Lyrics and Love: Say Goodbye (A Jordan Knight Fanfiction)

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Jordan didn't know how Jo got away so fast. He had no idea where she was. He turned where he thought he saw her turn, but she was gone. Then it hit him where she might be.

He walked onto the bus and back to his bunk. He opened the curtain and there she was. He kicked his shoes off and climbed in. As he slid in behind her, she turned and buried her face in his chest. He wrapped her in his arms. He just laid there and held her while she cried. He rubbed her back and petted her hair. He whispered words of comfort to her. He wished he could take her pain and hurt away. What he didn't realize, that's exactly what he did that night. He didn't know by just holding her and comforting her, he was helping her. And she'd appreciate it forever.

They slept like that all night. When she woke up in the morning she was feeling better, but she knew she had a shit ton of cleaning up to do. She loved her brother and couldn't leave things like they had last night. She knew he'd always felt responsible for her. But she couldn't allow him to keep bossing her around like she was a child. She had to be allowed to make her own decisions,  to make mistakes. Then to learn from her mistakes. But she wished it hadn't gone down like it did the night before. She had to wake up Jordan to get out of his bunk. He woke up when she kissed his lips. His hand moved to her face. "Good morning beautiful. How did you sleep" he asked her sleepily.

She leaned her face into his hand, "Good morning to you handsome. Pretty good considering the night I had. Not really looking forward to seeing Presley this morning. My hand still hurts, he's probably not very happy with me. I shouldn't have hit him."

He kissed her again, it was so tender and caring. "Don't worry about it. He'll get over it, he loves you. But you weren't wrong for saying what you said to him. He was wrong. He was being mean and overbearing. You two just need to talk. Clear the air, maybe set boundaries." He gave her one more kiss before he rolled out of his bunk, taking her hand helping her out as well. Then he climbed right back in. "Come wake me up when you finish up with your family." One more kiss and she grabbed her shoes and walked off the bus.

She went looking for her family. She wasn't even sure if they'd stayed the night on their Dad's bus, but that's where she checked first. She found them all sitting on the bus having coffee.

"Good morning slugger" Hendrix said when he saw her. He laughed.

"Shut up Hendrix. Don't make things worse." She looked over at Presley. "Hey Pres, I'm really sorry I slapped you. How mad at me are you? Do you hate me now?" She choked up on her words.

Presley turned to look at her. He stood up and went over to her. He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "Of course I don't hate you Joplin. I love you more than anything. You're my baby sister. I just feel so responsible for you. I've always looked after you, it's hard to let go. Its hard to see you grown up. And it's really hard to see you get hurt. But Dad, Cash and Hendrix all tell me I need to loosen up on the reigns a little. I'm sorry for what I said to you. I hope you can forgive me. I love you!"

"I love you too big bro. And of course I forgive you."

Cash spoke up now, "So tell me about Darren." Jo's eyes went wide, "How do you know his name?"

"A little birdie told me his name. And you know he has to pay for what he did to you. It's not fair that you got into trouble and he got off without any kind of punishment. Who better to deliver his punishment than your big brothers? So, tell me all about Darren. A last name will suffice. An address would be even better."

"I'm not talking to you guys about Darren. I'm over it. I don't need him punished. Can't you just leave it alone?"

Cash thought about it for a second, then he said, "Okay, then tell us about Jordan."

Jo shook her head, "Why do you think there's something to tell about Jordan?"

Cash explained, "Well Presley said you told him you liked him and then held his hand. And when you ran off last night he chased after you. And neither of you ever came back. Did you spend the night with him? And were you on his bus when you arrived yesterday? Are you two dating or just sleeping together?"

Jo blushed, Cash usually didn't ask such questions, "Cash, are you serious? Yes, we like each other. We're getting to know each other. He's a really great guy. And as for anything else going on is none of your business sweet brother."

Hendrix spoke up now, "I like him. We talked quite a bit today. He seemed genuinely interested in getting to know Jo Jo better. He asked a lot of questions. He's amazed by her musical talents. He said you played Bo Rhap for him. He seems to really like you sis."

"I want all three of you to listen to me, really hear what I have to say, okay?" All three of her brothers nodded.

"I'm okay. I'm doing really good here. I'm happy. Life is starting to feel normal again. I'll come home as soon as I'm ready. I'm not ready now. And as much as I wanted to keep it from you, I can't, Jordan and I are getting to know each other. We're kind of dating, I guess. We like each other. He's great. We have a lot in common and we enjoy spending time together. I'd like for you to get to know him too. But be fucking nice to him. Don't do like you've always done and try to run him off. Please. I do really like him and he likes me. I want to see where this can go. Okay? I love you three jerks so much!"

Her brothers agreed to let her have her space. They still wanted to know more about Darren. But she refused to give any of his information. They also agreed to be nice to Jordan. As long as he was nice to her.