FicWad

A/N: Whoot! This is gonna be yet another Ollie/Kevin oneshot, though this time it's from Ollie's point of view. I think she was starting to feel a little negleted.

Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics to "Hear Me".

Song Used: Kelly Clarkson's "Hear Me".


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Twenty-One: Hear Me
Puppet: Olivia Rokit


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Hear me...
Hear me...

“Hey, I'm gonna have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?”

I rolled out from underneath the ancient Thunderbird I'd been working on and watched him stuff a cell phone in his back pocket, unable to help the pang of despair that he was leaving. “Who was that?” I asked, hiding my disappointment and absently peering up at the back bumper of the Ford that had been giving me trouble since early that morning. I had a feeling I already knew the answer, anyway.

“Some teen magazine,” he replied with a shrug, as if it were no big deal that some money-hungry printer was eager to get the latest scoop on the newest pop stars out there, “I swear, if one more person asks me what I 'look for' in a girl, I'm gonna kill something.”

I smiled ruefully. “Maybe we need to get you a straitjacket until you're feeling better.”

He laughed. “If you can tell me where to find one, you won't even have to tranquilize me.”

I chuckled. Like I needed some sort of serum to force him into a straitjacket. “You can just borrow one of mine,” I replied, “or I can ask some of the nice men in white coats for an extra one.”

I glanced at him and was puzzled to see his solemn expression. “You're not crazy, Ollie,” he chided gently, “how many times do I have to tell you that before you stop laughing about it?”

I waved my hand in the air at him. “Whatever. Run along and have some fun being famous.”

You gotta be out there...
You gotta be somewhere...
Wherever you are, I'm waiting...

“Okay,” his voice was even softer than usual, “bye, Ollie.”

I didn't reply and simply listened as his footsteps go the other way, tapping idly on the dented bumper of the car in time to the song playing over the two-bit stereo we had in the shop. I didn't recognize the tune, so rather than try and think about what had just happened I immersed myself in the melody, closing my eyes and trying to get the image of him busily answering his phone every couple of minutes.

It used to be that only people who he knew actually knew him. It used to be that only his friends and family knew when his birthday was. In a time that seemed like yesterday and ten years ago all at once, only a select few folks knew what his favorite things were and girls had to guess as to what he liked about them.

Kevin Jonas had been just like everyone else.

But now, I felt as if he'd been replaced by a much busier person. And I just wanted the old one back.

Oh...

It's funny how true the saying, 'you don't know what you got until it's gone' is.

For the longest time I had just imagined Kevin to be a part of my daily life. He always came down to the shop every afternoon after classes on weekdays at 5:30 sharp, lulling me into a false sense of permanency. I usually made sure I was easy to find around that time, but today was a little different. It was starting to get cold out and people seemed to be getting clumsier with their cars, not to mention them wanting new snow tires and other similar things.

Sometimes he'd invite me along with his friends on weekends, but that was a much rarer event; a lot of them would mistake us for a couple and neither one of us really wanted that. We were friends, he and I. Nothing more, nothing less.

Though sometimes I wondered.

Sometimes I would glance over at him and catch him staring at me with such a strange fire flickering behind those hazel eyes. It was curious and even a little cute the way he would awkwardly clear his throat and look away when he realized I'd caught him, but for some reason I didn't mind. There really wasn't anything creepy about it. I guess one could've said I kind of liked it.

But that had stopped when the Jonas Brothers became the next big thing. It was if he had to be in three places all at once and didn't have any free time to spend with me anymore. That's when I realized that I missed him.

It was a new feeling for me. My parents had split when I was twelve and I hadn't even missed my dad or younger brother, but here I was, lonesome for some random guy I'd ran into on the street.

'Cause there are these nights when,
I sing myself to sleep,
And I'm hoping my dreams bring you close to me...
Are you listening?

I went home that night exhausted with swollen hands and grease-and-oil stained clothes, satisfied that the slightly detached tail pipe had offered a distraction from Kevin's lack-luster visit that day but wishing I could still have something to fix. Life just seemed so much simpler when I was fixing things. It was just me and the parts.

The machines didn't talk back when I was frustrated with them. They didn't whine when I added a bit of pressure to put a piece back into place. They listened without interruption when I talked to them.

They didn't abandon me for anything or anyone that was better then me, and I thank God for that.

