Catching This Lovebug *finished* [A JB short story]

Maturity: Your average romancey stuff - slightly descriptive kissing, and flirting. Some mild violence.
Fantasy: None.





Stella was vaguely aware of a large group of people screaming, as she searched for the Webkinz her sister wanted for her birthday - the cardinal, because it was Mia’s favorite color. She sighed, shutting her eyes and trying not to concentrate on the noise - even though she was only fifteen, noise already gave her headaches. She pressed the little button on the key chain of her purse, which was slung in the crook of her elbow - she liked the weird little jingle it made, and it helped her to focus on other things.

She turned around - it was becoming a challenge just to find the Webkinz in this large store. That was the one thing she didn’t like about this mall - it was so hard to find things in most of the stores. She stared at the little directory of the store in her hands - it was that big - walking towards what she hoped was the plush toys section. She went around a corner, and then bumped into something. “Yah!” gasped the startled male voice.

“Oh! Sorry!” Stella gasped, the ends of her eyebrows slanting down in apology as she scrambled backwards to give him room. Then her jaw dropped as she saw his face, and recognized him.

Nick Jonas stiffened when he saw her new expression - warily waiting, wondering what to do if she turned out to be an insane fangirl. This was obviously not the time for freaking out.

“Nick Jonas?” she asked, lowering her voice in case anyone was nearby - she didn’t want to start a stampede.

“Yeah,” he laughed, just as quiet. His voice was laced with relief that she hadn’t started screaming. “I’m, well, hiding from them.” He tilted his head towards the entrance of the store that was hidden by a long shelf going across the store.

Stella tilted her head. “Them?”

He grimaced. “Fangirls. Coming here was not smart. I don’t even know where Joe and Kevin are . . .” He was really being surprising. Never, when she’d pictured herself meeting one of the Jonas Brothers, had Stella imagined them so . . . willing to speak their mind.

“Oh . . . the screamers?” she queried, grimacing herself. “That would explain them, in that case.”

Nick nodded. “Yep. So, anyway, who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Stella,” she said. “Stella Caswik.”

He smiled, holding out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too!” she agreed, shaking his hand.

Nick looked around. “I wonder how long it’ll be before one of the ‘screamers’ finds me,” he mused.

Stella shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t. I wouldn’t have expected to find one of you guys in a toy store.”

He grinned, the grin of one who knows what he’s doing. “Which is the whole reason they’ll look here as soon as they figure out we’re hiding.”

“Are the other two hiding? Maybe they’re trying to create a diversion,” she suggested.

He laughed - that probably hadn’t occurred to him. “That’s a possibility. I’d rather not risk looking. I’m pretty much stuck here until the screaming is gone.”

“I can check if you want,” she offered, shrugging.

“Would you?” he asked, hopeful.

She nodded, smiling, and casually - or so she hoped - walked around the shelf and headed towards the front of the store. She pressed a hand against the cool glass, looking out into the rest of the mall without bothering to open the door. It seemed safe . . . she cautiously cracked the door open, and heard nothing but very distant screaming.

Stella hurried back to Nick. “I think it’s clear. All the screaming is farther off.”

He nodded. “Thanks. I’m getting out of here, in that case - best to escape while I can.”

She nodded. “I see what you mean. Well, nice meeting you.”

Nick smiled. “You too,” he said, and his voice was a little surprised, yet sincere. That means he’s surprised that meeting me was ‘nice’, she guessed. Boys were so easy to read - she’d managed to (hopefully) interpret most of his thoughts during their brief conversation. Stella was very good at interpreting the speech and facial expressions of others. “By the way,” he continued, “What are you doing in a toy store, if you weren’t hoping to find one of us?”

“Oh.” She laughed - he was so confused. “I was looking for a birthday present for my sister. She wants this Webkinz, but I can’t find it anywhere. I think it’s sold out.” She frowned slightly then.

He tilted his head. “Which one?”

“The cardinal.” She wondered why he wanted to know . . . he seemed eager to know, too.

He nodded. “Okay, come with me.”

“Where?”

“Don’t worry,” he chuckled. “We’re staying in the store.” He led her over to the cashier, who seemed shocked when she recognized him.

“Do you have the cardinal Webkinz?” he asked her politely, smiling.

“Oh . . . I’m afraid not,” she said, her voice high-pitched due to her frazzled shock. “We’re out of stock, and the new shipment won’t be here until tomorrow or the day after.”

He nodded. “Would you mind sending one to my friend here when you get one, then?”

