This is for Crystal, who always leaves amazing comments, and writes FANTASTIC stories! Seriously, go read her stuff. It pones. =] Corinne, your one shot is next.
Never Saw it Coming
Of all the things Crystal expected to happen to her on an average Tuesday morning, getting into a car accident with a gigantic bus is not one of them. She was just on her way to class, not a care in the world. Her schoolwork was winding down as summer vacation approached, making for a very relaxed atmosphere. She had her windows rolled down to let in the warm summer air as the radio played her favorite songs softly.
And then, looming up before her was a large black frame and glaring red brake lights. She panicked, but it was much too sudden and close for her to stop. She felt the jolt of contact and winced at the scrape of metal. This was not good.
A new driver, having just gotten her license a few weeks ago, this was the type of thing that had her frozen behind the steering wheel, eyes wide and whole form shaking. It wasn’t even that serious, the front bumper of her little car slightly dinged up from hitting the back of the bus after it made a very sudden stop. By all accounts, it could have been much, much worse. That thought made her shudder.
The two vehicles were on a rather quiet road, so Crystal didn’t have a problem getting out of her car and surveying the damage, still shaken up but slowly recovering. She was a bit too preoccupied with how to tell her parents about this, but if she’s hadn’t been, she may have noticed the large logo on the side of the bus.
“Are you alright?!” came a frantic voice, and Crystal’s eyes popped up from the screen of her cell phone, to come face-to-face with a very concerned guy, around her age. His brown eyes were fixed on her face, searching for any telltale signs of being injured.
Her expression quickly changed from one of anxiety to one of complete and utter shock. She snapped her focus to the side of the tour bus. Sure enough, there in large, blazing letters announced what she had just figured out.
She had just gotten into an accident with the Jonas Brothers’ tour bus.
When Joe felt the small bump after their sudden stop, he knew that things could not have been good for whatever vehicle had hit them. Unless it was a semi truck, they would have been pretty much dwarfed by the huge tour bus. And Joe had a feeling that if it was a semi, it would have been a lot more than a little bump. He jumped down off his bed, glancing quickly around the bus. No one was even close to hurt, just blinking in confusion. The driver stuttered out an apology, fumbling with the keys in the ignition to shut off the bus.
Joe darted past him and off the bus, ignoring the surprised protests of his parents and Big Rob. They were in a rather small town, so he wasn’t too worried about being spotted and overwhelmed with paparazzi. That was more of a California thing.
He rounded to the back of the bus in time to see a girl step out of the small car. Joe was relieved to see that she appeared to be unscathed, just a little shaken up. Her car wasn’t too bad off, but the bumper was smashed up against the fender of the bus. He watched as she took in the damage, wringing her hands in anxiety. As Joe approached, he noticed her shudder and decided to speak up.
“Are you alright?” he asked, sounding a little more worried than was probably necessary. She turned to face him, her blue-green eyes wide. She opened her mouth to respond, but then broke off and just stared, eyes going even wider. Joe watched as her attention traveled to the bus, reading the name adorned on the side in huge letters.
She turned back to him, at a loss for words. Finally, she managed a weak smile. “I…must have hit my head,”
Joe couldn’t help but laugh at the confusion on her face. “You’re not delusional, don’t worry. But are you hurt?”
She shook her head, dark brown hair tumbling in waves down her back. “No, I’m fine.” She eyed the tour bus. “I’m assuming everyone on there is fine…” she smirked, clearly noticing the obvious lack of damage to the larger vehicle.
Joe grinned, sticking out his hand. “I think you already know this, but I’m Joe,”
She laughed, taking his hand. “I’m Crystal,”
Joe scratched his head, eyeing the little car next to them. “You probably shouldn’t try and drive this. Wanna come wait on the bus while we call for a tow truck?”
Crystal’s eyes lit up with relief. “That would be great, thanks,”
Joe led the way back to the bus, Crystal following him up the stairs. She found herself in a very nice interior, with hardwood counters and comfortable furniture. A woman sitting at the small table looked up, brushing her dark, curly hair out of her eyes. “Joe! Is this the other driver?”
Crystal suddenly felt rather nervous. She really didn’t know who was at fault here, and she really didn’t want to add to the car repairs the added burden of paying for the damage to the bus.
But to her relief, Mrs. Jonas stood and hurried over, holding her by the shoulders and looking her over. “Are you alright, sweetheart?” she asked hurriedly, her concerned eyes searching Crystal’s face.
