second-hand | joe jonas

chapter 2

Today is the day before the concert, and I still have yet to find an outfit, so Vanessa and I decided on last-minute shopping. We live near Wynwood in Miami, so along with the scenery, they have such nice clothing shops and food options.

I invited her over to get ready, also because I didn't have a car.

"Can you hurry? It'll be tomorrow by the time you're done," Vanessa complains. I roll my eyes and ignore her comment, continuing to apply my mascara.

I sigh as I finish and take a final glance in the mirror, hoping that I look the way I want to, and as today might feel like it could be my day, I do. I look over at Vanessa without saying anything and nod my head towards the door while walking over to my house keys, signaling that I'm done and that we're heading out.

Vanessa runs towards the door excitedly and books it to her car. I laugh and just walk to the driveway before yelling out, "Can I drive?"

Vanessa looks and me and nods, throwing me her car keys. One thing I love to do is drive. It helps me clear my head and just be able to breathe. However, now as I get into the driver's seat and turn on the ignition, the radio is at full volume. Of course, the music playing is the Jonas Brothers, leaving me to think about how beautiful Joe's voice is.

I pull away from the driveway and neither of us is talking, just listening to the music and singing along now and then. That is until Vanessa is scrolling on her phone and lets out a deafening scream.

"JOE JONAS IS AT WYNWOOD RIGHT NOW."

I look over at her with wide eyes, not believing her at all, until she turns her phone to me. He is at Wynwood alright. He is in a Cuban coffee shop named 'Sweet Habana Cafe'. I've been there before and their service is top-notch.

I try and collect my thoughts before saying anything, but I finally let out, "Okay, uhm, are we going to try and meet him? What do we do?"

I knew Vanessa was going to tell me to do something crazy, and just like that, she said, "Hit the gas and don't let go, we need to get there before he leaves." And just like that, I did.

We reach Wynwood and I park the car, quickly taking my phone out to pay for my parking spot. $7 for 2 hours isn't that bad. As soon as I pay for it, Vanessa grabs my wrist and starts running towards the coffee shop, and I can't help but feel nervous as it's all suddenly hitting me. I'm gonna meet Joe Jonas.

As we reach the coffee shop, there's a large amount of people surrounding someone, who I'm assuming is Joe Jonas. I feel a pang of disappointment in my chest because It seems impossible to get to him, yet a sense of relief that he won't not live up to any expectation I have of him. It can go both ways.

Vanessa lets go of my wrist and starts walking to the large group of people and I follow behind her. She is pushing and shoving herself into the middle, so I do the same. As we get closer, I see his familiar hair, the loose curls kind of frizzing up since he's surrounded by people, and the Florida heat doesn't get any better.

I'm right next to Vanessa and see her pull out her phone and start talking to him, asking him how his day was and for a picture. He smiles, "My days been going good, how was yours?", he asks, as he takes her phone from her hand and takes the picture. I'm standing there awkwardly as he doesn't notice me, yet I'm in the background of the picture. I'm trying to work up the courage to say something, and as I'm about to, he starts pushing his way out of the crowd.

I'm confused and reach my hand out for his shoulder to try and get a word in, maybe a picture, but I was too late. Vanessa got the experience I craved, the experience I've been dying for since I was a teenager.

We pull ourselves away from the crowd and I'm speechless, and not in a good way. I'm disappointed.

Vanessa speaks up first, "Oh my God, we met Joe Jonas."

I sigh, "No we didn't, you met Joe Jonas. He didn't even look at me. It was like I was invisible." I try not to sound like this was bothering me, but in truth, it was. Vanessa loves Nick, so why did she need to be the one to have that moment with Joe? It genuinely should've been me, but since it wasn't, the best thing I could be right now is supportive.

"Either way, I'm happy for you. How did it feel? Did your hand touch lightly graze his when he was taking your phone?" I ask, just wanting to know the details.

Her smile grows huge before she starts talking, "It felt great, it's like nothing I've ever experienced before. And yes, my hand did graze his, and this was soft, and he smelled so good. I don't understand how he is real."

"Really? I wish he acknowledged me, would've been way better than experiencing it second-hand", I feel defeated that I let my one chance to genuinely talk to Joe get away. Though there isn't much I should worry about. He is almost always in Miami and goes out all the time. He's also really interactive with his fans at shows, so maybe I could make up for it there.

Vanessa drapes her arm around my shoulders, "Look, let's buy you some sexy clothes for tomorrow's concert, and when he notices you and you two start dating and then get married, he's going to regret that he didn't notice you today," and the thing is, she said this sentence in the most genuine tone. I couldn't ask for a better friend.

I smile and nod and we head to a random clothing shop.

As we walk in, this dress immediately catches my eye, and funny enough, it's red. I walk up the the mannequin wearing it, "This is the one."

Vanessa walks up beside me and looks at it, "That dress has your name written all over it."

Needless to say, we are already at the register, buying the dress, which is roughly around $150. I decide to look out the window as I'm taking out my wallet, and much to my surprise, Joe Jonas walks by with Jack Lawless. You have to be kidding me. I hand my wallet to Vanessa and quickly run out, seeing this as my second chance.

As I reach the outside, I see them get into a car. Just my luck.

I feel a weird sense of resignation and I just don't want to get my hopes up anymore. I walk back inside and ignore the weird looks people are giving me. I look at the lady who rang me up, "Thank you for the dress, have a nice day."

I look at Vanessa with a sad expression and start walking out of the store with her. "What was that about?", she asks.

"I don't wanna talk about it."