“I think we could arrange that,” she said, still frazzled. “She’ll need to pay for shipping and handling, though, along with the Webkinz itself. And I’ll need her address.”

Nick quickly slid a fifty dollar bill across the counter to her. “Will this cover it?”

She nodded quickly. “Yes—”

Nick nodded, a bit impatient but still polite. “Good - keep the change. Stella, can you give her your address?” he asked, looking back at her.

Wow, he’s really nice! “Um, yes - 1532 Groves Road, here in LA.”

The cashier nodded, hurriedly typing it into the computer. “And then, what is your phone number, so we can call you when we send it?”

“555-4897,” she recited promptly.

She nodded. “Thank you, and we’ll send it to you as soon as the shipment is in,” she said, flashing a quick smile.

Stella nodded. “Thank you,” she said to the cashier, and then to Nick - “Thanks,” with a smile.

He grinned. “No problem. Bye, Stella.” He then turned and rushed out, in a hurry to avoid any “screamers.”

Stella blinked when he was gone. How surreal!



A few days later, while IMing one of her friends, the phone rang once. A few moments after, her father’s deep voice sounded up the stairway - “Stella, it’s for you.”

BRB, she typed. I need to answer the phone. Sending the message, she stood and walked down the stairs to her father, accepting the phone from him.

“Hello?” she said, walking up the stairs, back to her room at the top. She shut the door securely.

“Stella?”

“Yes . . . may I ask who’s calling?”

“It’s Nick.” When she didn’t reply, trying to remember what Nicks she knew, he added, “Nick Jonas.”

“Oh! How did you get my number?” she asked, too baffled to say anything else.

“I memorized it when you were telling it to the cashier,” he admitted with an unashamed laugh.

“Oh . . . well, hi!”

He laughed again. “Hi. I was wondering something - this is gonna sound kinda bad, though.”

“Umm . . . just ask me, I guess,” she said uncertainly.

“Well, are you - ya know, a fan of us?”

“Are you kidding me? You have no idea,” she said, shaking her head. “My room is filled with posters of you and your brothers, and I have nothing but ‘Stella Jonas’ doodled all over my school notebooks.”

“Which Jonas?”

“Huh?”

“Stella Jonas, as in which Jonas?” he laughed.

“Oh - well, really, it didn’t matter. It was the name itself that was the most important,” she chuckled.

He laughed, sounding a bit more relaxed. “And yet, you’re not a ‘screamer’?”

“Well, depending on the situation, I might have been . . . but for one thing, I don’t like loud noises, and for another, it didn’t really seem like you needed an obnoxious fangirl when I found you.”

“Okay, how would you tell that if you didn’t know what I was doing there?” he laughed.

“I’m good at reading faces and voices,” she explained, laughing. “All the boys at school are afraid to ask me out because they know I’ll always be able to tell if they’re lying to me.”

Nick laughed, too. “What if . . . someone was brave enough to ask?” he wondered musingly.

She laughed again. “They face the consequences when I accept.”

He chuckled. “Well, I’ll keep that in mind.”

She turned red - thank goodness they weren’t talking face-to-face. “Okay, you do that,” she said, keeping her voice casual.

He seemed to hesitate a moment before answering. “Gladly.”

Next part on page 1, post 10.

I remember this, too!

Lol, you would! XD

I love this, it is so awesome!!! It kinda reminds me of a dream I had once; I ran into the Jonas Brothers at my town park and I didn't freak out or anything, I just kinda hung out with them till I woke up. XD Great job, Shadow!!

Thanks Saddle!

I'll add the next two chapters after one more comment. XD

Does another comment from me count? XD

I really like this
I'm not much of a fan of the Jonas Brothers anymore, but I'll be sure to read more

Lol, I'm glad you like it, even though you don't like JB! XD Anyway, I'll add the next two chapters up right now.

YAY!!!!

Bleah, it won't fit. XD So here. (Be warned - it's cheesy. XP)

Chapter 3
Smiles
“I can’t get your smile out of my mind; I think about your eyes all the time. You’re beautiful, but you don’t even try; modesty is just so hard to find.” - Nick Jonas, Lovebug

Nick and Stella after that continued to have daily phone conversations, getting to know each other better. Stella felt like she was in a dream every time she hung up the phone - she just couldn’t believe she was actually becoming friends with Nick Jonas.

One day, however, something . . . well, frankly rather interesting happened while they were on the phone. There was some scuffling noise on Nick’s end of the phone, and Stella heard him protesting “Hey, come on!”

There was silence for a while, and then a door slam. “Hello,” said another voice - deep and ominous.

