This is my one-shot for Ren from the exchange Ashley, Ren, and I did. I'm really proud of this. Hope you like it Ren! : )
Seasons of Love
They met in the winter, and completely by accident. It was fate really. She was out in the park near her new home, enjoying the first snow of the season and trying to get away from the hectic unpacking that comes with moving into a new house; he was running around with his brothers, in the midst of a rowdy snowball fight that was a tradition during any significant snowstorm. A shot gone astray, and soon she was brushing powdered clumps out of her wavy red hair, careful not to let the cold flakes slip under the scarf she had draped around her neck. She looked up in time to see a dark-haired boy run over, an apologetic look on his face, his brothers shaking their heads in the background.
“I’m sorry! I was aiming for my brother but I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally hit you, so I’m really sorry!” he said in a rush, his brown eyes wide. His hair was spike up and covered with chunks of snow, courtesy of his brothers. He paused, studying her face intently. “Are you new here? I’ve never seen you around town before…”
“I just moved to town two days ago,” she smiled, brushing off the last of the snowball and extending her mitten-clad hand to the guy in front of her. “I’m Ren.”
“Joe. Nice to meet you.”
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Winter was well-spent, getting to know her new friends and neighbors. She had just moved into town with her family, thanks to her father’s new job, and had spent months before worrying about being the new kid in town. But then, only days after arriving, Ren found herself an honorary member of the Jonas family. After accidentally hitting her with a snowball, Joe insisted on Ren coming back to their house for hot chocolate as an apology.
Ren then found herself in a cozy house, welcomed warmly by a friendly woman with dark curly hair who insisted on being called “Denise” rather than anything formal. The group had clustered around the kitchen table, mugs in hand and an easy conversation flowing around the room. The youngest boy, who had introduced himself with a toothy grin as “Frank the Tank”, clambered up into a chair at the counter and proceeded to announce that Joe had hit their new friend with a snowball. Denise turned a scolding look on her blushing son, but Ren laughed and assured her there was no harm done.
Kevin, the oldest, played the part of the gentleman and offered her a tour of the house. Nick accompanied them, staying quiet for the most part but interjecting a comment now and then. Ren thoroughly enjoyed herself, laughing with the two boys over the family pictures on the wall and the jokes they cracked to make her smile. After only a couple of hours with the Jonases, she was already feeling at home with them. Joe was definitely the loudest of the brothers, though Kevin had just as much energy. Frankie was adorable and had immediately latched onto her, proclaiming Ren his new best friend. Nick was the quietest, but that wasn’t saying much compared to the other three. He was really easy to talk to, and came out with some of the funniest stories.
Concluding the impromptu tour, they returned to the kitchen just as a man stepped inside, stamping out his shoes on the mat before greeting Denise with a smile. His eyes landed on Ren, and Joe spoke up, introducing her to their father, the minister of the church next door.
She spent another hour in the house before her cell phone went off in her pocket, her mother calling her home for dinner. Reluctantly bidding the Jonas family goodbye, she walked down the street in the swirling snow.
Two days later, Ren was mid-breakfast when the doorbell rang. Home alone in the house, she set down her bowl of cereal on the coffee table and padded into the foyer, blanket wrapped securely around her shoulders. She opened the front door to a blast of cold air and was surprised to see Joe grinning at her from the doorstep.
“Do you like ice skating?”
The rest of winter break continued much like that, Ren spending almost all her time with the Jonas boys. They would show up at her house with some fun activity planned, or call to invite her to come over and just hang. She returned the gesture by having them over almost three times a week for specially-prepared dinners of their choice. They all grew really close, hanging out in each of their houses pretty much daily, not having school to cut into their free time.
Ren found out early into their friendship that the whole family was musically-inclined, to her obvious delight. She spent hours with them in the basement, listening to their songs, playing duets with Nick on the piano, and just enjoying their company. Ren was very impressed by their talent and thus not that surprised to discover that their band was gaining in popularity and had a respectable fan base.
When school started up again, Ren was thrilled to find that she had a majority of her classes with Joe. She was a year younger than him but had been placed in the sophomore grade due to the advanced classes she had taken back in her old school. The other schoolmates were surprised to see Joe Jonas stroll in on the first day back from vacation with the new girl, but Ren was friendly and nice, and immediately fit in with Joe’s group of friends. Nick was still in the middle school so they didn’t see him, but they met up with Kevin at lunch time, and Ren was introduced to his friends. She was surprised to get such a warm reception from kids in the senior class, having expected them to be stuck-up and condescending. Already feeling much better about the first day in a new school, Ren was happy to find that the workload in her classes was challenging enough to give her something to do. Thinking she was really going to enjoy living in this town, Ren settled easily into her new life.
