Chapter 02
The storm roared on through much of the early morning, but when Nick opened his eyes, he was greeted by blinding sunlight and the pleasant smell of pancakes. He was alone now, and took this opportunity to wash and dress himself in a clean outfit: a pair of dark jeans and a blue striped button up. “Hello sleepyhead,” Halle grinned from the kitchen table. Her hair was fixed in big loose curls and she was sporting the dress he’d purchased for her last birthday. “Hungry?”
“Starving.” Sitting down beside her, Nick listened as she chatted incessantly about the ‘wonderful morning’ she’d had. Joe had shown her around the house and driven her through the neighborhood, a tour that concluded after they’d gone to the store to get all the fixings for a proper barbeque. “Sounds like you’ve been pretty busy,” he smirked.
“I have!” Halle watched him stuff another bite of breakfast into his mouth and knew that Nick was mocking her. Resting her chin in the palm of her hands, she allowed herself to think back on their years of friendship.
She’d walked into Nick’s life at an age where girls still had cooties and boys were only to play as if they were superheroes, ready to avenge whichever evil-doer had come their way. Halle was no different from the other girls at school; her lightly tanned skin showed youthful freckles and her toothy grin was too big for the rest of her face. The ponytails she wore were often lopsided and disheveled, but her personality was golden and she was always kind to him. At lunchtime when most of their classmates were playing dodge ball or chasing each other around screaming wildly, Nick and Halle would sit side by side on the swing set and laugh about nothing. They understood the way the other worked and didn’t care whether or not boys were supposed to be friends with girls. Just to be safe, they’d each given themselves cootie shots, but after months of no ailments, the two agreed they were just fine and continued building a bond that had yet to be broken.
“Halle?” She looked up at Nick who was now standing over her, smirking. “Are you ready to go?” The life of a musician was unlike any other; even when friends came in for a visit there was still little time for fun and games. Nick had errands to run and wished to get them over with as quickly as possible. As she stood, he laughed and slung his arm over her shoulders, pulling her tightly into his body. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
Wrapping her arms around his waist she walked with him out to the awaiting vehicle, their chaperones for the day being Nick’s older brothers. Sometimes she wondered if he’d ever get his driver’s license, but Halle certainly didn’t mind the extra company. She adored everything about Nick’s family. “Just thinking,” she replied plainly, slipping into the backseat.
“Don’t hurt yourself.” Nick winked and sent her stomach into a fit of nervous butterflies. There were few girls in the world that could resist the charms of Nicholas Jonas, and Halle certainly wasn’t one of them. She tried to hide it behind playful pushes and brilliant grins, but slowly she was coming undone. It killed her every time she read up on another rumor, wondering if her best friend could have possibly found love with someone else. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t tried dating, either. At thirteen, amidst puberty and pimples they gave love a shot, but Nick’s constant travel was too hard on her young heart. Not to mention his lack of attention to anything outside of his music made it difficult to develop anything remotely resembling a relationship.
And so they called it quits, vowing that their friendship would remain unchanging. Halle was sad at first, writhing with tears beneath her pink jersey sheets, but knowing he’d left her for good reason. Things were just starting to pick up for he and his brothers, and Nick needed to throw every ounce of energy into the band. He had been her first love and her first kiss, and there was something about that feeling she couldn’t let go of. “So where are we going first?” Halle asked, slipping her sunglasses out of her hair and pushing them up the bridge of her nose.
“The studio, then we have an interview.”
Halle groaned, rolling her head back onto the seat. Interviews were not only obnoxious and time consuming, but she could answer most of the questions herself. Nick squeezed her hand and reassured it would be “quick.” This meant anywhere from two to six hours, depending on whether or not the magazine of choice wanted to do a photo shoot.
With a wanting eye, Halle drifted through the make-up room taking stock of all the things spread across the lighted stations. Her entire years allowance couldn’t afford her this kind of luxury for one day, much less every day. Sitting down in the stylist’s chair, she peered at herself in the mirror. “Do you want to try anything?” Halle jumped up, startled by the presence of someone else in the room. She’d learned long ago that occasions such as this were meant for the boys and she was just supposed to blend into the background music.
