[SONG-FIC] Your Smoldering Gaze
Title: Your Smoldering Gaze
Author: Samantha (_ithinkican)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Joe/OFC
Summary: The prequel to Never Let This Go and Crosswalk. Part one. How it began. The accompanying song, Stolen by Dashboard Confessional.
"You're up."
She nodded nervously as a crew member dressed clad in black handed her a microphone. As it fell into her hands, it suddenly felt a lot heavier than it did ten minutes ago during rehearsals. She smoothed out her jeans, checked herself in the backstage mirror, and walked onstage. As soon as she stepped foot into the spotlight, a crowd of her "fans" started screaming and cheering her name. She looked at the band behind her and shot them a weak smile. Turning back to an eager audience waiting for her performance, she could feel her heart beating through her chest. Amateur Karaoke Night. She was going to kick whoever talked her into doing this. Her eyes searched the crowd but was blinded by the bright lights.
She took a deep breath and finally spoke, "I wanna dedicate this song to someone special and say that 'when you look me in the eyes,' I think I'm falling for you."
We watch the season pull up its own stakes
And catch the last weekend of the last week
Before the gold and the glimmer have been replaced,
Another sun soaked season fades away
She walked down the long hallway of the hotel and grabbed the first person she saw headed in the opposite direction, "Kevin, where's your brother?"
"Which one?"
"Joe. He missed a shoot and if I don't hand those pages to a UPS guy by noon tomorrow, my ass is grass."
Kevin sighed, "You could try his room but don't say you weren't warned. He's been in a pissy mood since early this morning, picking fights with everyone, especially Dad."
She rolled her eyes. She knew with Joe being in a pissy mood made getting good shots, ten times harder. "What's got his panties in a bunch this time?"
"You remember meeting Amelia right?"
"Tall, skinny, Australian girl?"
"Yes, her!" Kevin said, in pointing gesture as if she had won the lottery.
"What about her?"
"Joe found out that she was cheating on him with another guy during their relationship."
She was confused, "And?"
"He found out from the guy she cheated with," Kevin tried to explain it enough so she would get the picture by herself.
"Oooh, so you're saying he would rather have found out from the cheater, rather than the cheatee? I think I just made up a word," she laughed.
Kevin laughed with her, "That about sums it up."
She shrugged, "Well, I'll take my chances. I really need those shots. You can say 'I told you so,' to me later on if it doesn't go well."
"Haha alright," Kevin turned to walk in the opposite direction but stopped. He handed her a key card, "Here. You're gonna need this."
"Why? I think a simple knock should suffice," she said looking at the card.
"Do you really think Joe will be accepting any visitors while he's sulking?"
"Good point," she took the thin, plastic card and continued down the hall, searching for room 1412.
She stood in front of the door for three seconds, taking a deep breath before sliding the key card through the electronic hole in the wall.
She slowly opened the door, poking her head inside, "Knock, knock." The room was dimly lit with only one of the bedside lights turned on. Joe's room was a mess as always, no surprise there. It seemed to have gotten worse every time Joe's mood took a tumble. She set her messenger bag down near the closet door and carefully walked over all the strewn clothes, settling her bottom on the edge of his bed.
He sat there with a brooding look on his face, hugging a pillow to his face. His eyes darted her way, "How'd you get in here?"
"Kevin gave me the key to your room."
He scoffed, "Figures."
She sighed, "You missed a shoot today, I need those shots by tomorrow."
No reaction; typical Joe. "Look, I don't care if you're in a salty mood about an ex-girlfriend, I NEED to get that shoot done even if I have to do it in here."
Still, no reaction. She rolled her eyes and walked over to her messenger bag she had set down earlier. Unzipping the side pocket, she pulled out her copy of Jonas Brother's self-titled album. She carefully took the thin, silver disc out of it's casing and placed in the hotel-provided stereo.
She looked at him, "You know, you should learn how to take your own advice."
He was annoyed, but she didn't care. "What're you talking about?"
"'When you love someone / And they break your heart, don’t give up on love / Have faith, restart / Just hold on...' We should listen to it," she hit play and fast forwarded the song to the chorus.
She knew she was pushing his buttons when she heard him say, "Turn it off." Instead of complying, "I'm sorry, what was that? You wanted it louder?" She turned the knob higher.
That was the final straw. With the volume up on high, she didn't hear him throw his pillow to the side, take long strides in her direction. His arm shot out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to face him. Their faces centimeters apart, she could feel his hot breath on her lips. Realizing what he had done, he let go of her wrist and apologized.
"Sorry..." He watched her massage her wrist, in the area where he grabbed her.
"It's fine, it's my fault," she said, hitting eject on the stereo. She placed the CD back in the side pocket and gathered her things to leave.
Joe broke the silence, "You can do the shoot in here...s-since you need those pages." He flashed her a weak smile before his brooding expression reappeared.
She set up her tripod at the edge of his bed, situated pillows under his elbow, and told him how she wanted him to pose. She kept the lighting how it was when she first walked in the room and left the mess as well. The room matched his brooding expression perfectly. She didn't want to be in the same room as him while he was angry but she wanted to capture that bottled up anger. It was something she had never seen from him. He was always hyper and happy during shoots. She never got to photograph him when he was in a sour mood. Something about this photoshoot made her heart beat speed up.
