This is dedicated to my friend, Emma. I know that there is no way that she'll ever read this, but she inspired it.
HEAR ME OUT
CHAPTER 1
“Are we coming or are we going? I can’t even tell anymore,” Nick said as he picked up his carry-on baggage and followed his brothers down the bustling passageway of an airport.
As to what airport they were in, they were all unsure. Newark International. LAX. JFK. It could have been any of them. Though each stay there was brief, airports had become the Jonas Brothers’ second home. They spent more time in any given airport than they ever spent in the place that they really called home. If not for the signs that decorated the walls of each airport, the boys would never know where they were.
“O’Hare International Airport,” Joe read to himself. “So that means we are…where?”
“Are you serious?” Kevin asked. He jokingly smacked the back of his brother’s head. “Everybody knows O’Hare is in Chicago. I worry about you sometimes.”
Kevin and Nick shook their heads at Joe in unison and made their way towards their respective gate. To their surprise, people were already lining up to board the plane. Kevin picked up his pace and squinted at the board that displayed the flight information.
“11:30? Joe, you said 1:30,” Kevin huffed in frustration, motioning for his two younger brothers to catch up.
“11:30 and 1:30 look the same to me. Almost. Shut up, I was close,” Joe said when he caught up to his brother, his face getting rosier by the second.
“Okay, I really worry about you sometimes. You are so lucky mom made us leave early. Boarding started at 11:05. It’s 11:19,” Kevin said, looking at his watch.
The line to board the aircraft moved at a steady pace and before they knew it, the brothers were nearly next in line. There were only two groups ahead of them, one consisting of two men in business suits, the other of two girls that were around the same age as the boys themselves. The taller of the two had cascading blonde hair, while the other a short pixie cut, her hair much darker. However, their striking facial features implied that they were sisters. The two girls stared absentmindedly out the window as they awaited their turn. The two businessmen in front of them handed over their tickets to be checked and made their way onto the plane, but the girls didn’t move up in the line. They weren’t caught up in conversation and only one of them was distracted by a blaring iPod. Kevin looked at his watch and tapped his foot impatiently. He didn’t want to be pushy, but he didn’t want the plane to take off any later than it had to. The boys had a show that night in a state that was hours away and he knew they couldn’t afford a delay.
“You can board the plane now, I think,” Nick whispered politely.
Neither girl moved, so Nick asked again.
“Um, excuse me. You can get on the plane now,” his second request more audible than the first.
“Are you deaf for crying out loud?” Joe yelled, his impatience getting the best of him.
The blonde girl removed her ear buds and shot Joe a menacingly glare. Gently slipping her iPod into her tote bag, she scoffed at him.
“No, I’m not deaf,” she replied.
She spun around quickly and grabbed the arm of her travelling companion and walked at a quickened pace towards the plane. She stopped in her tracks when she was about halfway and threw her head back over her shoulder.
“But she is,” she said.
“Yeah, okay. Nice try,” Joe said with an arrogant laugh. “Like I’d believe that.”
The girl shook her head, disgusted by Joe’s naivety. She jolted the arm of her sister and the two continued on their way. The blonde girl threw her carry on in the overhead compartment before helping her sister do the same with hers. She situated herself in the aisle seat and realized how naked her ears felt without the set of headphones that usually adorned them. She stepped out of her seat and back into the aisle, groping around her bag for the iPod.
“Excuse me,” a voice said politely.
“No, Nick. You have to yell. They’re deaf, remember. Excuse me!” Joe said, the volume of his voice increasing with every word.
Trying to ignore Joe’s childish antics, the girl took her seat once again and turned her iPod up to practically full blast. Her face fell when Joe and his brothers took the seats opposite hers. The last thing she wanted was to have a five hour flight next to the most obnoxious and inconsiderate boy she had ever met in her life.