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Spring brought even more opportunities to hang out with the boys. Ren’s parents were happy to see her in such close friendships, and had even taken to spending time with Denise and Paul when their busy schedules would allow it. They both had work constantly, but that just meant that the Jonas family would often have Ren over for dinner so she didn’t have to eat alone. There were no complaints from any party involved, since she loved spending time with them and they equally enjoyed her company.
One sunny Saturday morning, Ren was out at the mailbox when a pair of hands covered her eyes from behind. “Guess who?”
“Joe.” She said matter-of-factly, recognizing the voice even though he had raised it to an obviously fake high pitch. The hands dropped from her face as Joe made a disappointed noise.
“That’s no fun!” he laughed, whirling her around and grabbing her shoulders lightly. “How’s the birthday girl? Feel old yet?” he asked, his eyes dancing.
Ren stared at him in surprise. She had told him her birthday almost a month ago as they got to know each other, yet he had still remembered.
Joe feigned hurt, pressing a hand to his heart dramatically. “Why, Ren! Did you really think I would forget your birthday?”
She laughed, flicking at his newly longer hair. “I guess not. And as for feeling old, I’m your age now. So I must be getting close to senile.”
He made a face at her, grabbing her hand and leading her to his house. To her confusion they headed for the backyard rather than going inside.
There, spread out on the grass was a blanket and picnic basket, along with a small pile of brightly-colored presents. Awed, Ren let Joe sit her down, and they were soon joined by the three other Jonas boys for lunch. She had just been planning to hang out at home that day, doing nothing special until her parents got home for the annual birthday dinner. So this was a very pleasant and touching surprise.
After eating, each of the guys presented with their gift. Frankie had made an adorable frame out of popsicle sticks that he decorated lavishly with markers. She laughed when she saw the picture of the five of them he had chosen to put in the center: from their ice-skating trip. They were all sprawled out in the pile on the ice, with Frankie sitting victoriously on the top. She gave the grinning young boy a hug, exclaiming that she loved it.
Nick then presented her with a beautiful little jewelry box, with music notes carved intricately across the wooden surface. Kevin had gotten her a limited edition, hardbound copy of Pride and Prejudice, complete with stunning, detailed watercolor illustrations. She gave each of them a hug, thanking them profusely.
Then Joe passed her a small box, wrapped in sunny yellow paper. Pulling off the wrapping and opening the lid, she gasped out loud. It was a delicate heart-shaped locket with her initials engraved in the back. She threw her arms around him, almost in tears. “I’ll wear it everyday,” she breathed into his ear softly.
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Summer seemed to come inexplicably fast. Kevin graduated, and Ren looked forward to spending time with the guys like she had during winter vacation.
But it wasn’t to be so. The guys were steadily gaining in popularity, and although Ren was immensely proud of them, they also had less and less time to spend with friends. More shows meant lots of traveling, and while Ren went along to some of them, she could only be away from home so long with her parents’ permission.
She had a close-knit group of friends from school, so it wasn’t as if she was spending her summer alone. But it wasn’t the same as hanging out with Joe, Nick, and Kevin, her first friends in town and quite possibly the most entertaining people she had ever met. It was also a bit frustrating, when they called, to hear them exclaim over how weird it was to have fans, when Ren had been there practically from the beginning, along with a lot of other people in town.
She grew worried when she did them in person and noticed their style growing a bit more polished, more Hollywood. After ten minutes with them, however, Ren’s fears dissipated. They were still the same boys she had first met, to her relief.
It took one late night phone call for her perspective to change dramatically. Joe had called after a show a few states away to talk, having not been in contact for a good week. They were just saying their goodbyes after a two hour conversation when Ren realized with a jolt that she didn’t want to stop talking to him. She enjoyed his company more than she could have ever imagined.
Somewhere during the past few months, she had fallen in love with Joe.
But could she ever act on those feelings? Would she have the courage to possibly ruin a great friendship? But then her choice no longer mattered, because only three days later, came a fateful announcement over dinner at Ren’s house with the two families.
“We’re moving to Hollywood. We got signed.” Kevin announced, looking both proud and a bit sad. And then Ren felt like her heart was breaking. If it was awful seeing them only once a week, how was it going to be when they were on the other side of the country? She played with the peas on her plate, trying to mask the sadness on her face.
She was barely listening as her parents offered up their congratulations and help with packing. Ren knew she was being a bit rude and should have been happy for the guys, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet any of their gazes.