'Last one,' she thought. "Look at me," she said softly. As soon as his eyes darted in her direction, she could feel a gasp escape her lips. Snap.
You have stolen my heart
It was already 9 p.m. and she was sitting alone in the back of the tour bus, her laptop hooked up to the printer. She had convinced Big Rob give her the keys to the bus while the rest of the family and crew were out to dinner. She reassured him over and over that'd she be fine and it wasn't as if she was gonna make a getaway with the tour bus. Way too noticable, especially with all the "I LOVE YOU's" covering the sides of the bus. She was laying on her stomach flipping through the pictures, discarding repeats and favoriting the ones she intended on sending to her supervisor/mentor, Peter Yang. Then she came across the ones she shot during Joe's salty fit. She didn't know which ones she should keep or throw away. All of them turned out so well especially since natural anger was always so hard to capture on camera. She finally favorited three to send to Peter. She navigated her way to the entire favorites folder and hit 'Print'. She printed out an extra one of Joe and placed it in her personal portfolio.
She turned off all the lights in the back room of the bus, making it look near pitch black. The only light she could see were the street lights shining through. She could hear the bus door opening and thought 'Crap!' to herself. She knew she should've locked the door. She stopped her movements altogether and tried calm her breathing. She could hear the footsteps coming closer and crouched down so her silhouette was not visible through the windows. As soon as the door opened she ran for the opening, only to be pulled back by the unknown figure. She fell backwards and expected her back to hit the hard, carpeted floor. Instead she felt a strong hand in the small of her back, catch her fall. The unknown figure brought her back up to her feet but kept his grip on her arm.
"You need to be more careful."
She recognized the voice. "Joe?"
"Who'd you think I was?"
"You scared me! I thought you were some random hobo looking for a place to sleep," she said, snatching her arm back.At the same time, she dropped everything she was holding. She fell to her knees in a Japanese style kneeling position and started picking up everything. Joe crouched down and started to help her. He looked at every photo before handing it her. She didn't realize that it she also dropped her personal portfolio until she heard Joe say, "These are all of me."
Right then and there, she froze. What would she tell him? She reluctantly took the photo in Joe's hand and shuffled through picking up the rest. The quickened pace slowly confirmed his suspicions but he had to sure. She stood up and turned to leave but before she could make it out the door, Joe pulled her back to him and his lips landed on hers. It was a simple kiss, just to test the waters. He didn't even try to deepen it; he didn't want to freak her out. When he pulled away, he could see her eyelids flutter open.
She stood there, taking deep breaths. She was trying to understand what had just happened. She stood there wanting more. She had to fight the urge to just jump up and wrap her arms around his neck because she knew she couldn't, not with her own boyfriend to worry about. She heard someone else coming and pushed herself away from him and ran out, bumping into Nick on the way.
Nick looked at his brother, "What the hell?"
Even Joe didn't know how to answer that question. He was still trying to comprehend what just happened.
Invitation only, grand farewells
Crash the best one, of the best ones
Clear liquor and cloudy eyed, too early to say goodnight
Joe knocked on her door, clutching the folder in one hand while he ran the other one through his hair. He paced in front of her, wondering what he was going to say. How was he going to explain what happened yesterday? He stopped pacing as soon as he heard the door open and saw her eyes widen when she saw him. She was on the phone and silently mouthed, 'Do you want to come in?' She held the door open for him before turning back to her conversation.
He watched her walk around in a large circle in the huge above the bed, listening to her say, "Yeah, uh-huh," and other one or two syllable words. This was the first time he could actually get a good look at her without distractions. She was probably about a head shorter than him and had a petite figure. She was sporting a black long-sleeved henley, a pair of skinny jeans, and worn out white converse on her feet.
She finally finished her conversation and slipped her phone into her back pocket. "Sorry about that." She kept her distance from him, fidgeting with her arms. It was more than just a little awkward. Both of them didn't know who should talk first and when they did, they spoke at the same time.
Joe held out his hand that held the folder, "You left the rest of these in the bus last night. You ran out so fast, you forgot some."
"Thanks." She took the folder from him and slipped it into the side of her messenger bag. "About yesterday..."
He started to bring up an awkward topic and she didn't know how to go about it. She just shrugged if off, "Don't worry about it. Let's just...put past us. We're still friends, right?" She held out her pinky, as if to do a pinky promise.
He looped his pinky with hers, "Yeah, we're friends." As soon as skin met skin, he was cupping her face, attacking her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair. He pushed her down on the bed and hovered over her. He started leaving a wet trail of butterfly kisses down her jaw line and down the side of her neck. His hand slowly crept down to the hem of her shirt. When she could feel his warm hand caressing her waist, her breathing started becoming shorter. The feeling was soon interrupted when the muffled sound of Jine's 'Anotha Man' began playing through the back pocket of her pants. She forced her eyes open, pushing Joe off of her and walked to the other end of room. She slid out her phone and took a deep breath before answering it.
"Hello? Hey Harrison. Yeah, we're still on for tonight..."
