happiness begins [joe jonas]

17

Rumours had never been a big part of Emmie's life. Of course, during high school, there would be multiple different discussions over who did what. And not to forget the dodgy looks people would get. But she had never had the embarrassment of being the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons.

Emmie would never indulge in these rumours. She never felt the need. As far as she knew, rumours were just gossip that came from people who were bored. And most of the time, they were never true.

She hated the thought of being centre of attention. She hated all eyes on her. It was never something she had desired. So a morning full of gossip was the last thing she had expected when she walked through the cafe doors.

The first thing she noticed, was the large grin held on Bobby's face, as he leant against the counter.

"What's going on?" Emmie asked, letting out a laugh as she watched his face light up even more.

"You didn't tell me you knew Joe Jonas." Bobby raised an eyebrow. Emmie approached him as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"I guess it never came up." She shook her head. "Why what's happened?"

She watched Bobby silently scroll through his phone for a moment, before landing on an article she had never seen before. An article showcasing her.

Joe Jonas' new mystery girl?

Joe Jonas, former member of the international sensation 'Jonas Brothers', and current member of rock band 'DNCE' , has been spotted multiple times recently with a particular blonde girl.

The two have been seen spending many days together throughout the city of New York. From cafe dates, to strolls down the beach, even spotted together in the back of Joe's car. These two are no strangers when it comes to spending time in the public eye.

Has this mystery girl, stolen the heart of our last single Jonas brother? Who this girl is, we are yet to find out.

The article plastered the photo of the the two of them sat in the front of his car. Probably posted by the same man that Emmie had noticed the day before.

"Joe warned me this would happen." Emmie sighed, mentally cursing herself for what was yet to come.

"It's not all bad." Bobby reassured her. "Besides, they don't even know who you are."

"I guess so." She agreed. "I just hate the idea of everyone talking about me."

"I find it intriguing." Bobby grinned. "You're a mystery girl, Em."

Emmie laughed at his attempts to lighten the mood. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but worry what the future articles might say about her. She didn't want to constantly be the topic of someone's conversation. It felt weird to her.

She had always been a particularly private person. So knowing that her entire identity could be all over the internet in a matter of minutes, didn't sit right with her.

She loved spending time with Joe. He made her forget about all her problems. He knew all the right things to say. The time they had spent together so far had created some of the most amazing memories. She really cherished their friendship. She just hoped the pressure of the paparazzi and being in the public eye wouldn't ruin things for them.

On her lunch break, Emmie had a call from Thea, who of course, wanted to speak all about those recent articles. She was extremely interested to hear all about Emmie's friendship with Joe. Although she was convinced they would eventually be more than that, no matter how much the two of them denied it.

"This is so exciting!" Thea squealed down the phone. "You're famous!"

"It's just one article." Emmie disagreed.

"One article that everyone is going crazy about!" Thea tells her. "Everyone is talking about you."

"That's exactly my problem." Emmie sighed, playing with the bracelet that hung loosely on her wrist. "I don't know if I want all this attention."

"Have you spoken to Joe?" Thea asked.

"He said not to believe anything unless it came from him first." Emmie explained. "And I know he wouldn't say anything to hurt me."

"You're probably overthinking this whole situation." Thea suggests. "Joe will look out for you."

And Emmie knew he would. Joe had always been looking out for her, even when she hadn't realised it. He had always been the one that gave her peace. He was the one that had been there for her, when she was at her lowest. And he had told her to ignore these articles, so that's exactly what she would do.

What she didn't know, couldn't hurt her.

•.•.•.•.•

Meanwhile, Joe had been stressing over the same situation. He was worried. Worried how Emmie would react. Worried that the articles would scare her away.

Joe knew she was a vulnerable girl. She had been through the most difficult time, and he knew she would be nowhere near ready to face the pressure of the paparazzi. Joe was scared for her. He just prayed, she hadn't already seen anything online. He didn't need her to be overthinking anymore than he already knew she did.

He knew how pushy the paparazzi could be to get the information they wanted. And he didn't want to throw Emmie into that kind of spotlight. He didn't know how she would cope.

As he reread the article over and over, the words 'mystery girl' played on repeat in his head. To him, Emmie was so much more than that. And he knew instantly, that the paparazzi would stop at nothing to find out everything about her. He needed to protect her. But he had no idea how.

He knew this would happen. And this was only just the beginning.

"Stop stressing." Kevin tried to calm him down, as Joe paced the lounge. Deep in thought. "So far, the press hasn't said anything."

"That's my point." Joe interrupted. "They haven't said anything, yet. Because they don't know anything. You know how it is, Kev. Once they find a story, they tear it apart."

Joe ran a stressed hand through his hair.

"Emmie's a strong girl." Kevin replied. "She can handle this."

"She's also sensitive." Joe spoke quietly.

Kevin watched as Joe slumped down onto the couch, beside him. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes as he leant his head back. Kevin wrapped an arm around his younger brother, trying to be a reassuring as he could.

"You guys will be fine." He promised. "And if it all goes wrong, we'll be here to help you."

Joe smiled, but he couldn't help the horrible gut feeling that lie in the pit of his stomach. Something wasn't right. He just knew it.