happiness begins [joe jonas]

14

After a busy Monday shift at the cafe, Emmie decided it would be a good time to return to the music room. It had been a while since she had last stepped foot into that place and she missed it. She had missed the comfort of the memories that lingered in the room. The way she could sit there for hours on end and not get bored.

The silence that room held was peaceful and haunting all at once. The sound that once filled the room, were the old notes of the acoustic guitar Caleb used to play. And now that very same guitar sat in the corner of his bedroom, untouched. Now the only sounds Emmie could remember, was the happy laughter that circled the back of her mind. The past would forever be a memory.

She reached the building just as the colours in the sky were beginning to merge and the sun began to hide behind the clouds. She admired the view for a moment before letting herself inside. Luckily for her, the building seemed pretty empty, but it was no surprise, considering it was getting late.

She wandered the quiet halls, making her way towards her room. As she neared, from the corner of her eye, she noticed the light shining from inside the room opposite, and the slight noise of rustling. The same room that her and Joe had wrote the song. Emmie grew curious, wanting to know if Joe was here once again.

She glanced through the gap in the door, only to be noticed by another familiar face.

"Nick?" She asked, surprised to see him.

The younger brother spun around, locking eyes with the blonde from the outside of the room. He stepped forward, pulling the door open so Emmie could step inside. He smiled, but was just as shocked to see her.

"Hey Emmie." He spoke quietly.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, quickly noticing the uncertainty in his voice. Nick nods in response but didn't seem so sure.

Emmie realised she had never seen Nick in the music room before, especially the room her and Joe would spend time in. She wondered how he knew about the place.

It was as if he had read her mind.

"I heard Joe mention this place, so I wanted to come see for myself." He mutters.

"You've spoken to Joe?" Emmie questions, and began to wonder if Joe had plucked up the courage to finally tell Nick how he felt.

Nick shakes his head.

"No. Should I have?"

"Oh, no it's nothing." Emmie shuts down the conversation. She didn't want him to have to hear it from her. It should come from Joe instead.

"You make him happy." Nick smiles, although it was obvious there was sadness behind his expression.

Emmie goes to speak but Nick interrupts.

"No really, you do." He tells her. "I've seen the way he looks at you. Me and Joe may have our differences, but that doesn't mean I don't notice."

Emmie felt a warmness inside. She was happy that although Joe and Nick were having a hard time understanding each other, they still cared. They still wanted the best for one another. She just hoped that they would eventually realise they still needed each other.

"You make Joe happy." He concludes. "I can see it. I hope he makes you happy too. You both deserve it."

Joe did make her happy. He really did.

"You make him happy too." Emmie tried. She wanted to see if Nick would have anything to say. She wanted to know how he really felt.

Nick looked away for a second, running a hand through his hair as he shook his head.

"No. I don't." He mumbled.

Emmie wanted to tell him how much he meant to Joe. How much Joe missed spending time with his brother. How much he reminisced over the happy times together. How much he was hurting now that they didn't speak. How guilty he felt for the years of memories they had missed.

But she couldn't. It wasn't her place.

Instead she kept quiet and watched as Nick collected up his belongings, a dull look on his face as he did so. She knew he was hiding his true feelings, but she was not going to argue with him about it. She knew he would crack eventually, once he realised how bad he also missed Joe. She continued to watched as he threw on his jacket, shrugging slightly as he made himself comfortable. He rushed around, edging closer to the door.

"I'll see you around." He smiled weakly, before swinging the door open, disappearing into the dark hallway.

Emmie glanced around the room, realising he had forgotten something.

"Nick, wait!" She began, but she knew he was already too far gone.

She held the crumpled paper in her grasp, hoping to have given it back to Nick but he had already left. She hadn't planned to read it, knowing it wasn't hers. Nick had left it there by mistake. But as she smoothed out the paper before her, she couldn't help but notice the lines written down.

It was fun when we were young and now we're older,

We were up and down and barely made it over,
But I'd go back and ride that rollercoaster,
With you.

And that was all the confirmation she needed. Nick missed him too.

•.•.•.•.•

She wondered how long he had been hiding this. How much he had longed to reach out to Joe. If there was one thing Emmie knew was certain - it was that the Jonas Brothers were stubborn. Both of them felt the same way, yet they refused to speak to each other.

Emmie sat in the music room alone for a while longer. She hadn't noticed the extreme decoration, considering Joe had stolen her attention the last time they had been there. Her eyes locked on the overloaded polaroid collection taped the the wall above the piano. They had been stuck absolutely everywhere, taking up the majority of the wall. There were many shelves and units crowding the space, stacked with vinyls, old cd's, notebooks, anything you could think of.

She almost felt bad for intruding on something so personal. Joe had made the room his own, and Emmie had walked right in, uninvited.

Emmie stepped forward, tracing her finger over the glossy photos. She noticed that most of them were old memories of the four brothers. From when they were at least 13, up until now. She found herself smiling at the different snapshots. Most of them, had Joe, centre of attention, pulling a face into the camera. But there were also some, taken by either their parents, or friends. Of the boys, growing up over the years, genuine smiles on each of their faces.

The four of them were happy.

Joe's guitar stood in the corner, beside a rather large speaker. Emmie smiled in awe, realising how much effort Joe had put into this place. It was so much more perfected than her own room across the hall. This room had a much more homely feel to it. It was a safe space. She wandered towards the instrument, sitting down on the piano bench as she picked up the guitar. Although she didn't know how to play, that didn't stop her from attempting to strum a few notes.

She hummed to herself, the first tune coming to mind being the same song Joe had written a few weeks before.

"You found me right before I'd given up."

Emmie repeated the words over and over in her mind. Although Joe had written the song, she couldn't help but resonate with the lines. Her and Joe were alike in more ways than they had realised.

She sat, replaying that day in her head. That had been of the first time her and Joe had truly connected. They had really gotten to know each other. She knew it would take a lot more opening up from the both of them, to have a closer friendship, but she was happy with what she had as of right now. And from everyone else's point of view, so was Joe.