deep love | 2

maturing

a/n

love nick and joe's character development here! im also excited for the next chapter (the interview!) stay tuned! 

quick question for u guys, do you play Among Us? let me know! also my phone is not working so im not able to access my instagram account. sorry about that! just message me here if theres anything u wanna talk about. xx 

enjoy 

J's pov 

Joe takes my hand and swings it back and forth as we walk towards the bowling alley. We'd decided to check it out since our talk was over, and I was so relieved it was done. I was starting to feel bad that I had even felt worried about the talk- but I wasn't sure what to expect. I guess I had underestimated them, Nick especially. 

Both Nick and I were doing our best to keep our friendship together, and if he was willing to work on it, so was I. 

After we get the bowling shoes, Joe and I walk over to one of the lanes and set our things down. "Ladies first" Joe says, winking at me. I smile and pick up one of the bowling balls, aiming and then rolling the ball down the alley. "Strike!" The machine-generated voice announces, and I look at the scoreboard displayed on the TV screen above us. 

"Well well, not too bad Ms Jessica. My turn now." Joe grins and waltzes over to the bowling lane, picking up a slightly heavier ball. I shake my head in amusement, but I know that he's acting nicer to me because he felt bad for what had happened. He ends up getting a strike too, and when he comes back, he puts an arm around me. "You'll be okay. You and Nick too." I look up at him and he's smiling at me. "What?" He asks when my eyes don't leave his face. "Have I told you I love you?" I giggle, earning a grin from him. "Many times" He replies, kissing me gently before we continue the game. 

We end up playing 3 rounds before it's time to go. "Well, we better get going. One hour till our interview." Joe sighs as both of us leave the bowling alley, feeling satisfied with our game. Joe had won by 5 points, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to spend time with him. 

"Jimmy says all of us are going to get our hair and make up done, he wants you, Danielle and your sister on the show too." Joe reminds me, and I nod, feeling slightly nervous. It wasn't the interview part that I was worried about- I didn't want to mess up our performance. 

"Are we waiting for Nick, Leia, Kev and Danielle before going to do our hair and makeup?" I ask as we brisk walk back to our hotel rooms. There's a moment of silence and I glance at Joe. "Sure" He finally decides, and my mouth nearly opens in shock. "What?" He asks, noticing my reaction. 

"Nothing... I just thought you were trying to spend as little time with your brothers as possible" I say quietly, kicking a stone across the parking lot as we near our hotel room. He's silent, and I don't push it anymore as he unlocks the door. We step inside, and I start making phone calls to Nick and Leia's room, followed by Kevin and Danielle's. 

Once I've informed all of them, Joe and I take our things and lock the door behind us. "Well, it's not fair for you to try so hard and me not to do anything." Joe says, and I look at him in surprise. It only registers in my brain that this is his reply for what I'd said earlier. 

I smile at him and he grins back, a little sheepishly. "I'm so grateful for everything you're doing for our family." Joe says as he takes my hand. "Don't worry about it" I say, grinning like an idiot. Joe raises an eyebrow but I just shake my head. I'm so happy at how much he's grown and matured. 

Nick's pov 

"They're here!" Leia calls, and seconds later I hear her opening the hotel door. "Hi guys!" She greets Joe and J, and I can hear them talking even from inside the bathroom. Needless to say, I was surprised that Joe and J had initiated our meeting before going to do our pre-interview preparation. I knew J was trying her best to strengthen our relationship, and so was I. But I was partially shocked that Joe had agreed. I knew how stubborn he could be. 

"Where's Nick?" J asks, and I take one last look in the mirror before opening the bathroom door. "I heard my name" I smirk a little as I appear in front of them. J laughs as Leia closes the door behind us, but I notice that Joe looks away. 

Do it. 

It's that little voice inside my head again, telling me to be the bigger person. Even though every part of my body wanted to do the opposite, I knew that I owed it to J. She'd done so much and it was only fair that I contributed a little. I take a deep breath and say it. 

"Hi Joe" 

I immediately notice that J and Leia exchange glances, and I see J grinning from ear to ear as she tries to hide her smile but looking at the ground. The awkwardness that I'd felt in my stomach seconds ago completely disappears- I knew I'd done the right thing. 

Joe nods and smiles- the first time he'd ever smiled at me since the break up. "Hey" He returns my greeting, and though it's brief- at least we're getting somewhere.

We walk in silence the rest of the way to Kevin and Danielle's room. I don't have much of a problem greeting Kevin or Danielle, and soon the six of us are all headed to the studio for our pre-interview preparation. As I watch Leia, J and Danielle talking excitedly and Kevin and Joe making small talk, I find myself smiling. 

It's like the old times. Almost. 

Thinking about how we were as a family just a couple months ago suddenly brings back a wave of emotions and memories. Was it really only a couple months ago that we'd all gone to the amusement park and Joe had proposed to J?

I sigh as I recall how fun that day had been, and I suddenly realise where J is coming from. I understand why she was so desperate for us to go back to how we had been before the breakup. I missed it too. 

I'm jolted out of my thoughts as we're ushered into the studio by one of Jimmy's assistants. "Right this way, guys" The woman smiles at us and holds open a glass door for us as we step inside a smaller room. "This will be your make-up and hair stylists for today. They'll help you get ready for your interview!" 

We thank her before she leaves, and each of us sit down on the plush leather chairs. There three stylists in total, and I assume that we're going to be styled and matched with our significant others. 

"Hi everyone! I'm Mia, I'll be the stylist for Kevin and Danielle today" A lady in her mid thirties shakes hands with Kevin and Danielle before leading them to another separate room. "I'm Alex- short for Alexandra- and I'll be styling Joe and Jessica today." I glance over at J as the stylist reads her full name, and she winces. "Call me J, please. I'm only called Jessica when I'm in trouble." They share a laugh as they're brought to a separate room and I chuckle in amusement at how much J hated to be called by her full name. 

"Last but not least, I'll be styling you guys for today! I'm Clarissa!" Leia and I smile warmly at her as she starts showing us what outfits we were going to wear. Since Joe, Kevin and I had been doing interviews and talk shows since we were young, this was nothing new to us. J and Danielle had also attended a few interviews since they had been Joe and Kevin's significant others respectively for a number of years already. But for Leia, this was her first time and a new experience. "Enjoy it, babe" I whisper to her as she sits a few feet away from me, also in a leather chair. Clarissa hears and smiles. "First time?" She asks, and Leia nods excitedly. "Yeah, I'm really excited!" 

We end up making small talk with Clarissa throughout the styling process, and before I know it, we're ready to go. We thank her as she finishes the final touches and goes to get our outfits. 

"No problem" She winks at us and laughs, handing me a suit and handing Leia her dress, which are both inside one of those bags for clothes so they wouldn't get crumpled. "Your outfits are colour coordinated, those two outfits should be blue." 

Leia and I both peek inside our bags, and sure enough, my suit is dark blue. I admire our outfits and thank Clarissa. "You did a great job picking these outfits and doing our hair and makeup!" I compliment her, and she smiles. "Yeah, our outfits look amazing together!" Leia exclaims, and I have to agree- the dark blue of my suit compliments Leia's flowery blue dress amazingly.