Tension is finished.

So now my Jonas stories are getting their full attention. :)

So, enjoy!

"Please don't tell me you're actually taking this long to get ready," Darcy complained to the bathroom door.

"Hey, I had to wait on you to free up the bathroom, remember?" Kevin called through the door, his voice slightly echoing from the tiled walls.

"I had to shower!"

"For nearly two hours?!"

"Beauty takes work, Kevin. A look like mine doesn't just appear with a meer brush of the hair and application of lip gloss." Darcy glanced at her reflection again in the mirror.

Her hair was curling ever so slightly, thanks to the humidity of Africa. Her sideswept bangs were tucked behind her right ear, revealing a dazzling pair of simple pearl earrings Joe had given her one year for Christmas. She had dressed simply, since they were heading to the beach. She was just going to peel them all off anyways. A simple, white Abercrombie & Fitch tee with ABERCROMBIE written sideways in black down her left side. The shirt revealed her plain, solid mocha brown bikini top beneath it. She matched it with a pair of plain denim shorts, and voila! Gorgeous.

Not that anyone else could pull that off, but Darcy was too modest to know that.

"Kevin," she whined. "I'm ready to go relax without Aaron walking up and staring at my chest."

She heard Kevin laugh, "Yes, I'm sure this will be a nice change from that."

"Not if you don't hurry!" She stomped her black AE flip flops on the floor for effect.

"Okay, okay! Give me two seconds!" She heard him shift around in the bathroom a few seconds, then the door opened. He looks good, Darcy thought -- before scolding herself for thinking that, of course.

He was dressed simply, like her. His plain black swim trunks and a simple white and black striped shirt, paired with his favorite watch. He moved his sunglasses from perching on top of his head to sitting on the bridge of his nose. "Ready?" he asked impatiently. "Since you rushed me to get ready."

She grinned and gave him a quick squeeze to substitute for a hug, "Yes. And don't act like you need all that much time to get ready. Thank God you don't straighten your hair anymore."

"You know you liked my straight hair," he replied as they started gathering the rest of their things.

"Yeah, until it got too long to be straightened. Camp Rock nearly killed me. You should've gotten a trim," she scolded.

"Why don't we just make you my official hair consultant then?"

"Do I get paid?" she questioned, grinning from ear to ear.

"No." He returned her grin with his own, but hers had disappeared.

"Then I don't care." She picked up her AE tote, filled with all her essentials. "Should we call in and check on Joe and Nick? I bet they're lonely." She giggled.

"Um, no. Let's wait until we can look up the time difference on my laptop. When we get back," Kevin replied nervously. He had neglected to tell her that only his mom and dad and co-manager knew where he was. Joe was going to be furious when he didn't show up for a few days. Let's just hope no one spilled the beans to him.

...Oops?

"Okay. Let's go!" Darcy grabbed his arm and dragged him through the hotel to the car that was to take them to the beach.

"Put your shirt back on," Kevin whispered harshly as he lounged on his white plastic chaise with gorgeous navy and white striped cushions. Hey, just because they went to Africa doesn't mean they had to live with tribal. He's still Kevin Jonas.

Darcy dropped her book and looked at him. "What? Why?"

"People are staring at you. Particularly that lifeguard over there." Kevin nodded towards the very hunky, tan, muscled god of a lifeguard, who just so happened to wink at Darcy when she locked eyes with him.

"Oh come on, Kevin. It's just because you're famous." She rolled her eyes from under her Chanel sunglasses, another Jonas gift.

"He's winking at you, not me."

"...Good point, but honestly, Kevin. What does it matter? It's sort of...flattering."

"It's not flattering for men to be staring at your chest. Shirt. On. Now." He threw the white shirt at her, hitting her in the face.

"Kevin! It's fine." She dropped the shirt back in her bag, moving it to the other side of her chair so he wouldn't throw her garments at her again. "Will you just relax?"

"I refuse to relax when there are men staring at your chest!" he hissed.

"Jealous?" She raised her eyebrow and lowered her sunglasses so that her piercing gray eyes could be seen.

"No. I'm your best guy friend and it is my job to make sure that you are not attacked and/or stalked by any inappropriate--"

"Jonas, zip it and admit you're jealous. Or at least overprotective."

"I go with choice number two." He grinned slightly.

"Fine, overprotective freak of a best friend it is." She smirked and pushed the sunglasses back onto her face, lifting the book again to read.

"Whatcha reading?" he questioned, leaning over to try and read over her shoulder.

"Avalon High," she replied. "I've read it like, six times. It's just extremely awesome."

"What's it about?" He reclined back to his own chair and listened to her drone on about King Arthur being set into modern times. It really did sound fascinating, he was just too busy glaring at the lifeguard to fully pay attention.

"And so then...Kevin? Kevin, are you even listening?" She looked at him.

"Of course. King Arthur, Annapolis. It's all up here." He tapped his curly-haired head and looked back at the lifeguard.

