Sucker • {Nick Jonas}

04. we're being shipped

As Sparrow walked up to the studio the next week, her hands shook so much that she had to shove them into the pockets of her jeans. She and Nick had talked a couple of more times over the course of the past week, discussing basic ideas and styles and just general small talk.

Though she'd been trying to make her way in the music industry for almost four years, he was absolutely the biggest "star" that had ever shown interest in her music at all and she was ridiculously nervous. She wanted it to work out, didn't want to disappoint him, but like she'd told him from the very beginning, she was also adamant about making music she actually liked. He'd seemed understanding, but so had her record label when she'd first signed with them.

There was a woman at the front desk as she walked in, and she smiled at her warmly. Sparrow approached her slowly, willing her heartbeat to slow.

"Are you Sparrow Wright?" she asked, and Sparrow nodded.

"Great! They're waiting for you in studio H. Before you go in, though, you'll need to sign these non-disclosure agreements. Basically they just say you're not going to leak the whole project on the internet tomorrow or anything," she explained, and Sparrow nodded and signed it without really paying much attention.

"Have fun!" the woman called as she walked away, and Sparrow waved halfheartedly. She headed down the hall and hesitated in front of the door marked with a huge letter 'H'.

"You can go in. None of them are going to attack you or anything," a masculine voice said quietly from behind her, making her jump her so badly that her purse dropped off of her shoulder and fell to the floor. She turned, looking straight into the warm eyes of Kevin Jonas. He bent and picked up her bag, smiling.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to spook you."

"It's okay, I just... I'm nervous," she admitted, and Kevin smiled again.

"Don't be. I'm Kevin, by the way."

He stuck his hand out and she shook it, doing her best to muster a smile back.

"Sparrow."

"We're really excited to have you here. We love your sound a lot," he told her, and she smiled again, this time much more genuinely.

"Thanks. It really means a lot," she said, and he nodded.

"Sure. Do you wanna go grab some coffee? There's a machine down the hall and I know I can't really deal with my brothers without it, so I can't even imagine being a stranger," he said, and she laughed, nodding back. He led her to the machine and they both grabbed a cup and then he filled two more, presumably for his brothers.

"Ready?" he asked her once they were back in front of the studio door. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"As I'll ever be," she told him, and he smirked and opened the door in front of them.

An hour later, Sparrow was in love. All three of them were so welcoming and kind, and the song was perfect. It was exactly what she wanted it to be; it couldn't have been better if she'd written it herself. She felt more at home recording with them than she ever had with anyone else, even her old managers and producers. They were electric and so good at what they did. They were kind of fascinating to watch, and were even open to her input on the song, something which she hadn't entirely expected.

"You're fucking fantastic, just so you know," Joe told her when they were done for the day. They were about halfway through the song, but all of them were getting restless with hunger and overall tiredness. She grinned.

"You're not so bad yourself," she told him as they all filtered out of the studio.

He smiled, squeezing her shoulder gently before taking off down the hallway. Kevin gave her a goodbye hug, smiling and telling her he'd see her tomorrow. Nick came out last, linking his arm through hers playfully as they walked.

"Did you know that according to my Instagram followers you and I would make a cute couple?" he asked, and she laughed and shook her head.

Even after only knowing him in person for a whole six or eight hours, she was completely smitten with him. He was the one she was working most closely on the song; it was their two voices that were the main part of the melody and chorus. He was also the one that seemed most determined to make sure she was also completely happy with the song. It helped, of course, that he seemed to be ridiculously flirty just by nature and that he was adorable and the smell of his cologne made her dizzy with how nice it was.

"I wasn't aware," she told him, and he shrugged.

"Apparently we're being shipped already."

"How's it feel to theoretically be cute couple with me?" she asked him, and it was his turn to laugh.

"I don't hate it."

"Good. Wanna go get some food?" she asked him, surprising herself with her bravery. She insisted that she wouldn't date anyone in the industry usually, and wasn't good at dating anyway. She wasn't good with flirting and being smooth, and not that she was asking him because she wanted it to be a date, but she was still a little surprised she'd been able ask him at all. He beamed at her, nodding.

"I'd love to."