SO PLEASE VOTE IF YOU HAVEN'T! I need to know this will end!
And then there is the deal with Mike. I've decided Mike will appear at the end (probably the epilogue) and possibly in a short sequel. Possibly.
Yeah, I know, this author's note takes up like a third of the chapter, but oh well. Like I said before, happy new year!