A year had past, a lot had changed.
Joey, who had once enjoyed a semi-popular status, dropped down to the same social level as her dear friend Nick.
And she actually didn't mind.
No more faking smiles at people she didn't like. She actually felt like she could be herself for once.
And if that meant taking a few empty juice boxes to the head from time to time, then so be it.
Much more important than making sure her nails were sporting the trendiest color.
She wouldn't be caught dead wearing that muck anyway!
Her focus was gonna be on her dancing, completely.
Everybody thought ballet was a phase she went trough when she was younger.
But as ungraceful of a tomboy she was in everyday life, she was actually kinda good at it!
And the tutu's still didn't annoy her enough to quit.
So....she asked her teacher what it would take for her to become a ballerina.
After a long discouraging speech about how hard it would be to achieve and how much rejection she would encounter,
she finally dropped a name Joey would never forget.....Julliard.
Joey made her mom order brochures and information the second she got home from dance class.
The school was beautiful!
Ballerina's graced the cover of every page and just for a second Joey could see herself dancing next to them.
Just for a second.....
Carefully, Lucy tried to warn her daughter about the sacrifices and discipline that come with such a career.
She knew her mom meant well but after the speech she got from her teacher, it was the last thing she needed.
So she crossed the yard and walked through the trapdoor into Nick's.
She saw him laying on his stomach underneath one of the big trees near the pool, munching on a sandwich.
He was so caught up in his comic that he didn't even notice her approaching him.
"...Whatcha reading...?".
Nick almost choked on his grape juice and started coughing.
"...ughg....are you...ughg....trying to kill...ughg me...!?!...".
Joey sat down next to him, indian style, and smacked him on the back a few times.
"...Ok!...Ok!.....Jeezz!....I almost choke to death and you hit me!?!...".
When he didn't hear a comeback he knew something was up.
"..What's wrong, Joe?...". he asked her, sitting up beside her.
Joey shrugged.
Her face a mixture of anger and disappointment.
He knew not to push it.
"...So...did you know Spiderman can lift like 10 tonnes over his head!?!...That's 5 times my mom's car!....He's...".
"...It's not fair!..".
Bingo.
"..What is?..".
"..They don't think I can do it!....It's just not fair!..".
"...OK...you gotta give me more than that, Joe..".
Joey just stared at the ground.
Time for Nick to bring out the big guns. He just hoped he wouldn't shoot himself in the foot!
"...Sounds like they know what their talking about..."
That did it.
Joey jumped up and exploded!
It was hard to decipher what she was really angry about but she eventually calmed down enough and kept circling one topic.
"...Maybe they're right...maybe it's too hard...".
Nick patted the ground next to him and smiled.
"...I'm probably not girlie and good enough to be a ballerina anyway...". she crashed down next to Nick and leaned her head back against the tree.
"..Hey!...I wont have anyone say that about my best friend, you hear...not even you!...".
"...Nick....you're not helping...".
"...Ok..Ok..". He sat up straight and grabbed her hand in his.
Joey froze...
"..Look...you're an amazing dancer!...And you know it!...I've never seen anyone dance like you!...".
She felt her cheeks flush. What the hell was happening?
"..And as for being too girlie....I for one am sooo glad you're not!..".
She had no idea why, but that kind of hurt her a little.
"...I know you can do this, Joe...And i'll be there to help you do it, just like you helped me..".
He smiled that sweet half smile.
Joey started to feel warm and tingly.
She felt her cheeks burning up and tried avoiding Nicks eyes at all costs by looking down.
Bad move!
She got a glimpse of their hands. He was holding hers really tight. Like he was never letting go.
Time to change the subject before this gets really weird!
She smiled and pulled her knees up to her chest. releasing Nick's hand.
“...so, you nervous for tonight?..”
Nick sat up against the tree, just like Joey. He didn't seem to notice how tense she was.
“....nah...not yet...maybe when I meet the guy...But Alex and Howard are gonna be there too, so....”. Nick answered,
taking another bite of his forgotten sandwich.
“...well...while you're off singing and dancing...i get to babysit those little devils you call siblings...”. Joey sighed.
She relaxed a little and played with the empty juice box.
Nick laughed and draped his arm around her shoulders.
Oh no...He was touching her again.
Why was this such a weird thing all of a sudden?
She had to go.
“ I know, I know....but you being a huge pain in the butt yourself...well...let's just say... it works!..”.
Joey pushed his chest and jumped off, ready to run home.
“ Hey!....that hurt!!...” Nick pouted.
She looked back at him and knew she couldn't just run off.
The last thing she wanted was for Nick to notice something.
Ok, Ok....she knew what to do...
“ That's for being such a smart-ass, Carter!..”.
She took off towards the trapdoor and hoped she'd reach it before he reached her.
But it only took him a few seconds to catch up to her.
Damn growth spurt!