She huffed out a heavy sigh and pulled out her iPod. "You're not listening. Typical male."

"Sorry. The lifeguard makes me nervous," he replied.

"...He's a lifeguard, Kevin. He guards your life. He's not going to come over here and strangle you, then pick me up and take me back to the States and rape me, locking me in a cellar for the rest of my life."

Kevin stared at her. "You have a twisted imagination, you know."

"No, just over-active." She grinned. "But really, calm down, okay? Enjoy your beach time. Plus we have Liam here."

They both glanced behind them at the innocent-looking male in his late 20's, lounging on his own chaise, scanning the scene. Big Rob had to stay with Nick and Joe, but Liam had been sent with them as Kevin's body guard. Liam, however, had been given strict orders to watch any guys getting too close to Darcy, as well. Wonder who told him that?

"I guess you're right." Kevin sighed. "Sorry."

She smiled. "Don't worry. Ooh, Liam looked up the time difference on his iPhone, and it's like, 14 hours difference between here and California."

"Mmm," he grunted, not really seeing where this was going.

"So we'll have to stay up extremely late, or wake up extremely early to call them."

"Call who?" Kevin looked at her, his head cocked slightly to the side.

"Nick and Joe! Duh!"

"Oh!" His eyes widened. "Well, maybe we should just not call them at all. E-mail works, you know."

"I'm sure they'd like to hear directly from us." She pulled out her cell phone. "OH! I have a text from Joseph! ...Wow, I have like, six texts from Joseph. And they're all in all caps." She scanned the messages. "KEVIN! YOU DIDN'T TELL HIM WE WERE GOING TO AFRICA?!"

"...Technically I didn't tell him we were going anywhere." Kevin smiled weakly and forced out a couple of ha's.

"PAUL KEVIN JONAS THE SECOND." She whacked him hard over the arm, causing the lifeguard to stand up in alarm, ready to defend her -- well, if Liam hadn't stood up and glared him back down to his seat. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!"

"Look, Joe likes you, and he'd never have let me take you on vacation without tagging along. But Darc..." Kevin sighed. "Joe only likes you...you know, physically."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Darcy spat. "That he can't like me for my personality? Real nice, Kev." She went to stand up, but Kevin pulled her back down.

"No, no. I don't mean it at all. I mean that he just thinks you're beautiful and that's what he likes. It's lust, not love, Darc."

"And you would know this because?" Darcy glared.

"Because I'm his brother and I've known him his entire life." Kevin looked at her. "Come on, you're ruining your vacation."

She sighed. "I still don't believe you. But this is my vacation, and I still want to see giraffes. So you're lucky you're just that awesome."

He grinned widely. "I know."

All she did was stick out her tongue in response.

Stop doing that, he thought to himself. If you keep staring at her, she'll know something's up. Kevin willed himself to blink a few times and look back at the TV. Darcy let out another yawn and pulled the blanket tighter over her.

"Go to sleep," Kevin said gently.

"No, I'm not tired enough. Have you figured out the channels yet?" She smirked.

"I'm working on it, okay? Sheesh, so demanding."

Kevin had been trying to figure out the channels for a total of -- Darcy glanced at her watch -- an hour and twenty-six minutes. He still hadn't found one he thought he could recognize. Darcy rolled her eyes, grinning. "I just asked a simple question."

"I. Am. Wo--"

"Working on it, yeah yeah."

"MEANIE!" He shoved her playfully. He threw the remote at her, aiming for her lap, but it hit her arm instead.

"OW! Loser!" She threw the remote back, accidentally hitting a button. Suddenly scenes from Camp Rock started playing on the TV. "OOH, I found Disney!"

"NO!" Kevin grabbed the remote and tried to change the channel, but ended up just increasing the volume.

"GROUP HUG!" Kevin's voice sounded loudly over the TV.

"MAKE IT STOPPPP!" Kevin yelled and finally pressed the power button. He glanced over at Darcy, who was shaking in a fit of giggles she was desperately trying to hold back. "That is not funny."

"Yes, it is." Darcy nodded, her voice shaking with her laughter.

"SHUT UP!" He threw a pillow at her.

She grabbed the pillow and whacked him across the head, laughing harder. Kevin grabbed another pillow and hit her arm. The two engaged in a pillow fight for a good five minutes -- until Darcy lost her balance and fell down right on top of Kevin.

She was giggling, and Kevin didn't know how long he could stay this close to her without closing the space between their lips, like his instincts told him to do. Darcy's giggling died away and the two silently stared into each other's eyes.

"Ahem," a voice said. "Hate to interrupt the party."

Darcy and Kevin's heads whipped to the door to see a particularly smug-yet-pissed looking Joe, with a silent Nick staring at the floor behind him.

...Uh-oh.

I love this chapter.

I love the ending.

I love cliffhangers.

Love me for it. :)

REVEIW, AMAZING AMAZING PEOPLE.