Collide: A Jonas Brothers Love Story

Chapter 22

FAYE’S POV

“So why did you come to lunch with me if you’re in love with him?” Zac asked startling me into dropping my fork. “What? Did you think I was so clueless that I didn’t notice? I know when girls are interested in me, and you aren’t.”

“Excuse me?!?” I said choking on the piece of steak in my throat. I reached for my water and took a sip. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t,” Zac said sarcastically. “You know, I bet I could find someone to set him up with. Since you don’t care.”

“Don’t you dare set Nick up with anybody!” I shouted out in anger. Shit. The entire restaurant was looking at me. “I mean, do whatever you want.”

“I never said his name.” I blushed realizing that I had been caught. “He’s in love with you too.”

“I used to think that. But he doesn’t love me. He loves some girl that I’m not.”

“I’m a little lost here. Care to explain.” I forgot. He didn’t know about my past with Nick.

“When I first met Nick I was a little overwhelmed by him.” Zac merely raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I acted like some stalker fan. I couldn’t say a word to him without hyperventilating. I even passed out once. Then once I finally started to relax around him I opened up more. I was able to talk to him like a normal human being. He seemed to like me too.”

“So what went wrong?”

“He wanted me to be that same quiet, stunned girl. He thinks he knows me, but he doesn’t know the real me.” Zac reached out his hand across the table to grasp mine, but another more familiar hand pushed his away. I looked up in shock. “Nick?”

“Your favorite drink is Coca-Cola. You get acrylic nails because you like the clicking sounds they make when you tap them on a table. You have a million outfits, but always claim you have nothing to wear,” Nick said grabbing my hand.

“Nick, what are you doing?” I asked.

“Let me finish. You go for tans when you’re cold. You think popcorn from Target is better than any other popcorn on Earth. You would wear sweats and flip flops every day if you could. Sweet tarts are your favorite candy. You’re always the first to speak your opinion. And you pretend it doesn’t hurt when your friends call you the loud one.” He pulled me up from the table. “Did I cover everything?" [AN: Pretty much all of this is true about my friend Faye.]

“How do you know all of that?”

“I’ve spent the last two months getting to know you. The real you, I hope.”

“I think you rendered her speechless man,” Zac said standing up and clapping Nick on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you two to figure this out.” Zac slapped down some money to pay for lunch and then walked out the door. I stood there stunned. Nick knew all about me, but it seemed that I still couldn’t do more than stammer around him.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Nick asked. “Why can you talk to everyone but me?” I took a deep breath and prepared myself. I could do this. I could tell Nick how I felt.

“Because you make me nervous,” I said softly. Nick opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “Every time I get near you my heart races, my palms get sweaty, and I start to babble. But when I was angry at you I could finally talk to you. I could tell you stories and jokes. I feel bad because I was just making you mad—“ I was cut off by Nick’s lips smashing against mine. He pulled away seconds later. “What was that for?”

“I think I’ve found a solution to your babbling,” Nick said with a smile and another kiss. “Every time you start to get nervous I’ll just kiss you.”

“I think that will just make me more nervous.”

“Good. That means more kisses.” I giggled stupidly at his overdramatic wink. “Faye, I love you. I love when you babble on about nothing. I love when you sing. I even love it when you go out of your way to torture me. I don’t know how else to—“ I surged forward and kissed him cutting off all other talk for several minutes. When we finally broke apart the restaurant guests were applauding us. “What was that for?”

“You were babbling,” I said with a giggle as I grabbed his hand and pulled him from the restaurant. We walked down the LA sidewalk enjoying the sunshine and just being together.

“Just tell me one thing,” Nick said several minutes later. “Why didn’t you gush over Zac? He is the star of HSM. I thought you loved that movie.”

“I guess I’m just a bigger fan of Nick Jonas,” I said with a wink.

[AN: Not perfect but playful. Just a little bit more. Enjoy!]