He watched he walk around in a large circle once again. He licked his lips and could literally almost feel his mouth water. He could see she was keeping a close eye on him as he was edging closer to the end of the bed. Once she hung of the phone, he made a beeline towards her and tried to kiss her. She avoided contact with his lips and pushed him away. They stood there, an arm's length separating them. Finally, she spoke.
"I think you should go," she said, avoiding his gaze.
He stepped back, "Are you serious?"
She shot him a 'What-do-you-think?' look. She walked to the door and opened the door. That answered his question.
You have stolen my heart
Joe was in the lobby meeting up his brothers when he saw her in lobby of the hotel. She was frolicking with another guy he assumed was Harrison. He watched as she constantly linked arms with the other guy, as if she was reassuring him that he was only one for her. Their eyes met across the room until she broke the gaze. Joe wondered if her flirtatious actions were done on purpose to tease him.
Nick was the first to meet up with him. He leaned over and asked his brother, "Who's that guy with her?"
Nick looked wherever Joe was looking and let out a soft laugh, "That's Harrison, her boyfriend. Didn't you know?"
He did and did he care? Yes. He did. He wanted her and that was all that mattered.
And from the ballroom floor we are in celebration
One good stretch before our hibernation
Our dreams assured and we all, will sleep well
She could feel Joe's gaze on her when she was in the lobby with Harrison. She met his eyes and started to feel guilty for what happened earlier in her room. She turned her attention back to her boyfriend who was oblivious to everything going on around them. He didn't even notice teenage, heart throb Joe Jonas standing directly across the room. Harrison leaned down to kiss her on the lips. She smiled when she pulled away but honestly, it couldn't compare to kisses she shared with Joe. Her lips ached to feel those soft lips on hers again. She had to mentally kick herself to force herself to stop thinking about him. She knew she had to end things with Harrison before starting something else.
That night, they had dinner at a cozy little diner that was all too familiar to her, as they had their first date there. During the entire meal, waitresses who've worked there since she could remember, came over to their table constantly, asking her how she was doing or what kind of life she was pursuing at the moment.
The drive back to Harrison's place was another trip down memory lane. He started talking about people they knew from high school and what they were doing now. She wondered how he kept in contact with these people when she only kept in contact with two or three. When they reached his place, she set her bag on the kitchen counter, tipping over slightly and ran straight for the bathroom. She knew she shouldn't have ordered those two milkshakes during dinner.
She quickly washed her hands and patted them dry on her jeans. As soon as she walked back into the main room, she saw Harrison facing out towards the view of the skyline, clutching her folder in one hand. 'Stupid folder,' she thought to herself. She pondered if she should just burn it since it had gotten in all sorts of awkward situations the past two days. She knew this would spark an argument between her and Harrison. He was definitely jealous type with quite a temper. She knew enough to keep her distance when he was like this.
He turned to look at her, a stoic, angry look etched across his face. "These are all of him. Joe Jonas."
She winced when she heard him hiss the name through his teeth. She met his gaze and tried to play it cool.
"Yeah, and? It's a personal portfolio, it means nothing."
He knew she was lying. He always did. He started moving towards her; with every step he took, she took one step backwards. "Did you sleep with him?"
She shot him a venomous look, "Who are you to ask that? Besides, it's none of your business."
Wrong answer. He charged for petite figure and easily threw her over his shoulder. "Harrison! What're you doing?! PUT ME DOWN!!"
He walked into the foyer and threw her on the couch, that was at least the same size as a twin bed. He straddled her hips and gripped her shoulders. He didn't have to use brute strength just to pin her down, but she wasn't going to let him get his way without a fight.
"Look at me." She could feel Harrison's gaze penetrating her skull but she refused to look. Unfortunately, that plan didn't play out too well when he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. About a split second later, he leaned over and started assaulting her neck, biting down. Hard. She yelped when he felt his teeth on her skin. He smirked, "What's the matter? You used to like it when I did it rough."
His comment just made her more determined to fight him off. She could the tears building up but she wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She obviously didn't have enough strength to push him off. She started flailing her arms, reaching for anything. Her hands came in contact with the ceramic vase and smashed it into his temple. She watched him roll off of her, clutching his head. The light bulb might've shattered in his face but she didn't have time to care. She grabbed her things, his car keys, and took off in his precious convertible.
She just wanted to get back to the hotel as quick as possible, driving at a rapid pace. She lost count after running through five yellow lights, finally coming towards a red one. She could see another car coming from the other direction and slammed her foot down on the brakes. She came to a screeching halt and probably experienced some minor whiplash in the process. It was then that the tears she held back earlier started falling. She leaned into the steering wheel and started sobbing.
You have stolen
You have stolen my heart
When Joe opened his door that night, he didn't expect to see her on the other side. He was still feeling a little annoyed at the incident that happened earlier that day. He felt like there was some kind of mutual attraction there until she asked him to leave. He tried lace his words with as much annoyance as possible, "What're you do-ing...." He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence when she lifted her head to look at him. The first thing he saw was her tear-stained face which prompted him to pull her inside. She flinched when he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. He pushed away her hair and could see bruises starting to form from the bite mark Harrison left earlier.
