This is for Ashley, cause she’s amazing but also not feeling the best. And we all know Jonas is the best medicine! XD I wrote this pretty quickly, but I hope you like it, Ash. Feel better soon!!
Hold Me When I’m Down
Joe was practically vibrating in place as the bus pulled to a halt in front of the hotel. Nick and Kevin laughed as he grabbed a bag and bolted off the bus, pulling their mother along with him. Soon the entire family plus Big Rob was clustered in the mostly-empty lobby as Mr. Jonas checked them in. It was still rather early, so there weren’t many guests up and about.
“Welcome to Mississippi, ya’ll.” Joe slurred with a grin on the elevator ride up to the room. Nick rolled his eyes.
“Not the accent again,” he laughed, shifting his bag on his shoulder.
“Ya’ll better get used to it,” Joe quirked an eyebrow with a teasing look on his face, and the others groaned.
“Joseph, we’re here on a mission, remember?” Kevin said with a grin. “We’ll just drop our stuff in the room and head out,” he added as they reached the room.
Mr. Jonas nodded, checking at his watch. “Just make sure you boys are back by around five, so we can all get dinner together.”
Frankie bounced into the room, already searching through his suitcase for a bathing suit. “Can we go down to the pool, Mom?”
Mrs. Jonas laughed, walking into another bedroom in the suite. “Sure, hon. We’ll head down in a few minutes,”
Seeing that their family was all settled in, Kevin grabbed the rental car keys and the three boys headed back down to the parking lot. Sliding into the driver’s seat, Kevin immediately slipped the key into the ignition. Joe switched the radio on as they pulled onto the road, Nick giving his input on the station from the backseat.
They drove for about twenty minutes, finally pulling into the driveway of a house in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood. It seemed like a random choice, but once they saw the familiar mailbox, they knew they had the right place.
Nick was the first one out this time, a smile on his face as the memories washed back over him. He shot a brief glance back at Kevin, who had an odd look on his face as he stared up at the second window from the right on the upper story. Nick knew that look, and it only confirmed his suspicions about his older brother’s possible affections.
The three of them headed up the front walk together, arms laden with several grocery bags. Joe, back his state of excitement, pressed the doorbell several more times than was necessary, and Nick smacked him on the arm lightly.
The door was opened by a groggy-looking girl with slightly tousled brown hair and glasses. She stared at them as her medicine-fogged brain tried to put things together, and then her light green eyes widened in recognition. With a happy shriek, she jumped at them, suddenly finding herself in a massive Jonas group hug.
When they all broke apart, the light flush on her face was no longer just from fever, but also from surprise and excitement. “What are you guys doing here?” she exclaimed, her voice slightly scratchy from her sore throat, but a wide smile on her face.
Joe wrapped an arm around her shoulders, ruffling her hair slightly. “How could we not come here when we heard our little Ashy is sick?” he said with a pout.
She smiled at them with a laugh. “You guys are the best. I can’t believe you took time out of your tour to come here, of all places,”
Nick lead the group back inside, his arm on the small of Ashley’s back as he sat her down on the couch. He plopped down next to her, with Kevin on the other side and Joe in the recliner. “It was Kevin’s idea,” the middle child said simply.
Ashley turned her gaze onto the oldest Jonas, who was now slightly pink. “Kevv!” she cooed, grabbing his hand. “That’s so sweet!”
He gave her a lopsided smile as Joe started pulling out things and setting them on the coffee table. “And we brought goodies to help you feel better even faster! Chicken noodle soup…cough drops…magazines if you’re bored…vitamins…cough syrup…”
Ashley’s smile widened with each item. She reached over and picked up one of the magazines with a crooked smile. “Tiger Beat?” she raised an eyebrow, seeing their faces all over the cover.
Joe batted his eyelashes at her comically. “Thought you might like to know, like ‘Which Jonas Brother is meant for you!!!1’” he squealed in a high-pitched voice. Ashley flipped open to that quiz.
Several seconds later, she burst out laughing. “I really am a pedophile! I got Nick!” Nick grinned at her, blowing a kiss.
It probably wasn’t a good idea to let Joe of all people attempt to make the chicken noodle soup. Ashley realized this about fifteen minutes into his attempts at boiling water, and knew she had to do something to save her kitchen. She stood wobbly, moving to head out their to check on him, but Kevin beat her to it. He pushed her very gently back onto the couch, pressing a light kiss to her forehead and disappearing into the kitchen.
