CHAPTER EIGHT:
"Call him now!" Libby shouted at me from across the room. She'd been bugging me to do this the whole night.
We'd just gotten back from the concert an hour ago. She was going to call Joe on her cell phone while I called Nick on the home phone. Or, at least she thought I was going to call Nick. As if that was going to happen.
"Oh, will you stop being stubborn and just call him so she'll shut up?" Ella whined.
I laughed a little bit. "Well, Ells, I dunno how well that's gonna work out," I stated.
Ella laughed, too, twirling a strand of her long red hair around her finger as she sat on the couch.
Libby just rolled her eyes. "Fine then, I'll call him for you."
Before I could even react, she'd shot out her hand, grabbed the cordless, and was dialing the number from what Nick had written on my piece of paper.
I could hear the phone ringing all the way across the room in the dead silence that had enclosed us. I was rooted to the spot, wanting to grab some sort of sharp object and throw it at Libby. I loved her and all, but sometimes...
"Hello?" The voice of Nick Jonas could be heard where I was standing.
"Hey, Nick," Libby greeted easily. "It's Libby. Emma was too chicken to call you, so I'm doing it for her."
"Oh, um, hey Libby," he replied. "If she doesn't want to talk, she doesn't have to."
I grinned and stuck my tongue out at Libby.
"Oh, she wants to talk," Libby said, a command obviously threaded into her voice. "She's actually right here."
"Are you sure?" Nick asked uncertainly. It was obvious he'd heard the commanding in her voice.
"Absolutely," Libby replied, grinning.
"Alright then." I could hear how Nick sounded happy and it absolutely killed me. I didn't want to get involved with a guy, and that was obviously what was on his mind.
Libby tossed me the phone across the room. Reflexively, I reached out and caught it, one-handed. Skills.
I brought the phone slowly to my ear.
"Hey, Nick," I greeted reluctantly, and sighed.
"Hey, Emma," he replied. He sounded shy. Libby was silently cracking up. I looked wildly around me, and then reached out and grabbed a notepad sitting by me. I threw it with all my might at Libby. It hit her with a loud smack!
"What was that?" Nick asked.
"Oh, um," I thought of an excuse, "Libby fell down."
"Oh," Nick said. "Is she alright?"
"Oh yeah, she's absolutely fine," I replied, grinning evilly at Libby. She rubbed her arm where the notepad hit her and made a face at me.
"Well, that's good," Nick stated.
"Right," I replied, but I made it obvious that I didn't mean it, and I could almost feel the grin playing on Nick's lips.
"So, what're you up to?" he asked, making conversation.
"Oh, just standing here," I replied. I was trying to say as little as possible.
"That's cool," he stated, and I could hear him beginning to feel awkward. Good.
I laughed a little bit and heard Nick sigh at the other end.
"What?" I asked, but automatically regretted it.
He seemed surprised. "Well, it's just..." He paused. "You have a beautiful laugh."
Ella let out a loud "Awww!" and Libby shouted, "OH MY GOD, that was adorable!"
I sighed, annoyed. Nick laughed lightly.
"They can hear me?" he asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," I replied, rolling my eyes at Libby and Ella. I put my hand over the mouthpiece. "I'm going to my room so I won't be bothered."
"Ooh lala," Libby said, making kissy faces. I picked up a pillow on the couch and threw it at her, rolling my eyes. It hit her in the face with a whump.
I went to my room, closing the door firmly behind me.
Nick was quietly cracking up. "You alone now so you won't be bothered?"
"You heard that?" I was blushing madly.
"Yes," he replied, turning serious. "But it's fine. Don't be embarrassed or anything."
"Oh...okay." This boy wasn't that bad.
"So, what'd you think of our concert?" Nick asked.
"It was..." I looked for the right adjective. "Loud."
Nick laughed. "That it was. But what about the quality of the music?"
"Well, I was forced to listen to you guys on repeat after Libbs got the CD and tried to make me a fan, so to be totally honest, I wasn't that into it." I winced.
"Oh." He sounded disappointed.
"But you guys have amazing voices," I said quickly, trying to cheer him up. It killed me to hear the kid sad. "Especially you."
Okay, I hadn't meant to go that far. That had just slipped out on its own accord. Where did that even come from?
"Really?" he asked. I could hear the smile in his voice.
I sighed. "Yes, Nick, really."
"So, you live in New York, or around it?" he asked casually, trying to make more conversation.
"In," I replied, nonchalantly examining my painted black fingernails. "I live three blocks down from that Wal-Mart I...ran into you at."
"Wow, that pun was amazing," Nick joked, and I laughed lightly. "You do have a beautiful laugh."
I blushed. "Oh, uh, thanks."
"You sound a bit awkward about that," Nick pointed out. "Hasn't anyone ever told you?"
"Well, Ella and Libby," I stated. "But, they're my best friends. No one else has. My parents..." I didn't finish.
Nick didn't press me. His voice turned gentle and butterflies erupted in my stomach. I couldn't help it. "You don't have to tell me about your parents if it makes you uncomfortable, alright?"
At first, I just nodded, but then I realized he couldn't see me. "Yeah, yeah, okay," I stated hastily.
"So, who's Ella?" Nick asked, changing the subject. This boy was honestly amazing. I couldn't deny that.
"She actually owns the loft we live in," I replied. I couldn't deny that talking to Nick was really easy, and I was opening up to him. "She let Libby and I move in with her."
"That's cool," he replied, and I could hear him smiling.
"Why're you smiling?" I asked curiously.
Nick replied as if what he said were really true. "Because you are the most amazing, wonderful, beautiful girl on the planet and I have the honor of talking to you."