"What the....? Did he? Harrison...did he do this?" All it took was a subtle nod for him to pull her into his arms while she started to sob again. He could feel her tears soak through his shirt. His left arm was around the back of her neck, and his right hand was stroking her hair. He started whispering comforting words until he heard the sobs turn into sniffles. She slowly pulled away and wiped her tears on the sleeve of her shirt. He heard her laugh as she pointed to his chest. He looked down and saw a wet spot in the center of his shirt and laughed as well.
"Sorry," she sniffled.
"It's okay. If that asshole ever comes near you again, I'm gonna break his face."
She laughed, "Well, he's gonna need to find a car first. I kinda stole his, driving back here." He could see tears starting to well up again. It simply broke his heart to see her like that.
I watch you spin around in your highest heels
You are the best one, of the best ones
We all look like we feel
"I should go. It's getting late and you have a busy day tomorrow." She headed for the door and wrapped her hand around the handle. She opened it slowly until a hand shot out and slammed it shut. She gasped and saw Joe's shadow outlined on the door. She slowly turned around and saw him towering over her. She held her breath as she waited for his next move and exhaled when she felt his lips on her forehead. He traveled down to her left cheek and planted a kiss there. He had both arms on either side of her head, caging her inside. He pulled away, his eyes meeting hers. Their noses were touching and their lips were just centimeters apart. She made the first move.
She almost literally jumped to meet his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him down towards her. He easily picked her up, wrapping his arms around her waist, while she locked her legs around his. He skillfully walked into the bed (and not anything else) and plopped her down right in the middle. She felt her back bounce against the mattress. Scenes from that afternoon began to replay. Joe started where he left off. His hand snaked its way underneath the hem of her shirt and broke their heated kiss briefly to remove the flimsy material. He lowered to begin sucking on her belly button, rewarding him with an illicit moan. He left a wet trail of butterfly kisses up her abdomen, finally up to the spot where Harrison left his teeth marks. Joe began sucking on the mark, soon covering it up with a mark of his own. At the same time, he unclasped her bra and removed his shirt in one swift motion.
He started working on the buttons of her jeans, while she worked on his, returning the favor. She whimpered when he sat up briefly to take in the sight before him. He brought two fingers to his mouth, wetting them before thrusting them into her hole. She gasped at the sudden intrustion. She opened her arms, begging him for another kiss. He complied, crashing his lips into her eyes. His tongue slid under her bottom lip, begging for entrance which she instantly granted. Their tongues were tangled in a fiery dance. Joe positioned himself at the entrance of her hole searching her eyes for confirmation. She nodded and tried to even her breathing as she felt Joe pushing himself inside of her. He buried himself to the hilt and began thrusting slowly. He took her earlobe between his teeth, nibbling and sucking at it gently. She pulled him towards her and whispered in his ear.
"Faster."
He granted her wish, picking up the pace. He started pinching her clit between his fingers, rubbing it circular motions. With one last thrust, they both reached their breaking point together. They shared one last heated kiss before drifting off to sleep. He woke up to the sound of his iPhone playing Amber Pacific's 'Always You'.
"Hello?" He asked, groggily.
"Joe! Where the hell are you?! Are you still asleep?!" Joe held the phone slightly away from his ear, trying to prevent himself from going deaf due to Nick's yellling. "What is it, Nick?"
"You're late and we have an event to get to."
"What're you talking about? We have no concerts today." He sat up, rubbing his eyes. He was looking around, searching for her but it was obvious she had left way before Nick's call.
"You're right, but we have charity event to host. Amatuer Karaoke Night, ring-a-bell?"
Joe's eyes widened, 'Crap!' He thought to himself. He scrambled to get his clothes on, managing to keep the phone between his ear and shoulder. "How much time do I have?"
"You've got exactly seven minutes before we leave."
Joe managed to get himself looking presentable to meet his family in the lobby before leaving to the concert venue. On the way, he kept calling and texting her. In his first message, he asked why she left that morning. The rest of the messages were just simple ones saying, 'I need to see you. Please call.' During the event, all three brothers took turns presenting each singer. Joe messed up on a few introductions due to other thoughts occupying his mind. He watched his brother, Nick walk up the steps of the stage and introduced the final performer. His ears perked up when he heard her name. 'She's a performer?' He thought to himself.
He watched her walk out on stage, wearing a black tunic dress and red heels. She brought the mic to her lips and took a deep breath, "I wanna dedicate this song to someone special and say that 'when you look me in the eyes,' I think I'm falling for you."
You have stolen my
You have stolen my heart
She held the last note before the music cut off and took a bow. She walked calmly off-stage but once she handed the microphone to a crew member, she ran straight to the dressing room. Her feet thanked her once she kicked off her heels and slid into a pair of flats of the same color. She looked up into the mirror and saw Joe standing in the doorway.
"Why didn't you tell me you were singing?"
She smiled, "I wanted to surprise you."
"Did you mean it? What you said on stage?" He wanted to know that she wasn't leading him on like she had before. She had spent three months on tour with them, witnessing every single one of his fits. He wanted to know she loved him for just Joe and not Joe Jonas.
She walked over to him. Without her heels, she was much shorter than him. She placed one hand on both sides of his face and pulled his lips towards hers. The kiss was simple and chaste.
"You've stolen my heart. I love you, Joe Jonas. Don't think otherwise."
-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-
A/N: The song 'Anotha Man' by Jine feat. Kozo is a Japanese song, but the chorus is sung in English and I thought it was kinda fitting for this fic.