Ashley stared after him wide-eyed, and then turned to Nick in confusion. Nick had an amused expression on his face as he ran a hand through his curls in an attempt to neaten them. The boys had always been very friendly with her since they had met a year ago at a concert meet-and-greet and immediately hit it off. But something about that moment just screamed intimacy, with the way Kevin’s eyes danced and the tenderness with which his lips met her skin. Catching Nick’s glance, Ashley suddenly felt herself turning red.
Shaking it off, she recovered just in time to have Joe walk proudly back into the room, holding a tray carefully in front of it. He set it down in front of her with flair, dropping a spoon into the steaming bowl of soup. Ashley beamed up at him. “You didn’t burn my kitchen down!”
“That’s only because I caught the oven mitt he left on the burner before he turned on the stove,” came an amused voice from the doorway. Ashley looked up and met Kevin’s eyes. Her head immediately snapped back down to the soup, a blush creeping on her cheeks again. Why was she suddenly feeling so nervous?
The boys hung around for the rest of the day, keeping Ashley company on the couch. Nick wrapped her in piles of blankets and kept a steady supply of water. Joe was their entertainment, TV completely forgotten. He proceeded to read magazine articles out loud in his Southern accent, getting hysterical laughter from the rest of them. And Kevin spent the entire time right next to Ashley, his hand in hers, cooling her warm, feverish skin. She had resigned herself to the fact that the oldest Jonas now made her heart flip, but attributed it mostly to the fever messing with her body.
Half an hour before they had to be back at the hotel, the guys stood, stretching and starting to say their goodbyes.
“I hope you guys don’t get sick too,” Ashley murmured, trying to keep the mournful tone out of her voice at the sight of them getting ready to leave. She hardly ever got to see them, having to content herself with talking on the phone and internet, so it was really nice to spend time with them. She knew she was lucky to even know them, but it still didn’t make it any easy to see them go.
Joe struck a pose. “We’re healthy as horses. We’ll be fine,”
Ashley laughed slightly, and he wrapped her in a hug. Nick was next, grinning at the fact that he was just a little bit taller than her. She scowled at his teasing expression, and then found herself in his strong arms as well, his curls tickling her cheek.
Nick and Joe waved and headed out to the car, wishing her well. But Kevin hung back, having yet hugged her goodbye. He stood in front of her in the doorway, a thoughtful smile on his face. His arms open and Ashley stepped into his embrace, reveling in the secure warmth.
His breath brushed against her earlobe. “Get well soon, Ash,”
Kevin stepped back and turned to head to the car.
“Kevin…” Ashley whispered, almost without realizing it. She was surprised when he turned around, actually catching the almost silent word. Ashley blinked at the hopeful expression on his face, her breath hitching in her throat.
Trying to collect her scattered thoughts, she attempted to reason out why she had said his name. Why she felt her heart flutter whenever he was near her. Why his eyes sent shivers down her spine. She had always been rather close with Kevin in particular, because their personalities complemented each other so well. But it had always been friendship a friendship that came very easily to the both of them. A close, comfortable friendship that meant the world to her.
And then it hit her. It hit her so hard she almost stumbled over.
“Kevin…” she breathed again, her eyes wide in realization. He looked at her intently, hardly daring to breathe. “I think…think I’m in love with you,” she finished, a look on her face that clearly didn’t believe what she was admitting.
Ashley attempted to look up but suddenly found her face in Kevin’s shirt as he enveloped her in a tight hug. She felt his arms wrap around her and she melted into him. They stood like that for a good minute, and then Kevin tilted Ashley’s chin up, staring deep into her eyes.
“I think I’m in love with you too.” He murmured.
Ashley felt joy wash over her at this statement, but then all her thoughts dissipated as she suddenly felt warm lips on hers. And then her world was Kevin, as she lost herself in the kiss, her fingers tangled in his curly hair.
When they finally broke apart breathlessly, cheeks flushed and eyes bright, there was no doubt about their feelings for each other.
Kevin pressed a lingering kiss to her lips again, and then he was gone.
And as Ashley leaned up against the doorframe, watching them go, all thoughts of sickness were gone and she couldn’t have felt better.
The end.
