Hollywood Hills & Him | A Joe Jonas Fanfiction Sequel

c h a p t e r 5 .

"See, I knew this was a setup."

The letter from Joe crinkled in the hands of Ophelia, her eyes barely visible as she peered over the top to glare pointedly at her roommate. Her gold eyeshadow glittered against the rich melanin of her skin while she shifted her gaze back to the paper.

"What? Where in that letter are you finding any kind of confirmation that this is a setup. You and your conspiracies..." Winter dropped her head into her hands - a dramatic action to convey her exhaustion. After the tea party, Winter had returned home and crashed. The adrenaline that had carried her through the event had run its course and left her body desperate for a recharge. Even after fifteen hours of rest, she found herself yawning to visions of sleep-related thoughts.

Ophelia cocked one eyebrow, cleared her throat, and began to read the letter aloud. "We should talk. This is my brother's wedding and I don't want our past to be problematic. Meet me at the address below tomorrow at 6pm."

"And?" Winter nodded. "How is that a setup?"

At her statement, Ophelia threw her hands into the and leaned back into the couch. "It's all right there in the letter! It never ends at talking, Win, and you know it. Next thing you know, you and Gianna are gonna brawl at Nick's wedding over that mop-headed Joe and that is NOT the vibe you need." Using the coffee table and precise movements, she folded the letter and slid it across to Winter.

"What if he just wants to talk so things aren't awkward for next few months?"

There was a scoff from Ophelia. "Girl, he wrote you a letter. It's the 21st century. The man could have just sent you a text instead of all this modern day Romeo and Juliet bullshit. I'm telling you, something's not right about it."

"What do you have against romance?" Winter couldn't refrain from teasing her friend who appeared to have strong feelings concerning relationships.

"I'm married to my career, hunny. Romance isn't in my vocabulary." Ophelia laughed in her good natured way. "But seriously, Win, a letter? Seems too good to be true."

A soft smile curved upwards when Winter considered the gesture of a letter. How fitting that he had chosen a letter as his form of communication, especially since she had ended their relationship in that manner. It had come full circle. It was poetic. Her mind drifted to the elaborate Christmas gift scavenger hunt he had arranged, hitting each spot that was of importance to their relationship. A letter to with the intent to reconcile their misgivings paled in comparison to that scheme and therefore made perfect sense. "You don't know Joe like I do. It's how he is."

Ophelia's expression softened. "I'm not a fool, Winter. I know you still have feelings for the boy and so you want to believe the best. I'm only looking out for you because I don't want to see you get hurt. But you're right, you know him better than I do, so I trust your judgment." She sighed, wholeheartedly making an attempt to feign exasperation or another similar emotion, but the sparkle in her eyes gave away her motive. "So...you're going to meet him tonight, huh."

"Yep."

"And you're wearing that?" Ophelia nodded towards Winter's pajamas.

Winter scoffed at the display of disapproval before both girls burst into a fit of well-earned giggles. "No, fashion goddess. I'll change clothes before this evening. And better yet, you are coming with me."

"Ophelia will do no such thing." Ophelia shook her head.

"Oh yes, Ophelia will. Now, come on."

Grabbing her by the hand, Winter pulled her friend to her bedroom so they could properly plot their course of action for the night. There was a lightness to her spirit that she hadn't felt in months; she was transforming into some kind of hopeless romantic and, though she wasn't keen on the idea of chasing love, she very much valued the concept of romanticizing her life and her future. Regardless of her underlying intentions for choosing to follow through with the cryptic meeting, Winter couldn't ignore the way her heart raced when she thought about how forbidden their rendezvous seemed. It felt like a movie, and nothing could have thrilled her more.