Author: Samantha (_ithinkican)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Joe/OFC
Summary: The prequel to Never Let This Go and Crosswalk. Part one. How it began. The accompanying song, Stolen by Dashboard Confessional.
"You're up."
She nodded nervously as a crew member dressed clad in black handed her a microphone. As it fell into her hands, it suddenly felt a lot heavier than it did ten minutes ago during rehearsals. She smoothed out her jeans, checked herself in the backstage mirror, and walked onstage. As soon as she stepped foot into the spotlight, a crowd of her "fans" started screaming and cheering her name. She looked at the band behind her and shot them a weak smile. Turning back to an eager audience waiting for her performance, she could feel her heart beating through her chest. Amateur Karaoke Night. She was going to kick whoever talked her into doing this. Her eyes searched the crowd but was blinded by the bright lights.
She took a deep breath and finally spoke, "I wanna dedicate this song to someone special and say that 'when you look me in the eyes,' I think I'm falling for you."
We watch the season pull up its own stakes
And catch the last weekend of the last week
Before the gold and the glimmer have been replaced,
Another sun soaked season fades away
She walked down the long hallway of the hotel and grabbed the first person she saw headed in the opposite direction, "Kevin, where's your brother?"
"Which one?"
"Joe. He missed a shoot and if I don't hand those pages to a UPS guy by noon tomorrow, my ass is grass."
Kevin sighed, "You could try his room but don't say you weren't warned. He's been in a pissy mood since early this morning, picking fights with everyone, especially Dad."
She rolled her eyes. She knew with Joe being in a pissy mood made getting good shots, ten times harder. "What's got his panties in a bunch this time?"
"You remember meeting Amelia right?"
"Tall, skinny, Australian girl?"
"Yes, her!" Kevin said, in pointing gesture as if she had won the lottery.
"What about her?"
"Joe found out that she was cheating on him with another guy during their relationship."
She was confused, "And?"
"He found out from the guy she cheated with," Kevin tried to explain it enough so she would get the picture by herself.
"Oooh, so you're saying he would rather have found out from the cheater, rather than the cheatee? I think I just made up a word," she laughed.
Kevin laughed with her, "That about sums it up."
She shrugged, "Well, I'll take my chances. I really need those shots. You can say 'I told you so,' to me later on if it doesn't go well."
"Haha alright," Kevin turned to walk in the opposite direction but stopped. He handed her a key card, "Here. You're gonna need this."
"Why? I think a simple knock should suffice," she said looking at the card.
"Do you really think Joe will be accepting any visitors while he's sulking?"
"Good point," she took the thin, plastic card and continued down the hall, searching for room 1412.
She stood in front of the door for three seconds, taking a deep breath before sliding the key card through the electronic hole in the wall.
She slowly opened the door, poking her head inside, "Knock, knock." The room was dimly lit with only one of the bedside lights turned on. Joe's room was a mess as always, no surprise there. It seemed to have gotten worse every time Joe's mood took a tumble. She set her messenger bag down near the closet door and carefully walked over all the strewn clothes, settling her bottom on the edge of his bed.
He sat there with a brooding look on his face, hugging a pillow to his face. His eyes darted her way, "How'd you get in here?"
"Kevin gave me the key to your room."
He scoffed, "Figures."
She sighed, "You missed a shoot today, I need those shots by tomorrow."
No reaction; typical Joe. "Look, I don't care if you're in a salty mood about an ex-girlfriend, I NEED to get that shoot done even if I have to do it in here."
Still, no reaction. She rolled her eyes and walked over to her messenger bag she had set down earlier. Unzipping the side pocket, she pulled out her copy of Jonas Brother's self-titled album. She carefully took the thin, silver disc out of it's casing and placed in the hotel-provided stereo.
She looked at him, "You know, you should learn how to take your own advice."
He was annoyed, but she didn't care. "What're you talking about?"
"'When you love someone / And they break your heart, don’t give up on love / Have faith, restart / Just hold on...' We should listen to it," she hit play and fast forwarded the song to the chorus.
She knew she was pushing his buttons when she heard him say, "Turn it off." Instead of complying, "I'm sorry, what was that? You wanted it louder?" She turned the knob higher.
That was the final straw. With the volume up on high, she didn't hear him throw his pillow to the side, take long strides in her direction. His arm shot out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to face him. Their faces centimeters apart, she could feel his hot breath on her lips. Realizing what he had done, he let go of her wrist and apologized.
"Sorry..." He watched her massage her wrist, in the area where he grabbed her.
"It's fine, it's my fault," she said, hitting eject on the stereo. She placed the CD back in the side pocket and gathered her things to leave.
Joe broke the silence, "You can do the shoot in here...s-since you need those pages." He flashed her a weak smile before his brooding expression reappeared.
She set up her tripod at the edge of his bed, situated pillows under his elbow, and told him how she wanted him to pose. She kept the lighting how it was when she first walked in the room and left the mess as well. The room matched his brooding expression perfectly. She didn't want to be in the same room as him while he was angry but she wanted to capture that bottled up anger. It was something she had never seen from him. He was always hyper and happy during shoots. She never got to photograph him when he was in a sour mood. Something about this photoshoot made her heart beat speed up.
