Chapter 9

"What are you doing here?" She said crossing her arms and looking away.

"We need to talk. Don't you think?" He said raising an eyebrow.

Ann sighed. "I'll give you a towel. Come on." She said and walked to her bedroom, Joe following her. "Wait here." She said and grabbed a towel from her bathroom.

Joe was looking around the room and he picked up a photo of her mother that was standing on her desk. Ann walked up to him.

"That's my mom." She said smiling at the photo.

"I know. You look alike. You're both beautiful." She sighed and threw the towel at him, trying to ignore what he said. She sat at the end of her bed and brushed her hair. "You've got any oversized T-shirts or jumpers that I could use?" He said pointing at his soaked clothes.

"Yeah, let me check." She got up and rummaged through her closet.

She found an oversized jumper that she once borrowed from a friend and forgot to return it. When she turned around, Joe had already taken off his jacket and T-shirt, now wiping his bare chest with the towel. She was caught by surprise and tried to look away as she walked up to him with the jumper, but took a quick look. His chest was muscular, as were his hands, and his wet curls were dancing on his forehead at his movement. He looked like a Greek god. She couldn't deny the fact that she was attracted to him.

"Like what you see?" He smirked at her and took the jumper from her hands. Ann blushed hard and shook her head, while sitting on the bed.

"Why do you keep doing this?"

"You were the one looking." He said still smirking, brushing the towel through his hair.

"That's not what I mean. You act like nothing happened." Joe sighed and sat down next to her.

"You heard me in the office. I don't care about these stupid rules. They don't get to decide our lives."

"They'll fire me, Joe. You don't seem to care about this fact." Ann looked at him, searching for a little empathy.

"Of course I care about this. Ann, they won't fire you. They can't do that, me and my brothers decide who's in the band. I could fire them first."

"This is so messed up." She hid her head in her hands. "I never knew this could be so complicated."

"Yeah, that's the price you pay. Being famous is a curse. I never got to taste the life of a normal person. How it is to just walk around the city without being stopped every second for a photo. Without these stupid paparazzi following your every step."

"I've always wanted your life. I always wanted to be famous, like you said being stopped for pictures..."

"Well, you will now. After all, you're my new girlfriend." He chuckled referring to the headlines. He even made her smile a little, but it lasted only couple seconds.

"Where do we go from now on, Joe?" She looked him in the eyes, trying to find some answers. But there was no good answers to this question.

"You know where I stand, what I think about it. You have to tell me your side now." He took Ann's hand and squeezed it. "I don't want to loose you."

The feeling of his warm hand on hers gave her butterflies. That man did something to her, that no one else did before. Made her feel the way she's never felt. She wished that this fairytale would last forever. Maybe in another universe. She moved her hand back from his grip.

"I can't, Joe." She said quietly, almost in a whisper. She looked at him and saw his eyes getting glassy.

"Don't say that." His voice was also very quiet and shaking.

"I can't." She said a little louder. He nervously brushed his hair and stood up.

"I don't know what it is about you, but you make me feel some kind of way. It's addictive and I can't get enough of you. And I see that you feel it too. You can't deny that." He nervously gestured his hands while talking.

"Joe, stop." Her heart was aching. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Just say it. Say you don't feel anything for me and I'll walk away."

That would be a lie. That would be a terrible lie and she knew that. But there was nothing left to say. She had to let him go.

"I'm sorry, Joe. I don't." The words felt like acid leaving her throat. Tears started running down her cheeks. He squatted in front of her and made her look him in the eyes.

"Say it to my face." It was a torture. She took advantage of the moment and analyzed every inch of his face. She wanted to remember it. To paint a picture in her brain. She knew there was no going back. His eyes were wet from tears and had a hopeful look in them. He thought she will change her mind eventually. That this was all a bad dream. But she had to do it.

"I don't feel anything for you." She choked on those words, struggling to say that sentence out loud.

He continued to look at her, tears now falling down his eyes. Like he was looking for something more there. Some other answer. But that was all. That was all that she could give him. He pushed his head down and wiped his tears. He sniffed and stood up.

"Okay." Was all he said, before exciting her room and apartment. No 'goodbye', no 'I hate you'. Nothing.

The emotions took over and Ann started to cry out loud. It didn't take long for Jazz to come into her room and hug her. She tried to calm her down, but it was only getting worse.

"Shh, it's okay. You did what you had to do. I love you and I'm here."

They stayed in bed for the rest of the day talking and eating pizza. Jazz was an amazing friend. She really tried to make Ann forget what just happened. But her mind was somewhere else. She decided to take an early night to sleep off all of today's events.

Jazz made her breakfast to bed which consisted of scrambled eggs and tomato sandwich.

