happiness begins [joe jonas]

28

The room looked better than they could imagine. Priyanka had managed to fix all the balloons to the ceiling, a mix of silver and gold. Matching streamers and banners hung along the walls. Dani had spent all morning baking a cake, refusing to let anyone else go near it, knowing their habits of trying to eat it before it was ready.

Emmie was excited to say the least. Birthdays were her so specialty. She couldn't express how much she loved them. She loved putting all her efforts into the people she cared most about. Seeing their faces light up at surprises, and making their special day one to remember, was important to her. Her favourite thing was gift giving. So when Kevin had told her about Joe last minute, she had panicked a little, but managed to find the perfect gift, right in time. She couldn't wait to see his face when he came home to all of his friends surrounding him. She was a little wary of Kevins words, and worried that it might be a little much for him. But she was hopeful.

Although, she had picked up on how distant Nick had been. She knew him and Joe had their differences, and she knew they hadn't dealt with them yet. So she couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind. She just hoped they would put their differences aside for one night.

Dani stood beside her, finishing up the final touches for Joe's cake. She quickly noticed how cheery Emmie seemed, and was eager to question it.

"What's gotten you so smiley?" She laughed, nudging her friend.

"Oh, I love birthdays." Emmie grinned back at her. She couldn't stand still, she could feel the excitement all over. "I can't believe he didn't tell me."

"Are you sure this is just about his birthday?" Dani asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

Emmie hesitates slightly, looking at the brunette.

"Yeah.. What else would it be about?"

"Joe." Dani states simply. "You two seem to spend a lot of time together."

Emmie lets out a nervous laugh, quickly shaking her head.

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Are you sure?" Dani asks, "I've seen the way he looks at you. And that's definitely not the way you look at a friend."

Neither of them said anything further. But Dani still had her conspiracies, no matter how much the two of them chose to deny it. Emmie decided to hang onto her words, slightly curious to what she meant about Joe. Did he really see her as more than a friend? She didn't want to think anything of it, knowing that Dani probably just had theories, like Thea did.

But when Joe returned home with Kevin, an hour later, she couldn't help the butterflies she felt when they locked eyes. His eyes widened at the sight of his apartment. He glanced around the room, smiling at the decorations lying around. He smiled at his brothers, and the girls. He was smiling all round.

"So this is why you refused to take me home." He nudged Kevin, letting out a chuckle.

His older brother held his arms up to surrender, but couldn't help the smile on his face.

"Happy birthday." Kevin grinned, pulling him into a hug. Even Nick approached him, pulling him into an embrace. Although it was slightly awkward, and neither of them knew what to say, you could tell Joe appreciated it.

The boys began to hand out drinks, encouraging everyone to try their own made mimosas. Dani was a little wary at first, knowing that they could've put anything into those drinks, but she eventually gave in. Joe made his way round the room, greeting everyone as he went.

He approached Dani, who held the cake in her hands with a strong grip so she wouldn't drop it. Joe crept towards her, a subtle smirk on his face as admired the cake.

"Happy birthday Joe." She smiled at him.

"Thank you." He grinned before leaning forward, taking a rather large bite from the side of the cake. When he lifted his head, his mouth and the tip of his nose was covered in blue frosting.

"Joe!" Dani whined, but let out a laugh once shes saw the state of his face. Joe winked at her, swiping the frosting from his nose.

"It's really good cake!" He mumbled, trying to speak through his mouthful, but his words were unclear, causing everyone to laugh.

Dani continued to shake her head at him.

"You three boys are so alike." She smiled, knowing that she had to stop Nick from doing the same thing, just hours before.

When Joe finally wandered over to Emmie, he held a soft smile on his face. She grinned back at him, wrapping her arms around him as he pulled her into a hug. When they eventually pulled away, Emmie glared at him, causing Joe to raise his eyebrows.

"I can't believe you wouldn't tell me it was your birthday!" She told him, with a smile, lightly shoving him. Joe laughed in response.

"Well, if you really wanted to know. You could just search my name on the internet. I'm sure you would find it there." Joe suggested, with a smirk.

Emmie shook her head with a laugh.

"Perks of being well known, I guess." He shrugged at her.

"Hey Joe!" Kevin called from the kitchen island, were he stood proudly with two glasses in either hand. And they both looked rather full.

Joe's eyes went wide as he watched Kevin swing himself around on the stool, trying to reach out to hand him a drink. He quickly rushes over to him, retrieving the glass, sniffing the contents.

"Jeez, Kev." He pulled his face away. "Is this your idea of a mimosa." He couldn't help but laugh.

He watched his brother shrug as he continued to down his own drink.

"Can you blame him?" Emmie spoke, as she appeared beside them. "You're the one who added vodka to yours." She smiled at the memory.

Joe quickly hushed her, pressing a finger to her lips, causing her to giggle.

An hour or so later, the six of them were completely intoxicated with alcohol, taste testing all of the drinks they had been experimenting with. Joe had done many shots since being home and sang loudly over the music, to all his favourite songs. Which happened to be old Jonas Brothers songs from when the band was younger. Emmie could tell he was enjoying his 'little get together', which made her smile. She loved seeing him happy.

She sat beside Dani and Pri, sipping her overly strong mimosa. The boys had insisted on continuing to make their own drinks, so the three of them just decided to smile and accepted it. Not wanting to break the high that they were on.

Emmie had noticed that since they had been drinking, Nick and Joe were able to tolerate each other a little better. It wasn't a perfect relationship, and it was probably the alcohol influencing them, but it was nice to see. The three boys finally being able to get along better.

Joe appeared beside her after a while, flashing a drunken grin as his arm brushed hers.

"I see you're enjoying yourself?" She asked, taking his glass from his hand so he could focus on her.

"I am indeed." He confirmed, leaning his head on her shoulder. Emmie laughed to herself, trying to focus on anything else but the fact that Joe was lying on her. She didn't know what had gotten into her, but she couldn't help but notice the sudden thoughts she kept having about him. She decided to blame Dani's words from earlier and the alcohol running through her system.

It was peaceful between the two of them. Even with the music blasting in the background, and amongst the chatter of all their friends. It still felt like they were in their own world. Just the two of them.

"Will you stay the night?" Joe mumbled after a while of silence.

Emmie sat there for a second, making sure she heard him right. Joe snapped his head up to look at her.

"Only if you want to.." He added, making her smile.

"Of course." She agreed.

And with that, Joe jumped back up onto his feet, smiling widely at her before snatching his drink back from the counter, and stumbling across the room to continue singing karaoke with his brothers. Emmie sighed to herself with a smile as she watched them.

This was about to be a long night.