'Last one,' she thought. "Look at me," she said softly. As soon as his eyes darted in her direction, she could feel a gasp escape her lips. Snap.
You have stolen my heart
It was already 9 p.m. and she was sitting alone in the back of the tour bus, her laptop hooked up to the printer. She had convinced Big Rob give her the keys to the bus while the rest of the family and crew were out to dinner. She reassured him over and over that'd she be fine and it wasn't as if she was gonna make a getaway with the tour bus. Way too noticable, especially with all the "I LOVE YOU's" covering the sides of the bus. She was laying on her stomach flipping through the pictures, discarding repeats and favoriting the ones she intended on sending to her supervisor/mentor, Peter Yang. Then she came across the ones she shot during Joe's salty fit. She didn't know which ones she should keep or throw away. All of them turned out so well especially since natural anger was always so hard to capture on camera. She finally favorited three to send to Peter. She navigated her way to the entire favorites folder and hit 'Print'. She printed out an extra one of Joe and placed it in her personal portfolio.
She turned off all the lights in the back room of the bus, making it look near pitch black. The only light she could see were the street lights shining through. She could hear the bus door opening and thought 'Crap!' to herself. She knew she should've locked the door. She stopped her movements altogether and tried calm her breathing. She could hear the footsteps coming closer and crouched down so her silhouette was not visible through the windows. As soon as the door opened she ran for the opening, only to be pulled back by the unknown figure. She fell backwards and expected her back to hit the hard, carpeted floor. Instead she felt a strong hand in the small of her back, catch her fall. The unknown figure brought her back up to her feet but kept his grip on her arm.
"You need to be more careful."
She recognized the voice. "Joe?"
"Who'd you think I was?"
"You scared me! I thought you were some random hobo looking for a place to sleep," she said, snatching her arm back.At the same time, she dropped everything she was holding. She fell to her knees in a Japanese style kneeling position and started picking up everything. Joe crouched down and started to help her. He looked at every photo before handing it her. She didn't realize that it she also dropped her personal portfolio until she heard Joe say, "These are all of me."
Right then and there, she froze. What would she tell him? She reluctantly took the photo in Joe's hand and shuffled through picking up the rest. The quickened pace slowly confirmed his suspicions but he had to sure. She stood up and turned to leave but before she could make it out the door, Joe pulled her back to him and his lips landed on hers. It was a simple kiss, just to test the waters. He didn't even try to deepen it; he didn't want to freak her out. When he pulled away, he could see her eyelids flutter open.
She stood there, taking deep breaths. She was trying to understand what had just happened. She stood there wanting more. She had to fight the urge to just jump up and wrap her arms around his neck because she knew she couldn't, not with her own boyfriend to worry about. She heard someone else coming and pushed herself away from him and ran out, bumping into Nick on the way.
Nick looked at his brother, "What the hell?"
Even Joe didn't know how to answer that question. He was still trying to comprehend what just happened.
Invitation only, grand farewells
Crash the best one, of the best ones
Clear liquor and cloudy eyed, too early to say goodnight
Joe knocked on her door, clutching the folder in one hand while he ran the other one through his hair. He paced in front of her, wondering what he was going to say. How was he going to explain what happened yesterday? He stopped pacing as soon as he heard the door open and saw her eyes widen when she saw him. She was on the phone and silently mouthed, 'Do you want to come in?' She held the door open for him before turning back to her conversation.
He watched her walk around in a large circle in the huge above the bed, listening to her say, "Yeah, uh-huh," and other one or two syllable words. This was the first time he could actually get a good look at her without distractions. She was probably about a head shorter than him and had a petite figure. She was sporting a black long-sleeved henley, a pair of skinny jeans, and worn out white converse on her feet.
She finally finished her conversation and slipped her phone into her back pocket. "Sorry about that." She kept her distance from him, fidgeting with her arms. It was more than just a little awkward. Both of them didn't know who should talk first and when they did, they spoke at the same time.
Joe held out his hand that held the folder, "You left the rest of these in the bus last night. You ran out so fast, you forgot some."
"Thanks." She took the folder from him and slipped it into the side of her messenger bag. "About yesterday..."
He started to bring up an awkward topic and she didn't know how to go about it. She just shrugged if off, "Don't worry about it. Let's just...put past us. We're still friends, right?" She held out her pinky, as if to do a pinky promise.
He looped his pinky with hers, "Yeah, we're friends." As soon as skin met skin, he was cupping her face, attacking her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair. He pushed her down on the bed and hovered over her. He started leaving a wet trail of butterfly kisses down her jaw line and down the side of her neck. His hand slowly crept down to the hem of her shirt. When she could feel his warm hand caressing her waist, her breathing started becoming shorter. The feeling was soon interrupted when the muffled sound of Jine's 'Anotha Man' began playing through the back pocket of her pants. She forced her eyes open, pushing Joe off of her and walked to the other end of room. She slid out her phone and took a deep breath before answering it.
"Hello? Hey Harrison. Yeah, we're still on for tonight..."
He watched he walk around in a large circle once again. He licked his lips and could literally almost feel his mouth water. He could see she was keeping a close eye on him as he was edging closer to the end of the bed. Once she hung of the phone, he made a beeline towards her and tried to kiss her. She avoided contact with his lips and pushed him away. They stood there, an arm's length separating them. Finally, she spoke.