Surprised, she blinked. “I’m fine…I’m sorry about the bus…”
Now it was Mrs. Jonas’s turn to be confused. Comprehension dawned on her face. “Oh, no! It wasn’t your fault at all!” She shook her head with a slight laugh. “Don’t worry, hon, it’ll all be taken care of. My husband’s on the phone with a mechanic right now, to take a look at your car.”
“Thank you so much,” Crystal sighed, a smile spreading over her face.
Denise headed to the front of the bus to find Mr. Jonas, leaving Joe and Crystal to settle on the couch. Crystal’s heart was going a mile a minute at the close proximity to the dark-haired rockstar, leaving her light-headed and flustered. But she still managed to maintain a relatively calm air, laughing along as Joe cracked jokes. He could sense that she was stressed over the accident, and was doing his best to help her relax.
He was in the middle of a hilarious story about Nick’s fourth birthday party when a pair of voices caught their attention. Crystal had been leaning against the back of the couch, giddy with laughter as Joe played out the affectionately-termed ‘Cake Incident’, complete with impressions and over the top facial expressions. She looked up in time to see Nick and Kevin enter the bus, chatting amongst themselves. Crystal noticed with a smirk that Kevin was holding a Starbucks cup. They must have run to the café nearby while they waited.
Nick stopped in his tracks, noticing the new addition to the bus. “Hi!”
Crystal smiled, her heart fluttering once more, just not as intensely. “Hi guys.” She introduced herself to smiles and inquiries about her health. Assured that she was fine, Kevin and Nick left her with Joe, heading for the bunks to clean up the few objects that had fallen during the sudden stop.
Crystal jumped slightly as her phone started vibrating in her pocket, she pulled it out and watched as Joe, to her amusement, starting doing his little phone dance. Trying to contain her giggles, she answered the phone. Her face immediately fell when her mother’s voice came through loudly.
“I’m fine Mom…no, the damage isn’t too bad…there’s a tow truck on the way…”
Joe stopped his antics as Crystal paced the bus, explaining everything to her parents. Several minutes later, she was finally able to convince her mom that things were under control, promising to be home within an hour. She hung up with a sigh, rubbing her temples, the stress coming back full-force. Her parents were more relieved that she was okay, but she could still sense a lecture on safe-driving coming her way. She met Joe’s eyes and gave him a half-hearted smile.
“The tow truck is here!” came a shout from outside. Crystal slipped her phone back in her pocket and Joe accompanied her outside in time to see a white truck pull up next to the car.
A short conversation later, things were all arranged, and Crystal was feeling a bit less overwhelmed. To her intense disappointment, however, a quick glance at her watch showed that she only had twenty minutes before she needed to get home.
“Need a ride?” Joe grinned, noticing her expression.
She looked up at him, eyes wide, and his heart jumped. Shaking off the slight blush that was forming, he led her back to the bus.
Crystal’s neighbors really didn’t know what to make of the giant tour bus pulling up outside her house. Little kids peeped out from behind their parents’ legs, and several slightly older girls let out little squeaks as the three dark-haired boys stepped off the bus. Kevin and Nick gave Crystal a hug goodbye, warm smiles on their faces. She was thrilled to see that they were as amazing and nice in person.
They reentered the tour bus, leaving Crystal once again alone with Joe. He turned to her with a lopsided smile on his face, eyes dancing. He reached down and took her hand. Shocked, Crystal could feel her face heating up. To her even greater surprise, Joe whipped out a Sharpie. When she didn’t protest, he scrawled something on her hand with a flourish. She could have giggled at the tickling sensation on her palm, but her attention was too focused on the face of the guy in front of her. His hair hung down over his eyes as he recapped the marker. He raised his head and smiled at her. She looked down at her hand and laughed. “Nice signature,” And then she realized with a start that he had also written a ten-digit number just above his name. “…and your phone number?”
He grinned, still holding her hand. “Well this way, next time you won’t have to hit us to get my attention.” He winked. “You can just call. And I expect a call,” Joe pointed, a mock-warning look on his face.
Crystal smirked. “Well, I’d hate to disappoint...”
Another hug, and he was heading back for the bus, throwing her another brilliant smile over his shoulder just before boarding.
And even though she knew she had two anxious parents and an insurance company to deal with inside, Crystal couldn’t help but linger in the front yard as the tour bus drove off, her palm still tingling. And she knew that once all the annoying car troubles were taken care of, she had a very important phone call to make.
The End.