“...Noooo...stoppp...Niiickk...Gett offf”. Joey screamed out, laughing and wiggling underneath him.
Ughh...this wasn't helping!
“Okkk...Okkk...justt stoppp!”. Joey screamed, her eyes filled with tears from laughing so hard.
“ I'm waiting...”. Nick sang, his arms crossed, for dramatic effect.
Joey took a deep breath, which was hard, considering he had his big butt on top off her.
"...Nick Carter is the greatest singer in the whole world!...Happy now?!?...". she exclaimed after giving into his demands.
“ Yesss!...Whoohoo!”. Nick cheered victoriously, his arms up in the air.
Taking advantage of his unstable position, Joey pushed her body up to try and escape.
He was really pissing her off now!
As he fell to the side, he grabbed her for support, but accidentally rolled her on top off him instead.
That's it! He's going down!
Joey grabbed his arms and pinned them above his head.
She had to stretch her body out over his to keep his arms up, causing her to lean into him.
“ See...not so funny now huh, Carter?...”. She said hovering over him.
Her face was inches away from his.
He was breathing heavily from the running they'd done.
All of a sudden she didn't feel like going home anymore.
She didn't avoid his eyes either.
Wow....They we're really blue....
Then in a heartbeat, she was on the ground.
“ Ouch!...Hey!...What the...”.
Nick jumped up and mumbled something about having to go.
“ Nick!...Where are you going!?!”.
“ I gotta go get ready for tonight...I'll see ya later 'kay?”. He yelled, still bolting towards the door.
Joey sat on the ground, dumbfounded.
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Looking back over her shoulder ever now and then, she walked home and straight into her room.
What had happened!?!
Why did he run off like that?!?
And why had it felt so weird when Nick held her hand?
He'd held her hand a thousand times before...what was so different about this time?
Joey let herself fall on her bed, face first.
He had been so sweet...supporting her and everything.
She replayed his little speech in her head and her stomach jumped.
"....UGGHHH...This can't be happening!...".
She banged her head against the mattress and screamed in her pillow.
After a good scream she composed herself and sat on the edge of the bed.
Deciding then and there to ignore the whole thing, she jogged downstairs.
Her mom had left for work already, and she was expected at the Carter's for dinner and babysitting in 2 hours.
"...TV it is...".
She concentrated very hard on channel surfing..... definitely not thinking about Nick..... Definitely not!
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Two hours later she was at the Carter's back door.
She'd been standing there for the last 15 minutes, staring up at Nick's room.
As much as she tried to ignore what she felt this afternoon, she was scared to see him somehow.
"..what if i feel it again?....or worse....What if i keep feeling it every time i see him?!?...".
That couldn't happen! Nick was her best friend....right...exactly....her friend.
"...see....it's gonna be fine...I'm freaking out over nothing!.."
She took a deep breath and walked through the screen door.
"...Joey!!!...".
The twins screamed in unison.
Jane was busy feeding them both while talking on the phone.
She gave a quick wave and continued her conversation.
Joey sat down next to her, opposite Aaron and fed him another spoonful of alphabet soup.
This was gonna work!
Jane and Nick were leaving in half an hour.
She just had to stay away from him tonight.
This whole thing would surely blow over by tomorrow!
“ Come on, Nick...We're going to be late!”. Jane yelled at the bottom of the stairs.
Jane hurriedly put on her jacket and said goodbye to the kids.
Of course not before going over the rules with Joey...AGAIN!
As Jane ran out the door Joey got ambushed by the twins.
"....Aaron....get over here, you monster!...before you fall on your face...".
She lifted a giggling Aaron onto the hall dresser and started tying his loose laces.
Nick came running down the stairs.
“ Where's mom?”.
Joey finished up with Aaron and placed him on the ground. He immediately took of.
Darn!
She had hoped he'd stick around....
“She's in the car..”. Joey took a deep breath and turned around slowly.
She chuckled when she saw Nick trying to put on his jacket and shoes at the same time..
She sighed. It was just Nick.
Goofy, nerdy,...her best friend Nick.
“ So, How do i look?”. Nick checked himself in the hall mirror, and turned to look at her.
Joey walked over to him, with regained confidence and peace of mind, and straightened his collar.
“ There...Perfect!”. She smiled, satisfied with the results.
“ Good...Wish me luck!”. Nick said, crossing his fingers like they always did.
Joey crossed her fingers visibly and gave him a peck on the cheek.
Darn...
It was an impulse!
What was she thinking!?!
She backed away and tried desperately to be cool about it.
“...I will!...Now go...you'll be late!”. She rambled and rushed into the living room.
A few seconds later she heard the door close.
"...Joey, Joey....Can we watch Aladdin again, pretty please?...".
Distracted and on auto-pilot, she put in the tape and lingered into the kitchen to fix dinner for her and the two girls.
"...This is gonna be a problem...".
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