"I think you should go," she said, avoiding his gaze.
He stepped back, "Are you serious?"
She shot him a 'What-do-you-think?' look. She walked to the door and opened the door. That answered his question.
You have stolen my heart
Joe was in the lobby meeting up his brothers when he saw her in lobby of the hotel. She was frolicking with another guy he assumed was Harrison. He watched as she constantly linked arms with the other guy, as if she was reassuring him that he was only one for her. Their eyes met across the room until she broke the gaze. Joe wondered if her flirtatious actions were done on purpose to tease him.
Nick was the first to meet up with him. He leaned over and asked his brother, "Who's that guy with her?"
Nick looked wherever Joe was looking and let out a soft laugh, "That's Harrison, her boyfriend. Didn't you know?"
He did and did he care? Yes. He did. He wanted her and that was all that mattered.
And from the ballroom floor we are in celebration
One good stretch before our hibernation
Our dreams assured and we all, will sleep well
She could feel Joe's gaze on her when she was in the lobby with Harrison. She met his eyes and started to feel guilty for what happened earlier in her room. She turned her attention back to her boyfriend who was oblivious to everything going on around them. He didn't even notice teenage, heart throb Joe Jonas standing directly across the room. Harrison leaned down to kiss her on the lips. She smiled when she pulled away but honestly, it couldn't compare to kisses she shared with Joe. Her lips ached to feel those soft lips on hers again. She had to mentally kick herself to force herself to stop thinking about him. She knew she had to end things with Harrison before starting something else.
That night, they had dinner at a cozy little diner that was all too familiar to her, as they had their first date there. During the entire meal, waitresses who've worked there since she could remember, came over to their table constantly, asking her how she was doing or what kind of life she was pursuing at the moment.
The drive back to Harrison's place was another trip down memory lane. He started talking about people they knew from high school and what they were doing now. She wondered how he kept in contact with these people when she only kept in contact with two or three. When they reached his place, she set her bag on the kitchen counter, tipping over slightly and ran straight for the bathroom. She knew she shouldn't have ordered those two milkshakes during dinner.
She quickly washed her hands and patted them dry on her jeans. As soon as she walked back into the main room, she saw Harrison facing out towards the view of the skyline, clutching her folder in one hand. 'Stupid folder,' she thought to herself. She pondered if she should just burn it since it had gotten in all sorts of awkward situations the past two days. She knew this would spark an argument between her and Harrison. He was definitely jealous type with quite a temper. She knew enough to keep her distance when he was like this.
He turned to look at her, a stoic, angry look etched across his face. "These are all of him. Joe Jonas."
She winced when she heard him hiss the name through his teeth. She met his gaze and tried to play it cool.
"Yeah, and? It's a personal portfolio, it means nothing."
He knew she was lying. He always did. He started moving towards her; with every step he took, she took one step backwards. "Did you sleep with him?"
She shot him a venomous look, "Who are you to ask that? Besides, it's none of your business."
Wrong answer. He charged for petite figure and easily threw her over his shoulder. "Harrison! What're you doing?! PUT ME DOWN!!"
He walked into the foyer and threw her on the couch, that was at least the same size as a twin bed. He straddled her hips and gripped her shoulders. He didn't have to use brute strength just to pin her down, but she wasn't going to let him get his way without a fight.
"Look at me." She could feel Harrison's gaze penetrating her skull but she refused to look. Unfortunately, that plan didn't play out too well when he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. About a split second later, he leaned over and started assaulting her neck, biting down. Hard. She yelped when he felt his teeth on her skin. He smirked, "What's the matter? You used to like it when I did it rough."
His comment just made her more determined to fight him off. She could the tears building up but she wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She obviously didn't have enough strength to push him off. She started flailing her arms, reaching for anything. Her hands came in contact with the ceramic vase and smashed it into his temple. She watched him roll off of her, clutching his head. The light bulb might've shattered in his face but she didn't have time to care. She grabbed her things, his car keys, and took off in his precious convertible.
She just wanted to get back to the hotel as quick as possible, driving at a rapid pace. She lost count after running through five yellow lights, finally coming towards a red one. She could see another car coming from the other direction and slammed her foot down on the brakes. She came to a screeching halt and probably experienced some minor whiplash in the process. It was then that the tears she held back earlier started falling. She leaned into the steering wheel and started sobbing.
You have stolen
You have stolen my heart
When Joe opened his door that night, he didn't expect to see her on the other side. He was still feeling a little annoyed at the incident that happened earlier that day. He felt like there was some kind of mutual attraction there until she asked him to leave. He tried lace his words with as much annoyance as possible, "What're you do-ing...." He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence when she lifted her head to look at him. The first thing he saw was her tear-stained face which prompted him to pull her inside. She flinched when he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. He pushed away her hair and could see bruises starting to form from the bite mark Harrison left earlier.
"What the....? Did he? Harrison...did he do this?" All it took was a subtle nod for him to pull her into his arms while she started to sob again. He could feel her tears soak through his shirt. His left arm was around the back of her neck, and his right hand was stroking her hair. He started whispering comforting words until he heard the sobs turn into sniffles. She slowly pulled away and wiped her tears on the sleeve of her shirt. He heard her laugh as she pointed to his chest. He looked down and saw a wet spot in the center of his shirt and laughed as well.