They were gone by the end of the summer.
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The neighborhood was dramatically less lively once the Jonas family was gone. It wasn’t just from the reduction in number of young people; the whole atmosphere of the street changed. The congregation sorely missed Mr. Jonas, and the whole town felt the absence left by the cheerful family. With their departure came autumn, and a gloomy Ren couldn’t help but notice that they dying leaves and chilly weather were very fitting with her mood.
It didn’t help that in mid-October, one of her good friends from school got into a very messy car accident one night when the roads were slippery with rain. She got a phone call from Jill’s mother the next day and panicked, skipping school to rush to the hospital. She arrived to find out that Jill was going to be okay after a two week stay in the hospital, but it was still unsettling to see her hooked up to all sorts of machines, looking small, pale, and bruised on the bed.
Ren left the hospital in an agitated state, needing to talk to someone more than ever. She needed Joe, Nick, and Kevin, but she knew that trying to get them on the phone would produce disappointing results. They were constantly busy and she often found herself talking with some harried assistant who was obviously anxious to get off the phone and back to work.
They didn’t call next until just before Thanksgiving. When Ren told Joe about the accident, she grew frustrated when he didn’t seem to care as much as he should have. Jill was his friend too, yet he seemed too distracted and preoccupied to express any real concern.
She couldn’t really explain why she started yelling at him, but after a short, spiteful argument snapped back and forth between them, the line went dead. Ren dropped the phone on her bed, miserably burying her heard in the pillow. Their last words to each other echoed in her head repeatedly, only adding to the hurt.
“Don’t ever call me again, Joe!”
“Fine!”
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The first part of the holiday season passed in a blur. Ren barely recollected spending time with her extended family during Thanksgiving, still smarting over the bitter end of her friendship with Joe. She hadn’t heard a thing from any other member of the Jonas family and assumed they were equally as upset with her as Joe was.
The end of November approached but the festive spirit in town didn’t reach Ren. Usually this time of year had her all smiles. But now the snow only brought memories of last winter. She had even burst into tears after being asked to go ice skating, to the thorough bewilderment of her younger cousin.
Needing to get some air, Ren had wandered down to the park just a few blocks away, settling on a cold bench with a sigh. Wrapping her arms around herself, she watched her breath cloud in front of her and realized that this was where she had first met the guys. That thought made her want to do nothing more than leave, especially when a fleck of white drifted down from the sky and landed on her shoe. Not in the mood for the first snow of the season, Ren lifted her head in preparation to stand and get out of the park before the memories hit.
But then her eyes widened and she gasped.
The snow was starting to drift down harder than before, swirling all around her, but it didn’t obscure the sight of Joe standing in front of her, hands in his pockets and eyes trained on her face. His hair was artfully styled and his clothes stylish, but it was still just Joe.
They remained like that for several minutes, Ren frozen on the bench and Joe watching her wordlessly.
“I’m back, Ren,” he finally said, voice soft.
She didn’t respond, instead reaching down into the dusting of snow at her feet. She took all of her frustration and sadness and balled it up with the snow in her hands.
And then she nailed Joe in the face with a snowball.
He fell to the ground in shock, sending up a shower of white flakes. He remained there, spread-eagle, as Ren walked over slowly, hair flecked with white. She knelt down next to him, ignoring the snow soaking through her jeans.
“What took you so long, you idiot?” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
His gaze traveled from her face to the golden locket dangling out from under her scarf as she leaned over him and his eyes filled with emotion. “Hey, don’t cry. It only took me a year to realize you knock me off my feet.” He laughed, touching the cold necklace. “Literally.”
And then he sat up and took her face in his, pressing a kiss to her lips. She blinked at the sudden movement, and then leaned into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her. When they pulled apart, Ren saw that his eyes were damp.
“I’m so sorry I haven’t been here for you—“ he began sadly, but she silenced him determinedly with another kiss.
“That’s not important. You’re here now, that’s all that matters.” She smiled sadly. “And I know you won’t always be able to be around. I understand. But—“
“But I need to make more time for you and everyone else who was there from the beginning,” he finished, holding her hand. “I stopped by Jill’s house and she explained everything that’s been going on. We feel awful for losing touch with all our friends here. We’re going to try much harder.” He ran a surprisingly warm hand down the side on her face. “I’ll make more time for you, Ren. I will. I promise.”
“That’s all I could ever ask for,” Ren replied, her clouds of breath mingling with his as they met in another kiss, the snow drifting down silently around them.
The End.