“Hi . . . ?”

“It appears that my brother would like to date you, judging by the color he turns each and every time we mention anything about you.”

“You’ve been ‘mentioning’ me?”

“Oh, yes - Nick was the first, of course, to mention the ‘really nice fan’ he met in the mall a few weeks ago. And I would like to let you know - we’ll be listening.”

“What?”

He sighed. “Nick, you can have the phone back now!” he yelled, and there was a sound of a door being unlocked. Only now that his voice was normal did Stella recognize Joe.

“Give me that!” Nick snapped, and then a moment later there was another door slam. “Sorry, Stella,” he sighed. “What did Joe tell you?”

Stella then was the one to turn ‘the color.’ “I’m not sure you really want to know that,” she said slowly.

Nick sighed. “Great. . . . We might as well just get it over with.”

“Okay . . . his exact words were something like ‘Hi, my brother wants to go out with you because he turns red whenever we mention you - and we mention you because he brought you up first as the really nice fangirl - and we’ll be listening.’ ” She said Joe’s words in a bad impression of his voice that sounded more like her dad.

There was silence for a moment. “Well - um - I think my mom needs me - I think I have a concert - yeah - bye - I’ll talk to you later.” After his babble, there was a click.

Stella sighed. I just ruined this, I bet. But it was all true, what Joe said . . . wow. Nick really has a crush on me . . . at least, if he never calls me back, I suppose I could live with knowing that much.

Stella began to read one of her favorite novels, when suddenly, the phone rang again.

“Hello?” she asked, cradling the phone against her ear.

“Stella?”

“Oh - hi Nick!”

“Umm . . . okay, did you do any of your interpretation thingies on me earlier?”

“Sorta . . .”

“Oh, crud.”

“Yeah . . . you probably don’t want to know this, either.”

“Okay, then, I should probably just come and out and tell you the truth. It’d make it easier for both of us.”

“Okay . . .”

“Stella, I do have a crush on you - Joe kinda wasn’t making anything up. Especially that ‘we’ll be listening’ bit.” He managed a weak laugh. “You’re just different. I’ve always said that I’d date a fan - but I meant the right fan. Stella, you are that right fan. You like us, but it feels like you like us for us , not just because we’re some ‘amazingly cute singers.’ And you’re not one of the screamers, either. You’re just really sincere and down-to-earth. And I really like that, and I really like you.”

“Oh . . . wow . . . I didn’t get that much out of your voice.”

Nick laughed.

“But . . . I think I do sorta feel the same way,” Stella continued. “I’m really not sure whether I’m just amazed that I know ‘one of the Jonas Brothers,’ but it sure feels like a crush to me.”

“Really?”

“I mean it.”

“Cool,” he said, and his voice was clear and sincere - no interpretation needed. Then he laughed. “I wish I could see you again sometime, though. I can’t get your face out of my mind, but now I’m having trouble remembering you as well.”

She blushed. “I’m really not much to look at,” she murmured.

“Right. They always say that,” he said, slightly sarcastic. “Well, if my opinion matters any, I think you’re very pretty.”

“Wow. Thanks.” That was rather astonishing. Stella had never been told this before, and had never done anything to try and make herself look better - the most she ever wore for makeup was lip gloss once in a while on special occasions. And her hair was just jet black and boring; plain and straight. He really could see something in her, though, if she couldn’t herself.

“You’re welcome.”

She laughed a little. “This is kinda weird - isn’t it usually the girl telling you you’re cute?”

“Yeah, usually,” he laughed lightly. “But my definition of you goes beyond ‘cute.’ I think beautiful would be a better term.”

“Are you serious?”

“You tell me.”

“My gosh . . . if I were going to tell my friends about this, they would so not believe me.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell your friends?” he laughed, but with an edge of tension.

“I don’t think I should . . . you guys get enough trouble already. I don’t want to be the one causing you that. Seriously, I haven’t told anybody I know you. My parents don’t even know that it’s you I’ve been talking to.”

“Wow . . . you don’t have to hide it, though.”

“I don’t mind. Seriously, you guys need a break.”

“Thanks. Speaking of breaks . . . I managed to get this Saturday off - absolutely nothing going on. Do you want to go see a movie, and maybe go out to eat afterwards?”

“Sure!” Stella agreed, grinning - oh yeah, her friends really wouldn’t have believed her. “When and where?”

“How about around six? I kinda memorized your address, too-”

“You have a good memory,” she laughed.

He chuckled. “Thanks. So I can come pick you up? I was thinking we’d just go out into the city. We won’t go far - for your parents’ sake,” he added with a laugh.