"For my princess." She said while placing the plate on her lap.

"You're the best, Jazz." She smiled admiring the food.

"Enjoy." She said before leaving the room, but Ann stopped her.

"Hey, Jazz. Could you please turn on the radio? They're about to go on."

Today they had the radio interview, where Joe was going to dispel the rumors of them being together.

"You sure?" She raised an eyebrow, uncertain if it was a good idea.

"I wanna hear it, Jazz."

Jazz through her hands in a 'whatever' gesture and turned on the radio.

"Want me to be here with you?"

"No, but thank you." She reassured her friend and blew her a kiss. "I love you."

"Love ya too."

They were playing 'Waffle House' which meant they are probably going to start after the song. And she wasn't wrong. The song ended and the speaker started the interview.

"That was 'Waffle House' by the Jonas Brothers! They are here with us this morning. Nick, Joe, Kevin, it's an honor!"

"Hello!" They all said.

"We're so happy you're here. You're new album has been out for a while now and you're starting a tour in a couple of days. Tell me, how does it feel?"

"It's fantastic, we can't wait." Nick took over. "It's a special tour, because we're playing all 5 of our albums."

"That's crazy!" Shouted the speaker.

"Yeah, it's going to be a crazy ride, but you know, everything for our fans." Stated Kevin. "It's going to be big, we put together an amazing band with guitarist, trumpeters and back up singers. It's going to be an amazing show to be a part of."

"Speaking of..." the speaker lowered his voice. "Joe, you probably knew this was coming. The news is everywhere. The fans are going crazy. Tell us. Who is your mysterious girlfriend?"

Joe let out a little laugh. "Umm, okay so... Yeah, just to get this out of the way: she's not my girlfriend. Ann is our new backup singer. She is amazing, I love, love, LOVE her voice! I hope you will too once you get to hear her in tour. But no, we're just friends."

He said it so calmly and confidently. As though he didn't cry in her room yesterday. She couldn't believe it. He was a good actor.

"Okay, that's good to know. Joe girls over there, just to let you know, Joe is not off the market yet! You still have your shot." Laughed the speaker.

"Yes! I'm still waiting to find that special someone. Seeing Kevin and Nick so in love with their wives is always so refreshing. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to stumble upon my wife material yet, so... Who knows. Dress nicely for the tour." Joe laughed.

"Could you ever date a fan?" Nick asked Joe.

"I mean, why not? They're human too."

"Ooooh, Joe out here teasing. We're going to have bras thrown on stage." Laughed Kevin.

The rest of the interview was about the tour and the album. Once it finished, she turned it off and decided to take a shower. Hearing those words was painful, but she got used to it. It's the new reality now. They're "just friends " as he referred to it. Everything that happened through the past couple of days has been erased and they'll be starting again, as total strangers. She didn't know if it will be possible. She still felt attracted to him.

Rehearsal was starting in an hour so she decided to pick her outfit. She didn't really feel like dressing up. She felt like a mess inside, so she knew clothes won't fix it. She decided a tracksuit will do. She settled for a beige one and some white sneakers. She put her hair in a messy bun, not wanting to bother with it. Jazz came into her room to check on her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. They handled that well." She smiled at her.

"And you?"

"I'm okay, Jazz. I've already settled to the new reality." She said as she grabbed her bag. "Okay, gotta go now. Don't want to late. Again."

"Good luck." They hugged and Ann left for the rehearsal.

She was surprisingly early at the venue, being the only one there. She walked on the stage and imagined all the people that will be watching her. She closed her eyes and started singing "Walls", her voice echoing in the empty stadium. When she ended the song, she still had her eyes closed and smiling. She was very excited for the show. Suddenly someone's clapping made her jump.

"Maybe you should take over the song?" Joe came up on stage to her. He was smiling, acting like nothing happened. He was wearing a brown jacket and a white hat. "Your voice is amazing."

"Thanks..." she said uncertain how to act around him. He walked up to her and gave her a long eye contact before speaking up.

"I thought a lot about yesterday. I understand your choice. And it did move really fast, which made me think it was only the sexual tension speaking." He fixed his hat. "Let's start from the beginning." He reached out a hand to her. "Joe."

It was refreshing. His smile made her stomach turn. He finally took this seriously. She was happy he wanted to continue being friends and not ignoring her. She smiled at him and shook his hand.

"Ann."

"Nice to meet you, Ann." He chuckled, seeing how ridiculous it is.

"Just friends?" She said reaching her pointy finger to him.

"Just friends." They joined their fingers in a promise gesture. Joe gave her a reassuring smile and winked at her, before everyone joined them on stage.