“No. Oh, I’m sorry.” As she moved toward the door, the woman stopped her with a friendly invitation.
“This color would look great on you. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to try something? I’d be more than happy to help.” Halle watched the woman’s face curl up into a smile. She wasn’t the young, hip artist you’d expect for this kind of shoot. Her hair had grayed and the faintest wrinkles were forming on her brow and around her eyes. She patted the chair, further encouraging Halle to have a little fun.
Biting her lip, she reluctantly plopped down, trying to hide her excitement. The last time she’d gotten her make-up done was for the Homecoming Dance, and that felt like ages ago. Closing her eyes, she let the woman brush and paint things across her face, entrusting her completely. She couldn’t imagine how the boys could possibly despise this kind of attention; it felt amazing to be so pampered and well taken care of. “There, done.”
Halle opened her eyes, blinking at the person staring back at her. The change was subtle but she couldn’t look away. The warm chocolate hues smudged across her eyelids made her eyes pop, and the pale gloss on her lips seemed to make her smile shine brighter. “Thank you,” she said in awe. The plainness that usually surrounded her had been washed away and for the first time in a long time, Halle felt beautiful.
“Your boyfriend is going to have a heart attack when he sees you.”
She sputtered nervously. Why did everyone assume she and Nick were dating? Couldn’t two people just be friends anymore? “Nick and I aren’t dating. No, no… we’re just friends.”
The woman touched Halle’s cheek lightly. “Look at you: glowing. I didn’t even apply any blush. That’s all you.”
Hopping down out of the chair, she gave her many thanks before excusing herself out to where the interview was being conducted. She plopped down on the sofa at the opposite end of the room from the boys and tried to find anything to entertain herself. Every now and again she caught part of a question or a fragment of a response, but nothing was out of the usual, making this an even longer, less amusing experience for her.
As they took a break to get their hair and make-up touched up, Nick wandered over to where Halle had sprawled herself dramatically. “Bored?”
“Desperately.” Sitting down, he lifted her head and placed it in his lap. Of all his brothers, Nick considered himself the least affectionate one in the family but with Halle he couldn’t help himself. It felt right to have her nestled in beside him and he wanted to take advantage of it for as long as he could. “Almost done?”
He shrugged his shoulders, heaving a sigh. “As done as you can be when you’re halfway through…” Nick could sympathize with her; he didn’t want to be here either. He would much rather be showing her around the city or lounging out by the pool, drinking sweet tea. “I’ll try and hurry this along.”
She shook her head as best she could. “No,” she said strongly. “I’ll keep busy. Did you bring your camera?” He nodded. “Is it in Kevin’s murse?”
“It’s not a murse,” Kevin argued, emerging with a fresh face. “It’s just my bag.” Halle nodded, fighting back laughter.
“Man bag.”
Nick hunched over, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Upside down hug.” Halle giggled and hugged him back. Being in the spotlight hadn’t changed him all that much; he was still her quirky best friend and she loved him for that. “I’ll miss you,” he said playfully.
“You’re going to be literally less than 50 feet away from me.”
“I know. Too far.” He winked and stood up, glancing back at her once as he strolled toward the canvas. “Oh, Halle? You look amazing, by the way.”
She rolled her eyes, trying to disguise the sudden rush of color to her face. “Don’t be such a dork. Go take your pictures already.” From the couch she watched him shoot frame after frame, wondering what he thought about as he smiled for the camera. A part of her selfish heart hoped it was her, but knew better than to count on it. Knowing Nick, he thought about the way the neck of his guitar felt in his hands or how the crowd screamed as he sang Hello Beautiful every night. Taking a deep breath, Halle rolled over and rummaged through Kevin’s bag until she’d retrieved the camera. It was time for a photo shoot of her own.