"Sorry," she sniffled.
"It's okay. If that asshole ever comes near you again, I'm gonna break his face."
She laughed, "Well, he's gonna need to find a car first. I kinda stole his, driving back here." He could see tears starting to well up again. It simply broke his heart to see her like that.
I watch you spin around in your highest heels
You are the best one, of the best ones
We all look like we feel
"I should go. It's getting late and you have a busy day tomorrow." She headed for the door and wrapped her hand around the handle. She opened it slowly until a hand shot out and slammed it shut. She gasped and saw Joe's shadow outlined on the door. She slowly turned around and saw him towering over her. She held her breath as she waited for his next move and exhaled when she felt his lips on her forehead. He traveled down to her left cheek and planted a kiss there. He had both arms on either side of her head, caging her inside. He pulled away, his eyes meeting hers. Their noses were touching and their lips were just centimeters apart. She made the first move.
She almost literally jumped to meet his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him down towards her. He easily picked her up, wrapping his arms around her waist, while she locked her legs around his. He skillfully walked into the bed (and not anything else) and plopped her down right in the middle. She felt her back bounce against the mattress. Scenes from that afternoon began to replay. Joe started where he left off. His hand snaked its way underneath the hem of her shirt and broke their heated kiss briefly to remove the flimsy material. He lowered to begin sucking on her belly button, rewarding him with an illicit moan. He left a wet trail of butterfly kisses up her abdomen, finally up to the spot where Harrison left his teeth marks. Joe began sucking on the mark, soon covering it up with a mark of his own. At the same time, he unclasped her bra and removed his shirt in one swift motion.
He started working on the buttons of her jeans, while she worked on his, returning the favor. She whimpered when he sat up briefly to take in the sight before him. He brought two fingers to his mouth, wetting them before thrusting them into her hole. She gasped at the sudden intrustion. She opened her arms, begging him for another kiss. He complied, crashing his lips into her eyes. His tongue slid under her bottom lip, begging for entrance which she instantly granted. Their tongues were tangled in a fiery dance. Joe positioned himself at the entrance of her hole searching her eyes for confirmation. She nodded and tried to even her breathing as she felt Joe pushing himself inside of her. He buried himself to the hilt and began thrusting slowly. He took her earlobe between his teeth, nibbling and sucking at it gently. She pulled him towards her and whispered in his ear.
"Faster."
He granted her wish, picking up the pace. He started pinching her clit between his fingers, rubbing it circular motions. With one last thrust, they both reached their breaking point together. They shared one last heated kiss before drifting off to sleep. He woke up to the sound of his iPhone playing Amber Pacific's 'Always You'.
"Hello?" He asked, groggily.
"Joe! Where the hell are you?! Are you still asleep?!" Joe held the phone slightly away from his ear, trying to prevent himself from going deaf due to Nick's yellling. "What is it, Nick?"
"You're late and we have an event to get to."
"What're you talking about? We have no concerts today." He sat up, rubbing his eyes. He was looking around, searching for her but it was obvious she had left way before Nick's call.
"You're right, but we have charity event to host. Amatuer Karaoke Night, ring-a-bell?"
Joe's eyes widened, 'Crap!' He thought to himself. He scrambled to get his clothes on, managing to keep the phone between his ear and shoulder. "How much time do I have?"
"You've got exactly seven minutes before we leave."
Joe managed to get himself looking presentable to meet his family in the lobby before leaving to the concert venue. On the way, he kept calling and texting her. In his first message, he asked why she left that morning. The rest of the messages were just simple ones saying, 'I need to see you. Please call.' During the event, all three brothers took turns presenting each singer. Joe messed up on a few introductions due to other thoughts occupying his mind. He watched his brother, Nick walk up the steps of the stage and introduced the final performer. His ears perked up when he heard her name. 'She's a performer?' He thought to himself.
He watched her walk out on stage, wearing a black tunic dress and red heels. She brought the mic to her lips and took a deep breath, "I wanna dedicate this song to someone special and say that 'when you look me in the eyes,' I think I'm falling for you."
You have stolen my
You have stolen my heart
She held the last note before the music cut off and took a bow. She walked calmly off-stage but once she handed the microphone to a crew member, she ran straight to the dressing room. Her feet thanked her once she kicked off her heels and slid into a pair of flats of the same color. She looked up into the mirror and saw Joe standing in the doorway.
"Why didn't you tell me you were singing?"
She smiled, "I wanted to surprise you."
"Did you mean it? What you said on stage?" He wanted to know that she wasn't leading him on like she had before. She had spent three months on tour with them, witnessing every single one of his fits. He wanted to know she loved him for just Joe and not Joe Jonas.
She walked over to him. Without her heels, she was much shorter than him. She placed one hand on both sides of his face and pulled his lips towards hers. The kiss was simple and chaste.
"You've stolen my heart. I love you, Joe Jonas. Don't think otherwise."
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A/N: The song 'Anotha Man' by Jine feat. Kozo is a Japanese song, but the chorus is sung in English and I thought it was kinda fitting for this fic.