“That sounds great!”

“Awesome. Well, this time I actually do gotta go - my mom wanted me to go set the table for dinner within fifteen minutes . . .”

“That’s fine, go ahead,” Stella replied. “I’ll talk to you later?”

“Yep - I’ll call you tomorrow, and I’ll see you Saturday.”

“Okay! Bye.”

“Bye.”

Stella hung up, then shuddered. Now all she had to do was tell her parents - joy.

Chapter 4
Breathless
“Kissed her for the first time yesterday; everything I wished that it would be. Suddenly, I forgot how to speak. Hopeless, breathless, baby can’t you see?” - Nick Jonas, Lovebug

They watched the newest romance film that seemed to be popular with everyone. It turned out to be a really great movie - Stella was actually crying by the end. Of course, she got emotional during movies and while reading quite easily. It wasn’t unusual to find her crying. However, Nick seemed rather mystified by her tears - maybe he hadn’t seen a girl crying before in a movie.

Afterwards, they went to the nearby Burger King.

“That was a really good movie,” Stella said, her face feeling stiff from the salt of her tears. “Just . . . wow.”

Nick blinked, smiling. “Do you usually cry during movies?”

Stella nodded. “Yes.”

He nodded. “I don’t,” he chuckled.

Stella rolled her eyes. “Most boys could say the same.”

After they ate their meals, Nick and Stella walked around the city a little bit instead of going straight back home. Stella loved the lights of the city by nighttime - everything looked so beautiful with this different perspective. But by day . . . bleh.

“Hey, look!” Stella laughed, wandering over to a little stand of various plants and herbs. “Mistletoe!”

“Hmm, a little early. It’s not quite Christmas yet,” Nick laughed.

She shrugged. “Might as well get a head start. We only have a few more months to get ourselves ready.”

“Yeah,” Nick agreed. Stella turned to continue on, but he called in a totally upbeat voice, “Oh, Stella?” It was almost a singsong voice.

“Yes?” she said, turning around. Nick stood there with a grin, holding a sprig of mistletoe above his head.

“Oh, look at that,” she said, looking up at the mistletoe. She felt her heartbeat quicken, and a rosy blush began to spread over her face.

“Caught under mistletoe - whatever will I do?” he fake groaned.

“Maybe I can help you with that,” said Stella with a shy grin, walking up closer to Nick. Taking each others’ hands, Stella reached up, closing her eyes as Nick leaned down and closed his. They kissed; a soft, sweet kiss - the perfect first. Neither of them wanted it to end, though, apparently - they began throwing themselves into it gradually more and more, until it almost turned serious - then Stella had to pull back, breathing heavily. Nick had to catch his breath, too, but he grinned happily at her. She smiled back, blinking.

They turned back to go to Nick’s car, a hand each still entwined with the other’s.
Wow, Stella thought, gazing up at the dark night sky. She thought she saw a streak flashing across the sky, but then she blinked, and it was gone.

“A shooting star,” she murmured softly.

“Huh?” Nick said.

“Shooting star,” she said more clearly, glancing down at the ground instead. “At least, I think so.”

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she looked up to find him smiling adoringly at her. They kissed again, holding themselves to each other as if nothing else mattered - and at the moment, it didn’t. Shooting stars could have been falling to earth all around them, and neither of them would’ve noticed it.

Next part on page 4, post 1.

Aww, that part was really sweet.

RELIEF! XD Haha. I get like really embarrassed when I post that kinda stuff, so I'm glad you liked it!

I really liked that part. It was so cute. (haha, I sound like my friend now. XD)

(Lol, nice. XD) Yeah, I think that's the most embarrassing part in the whole story. XD Or at least from what I've written so far.

I think this is a great story so far. I keep trying to write a story, but I can't get far without thinking it sounds awful and deleting it.

Thanks!

Aww, I'm sure your stories aren't awful!! XD I want to read them! What about the Twilight one you originally had on WI? I know it'd be awesome to see that here!!

You're welcome!

Thanks. I'll try writing a story that I don't end up hating. Oh yeah, I forgot about that!! I should find that and post it here!

You should!

Hey, I found it!!! Wow, I forgot it sounded that good....way better than the other stories I've tried to start. Hey, it's not written at a 2nd grade level!!!

Yay!! Post it! Post it! Pweeeeeeease?

Okay, okay, I'll post it.

YAY! I'm giving you MEGAREP.

Haha, thanks

Good job! When are you posting the next chapter?

After one more person comments.