Humming the same tune I'd heard after Kevin left, which I still didn't know the words or title to, I got ready for bed, glad to take off my work clothes and put on my pajamas. Sighing, I lay down on the soft mattress and closed my eyes, the harmony still playing over and over in my head like a broken record.

That's when I realized that I'd give anything to have his arms around me.

Hear me,
I'm crying out,
I'm ready now,
Turn my world upside down,
Find me,
I'm lost inside the crowd,
It's getting loud,
I need you to see,
I'm screaming for you to please,
Hear me...

“Kevin!”

It was so unbearably loud and there were so many people all around me. For the first time in my life I knew what it was like to feel like just one person in a sea of many, and it was absolutely terrifying. What if this crowd swallowed me up, the way a huge school of fish could obstruct an entire reef from view just because of their sheer numbers?

Please, hear me. Show me I'm not just one of the rest to you.

“Kevin!” I called again, only to have my voice be lost in a multitude of others, swept away by the excited shrieks and shouts from the people, most younger than me, who seemed to have swarmed around three boys like a hive of bees flock to their hive.

I tried waving, but there were already so many hands in the air that it would be impossible for him to pick mine out from the rest. I could feel a frustrated roar bubble from inside my chest but held it back for civility's sake. Though I couldn't help but wonder for a moment if this is how a caged tiger felt, trapped and helpless to get what it wanted.

Hear me...
Can you hear me?
Hear me...
O-o-o-oh, yeah...

Through some miracle of God I managed to shoulder through the masses, suddenly coming face-to-face with the one I'd been calling out to this whole time. He smiled cheerfully at me. “Hey, Ollie!”

I couldn't help it. In front of everyone I crumbled into his arms crying silent tears of relief.

I used to be scared of,
Letting someone in,
But it gets so lonely on my own,
With,
No one to talk to,
And no one to hold me,
I'm not always strong,
Oh, I need you here,
Are you listening?

Hear me,
I'm crying out,
I'm ready now,
Turn my world upside down,
Find me,
I'm lost inside the crowd,
It's getting loud,
I need you to see,
I'm screaming for you to please,
Hear me...

He'd recognized me. He'd known I wasn't just another face in the mob of people. He'd smiled at me brighter than I'd seen him smile in a long time. He'd found me.

I could tell he was horribly confused from the questioning way his arms stiffly came around me, but was grateful for his attempt anyway. I could feel the burning, even jealous stares of those behind me but I didn't pay them any mind. It had all been so scary and I felt so safe in his hold...

“Shh, shh, shh...you're okay,” he whispered soothingly, awkwardly sidestepping as if attempting the impossible feat of escaping the view of the people, “what's the matter?”

I just shook my head and buried my face into his chest, already gaining some control over the few tears that had managed to slip past my defenses. I didn't have to tell him anything for now. I just needed him to hold me for just a little while. I just needed to know what it felt like.

I liked it.

I'm restless and wild,
I fall but I try,
I need someone to understand,
(Can you hear me?)
I'm lost in my thoughts,
And baby I've fought,
For all that I've got,
Can you hear me?

Please don't make me fight. I love you and just want you to love me too...

Hear me,
I'm crying out,
I'm ready now,
Turn my world upside down,
Find me,
I'm lost inside the crowd,
It's getting loud,
I need you to see,
I'm screaming for you to please,
Hear me...

Hear me,
Hear me,
Hear me,
Can you hear me?
Hear me,
Hear me,
Hear me...

“Ollie,” his voice was firmer this time, much easier to hear over the clamor of the curious people behind me as they wondered who this strange girl was and what she was doing hanging all over Kevin Jonas the way they never would have a few months ago, “what's wrong?”

I supposed I should answer this time. “There are just so many people...”

Once again he started to move away, allowing one of his arms to drop to his side but leaving the other consolingly draped across my shoulders. I could tell that he was trying to get a good look at me, but I didn't allow him the privilege right away, keeping my eyes downcast. “Come on,” he said, gently starting to lead me away, “we can go someplace quieter.”

I couldn't see it, but I could imagine him sharing a look with his brothers and a half-hearted wave to the crowd of fans just before he and I vanished around a street corner. I could hear more than a few girls ambling after us, but they too, seemed to fade into thin air as he and I ventured farther and farther down the street. Now that I had a chance to think about it, I couldn't remember where they all had came from or why. Maybe a few girls just spotted them first and the rest just came after...

“Better now?” Kevin asked tentatively, tilting my chin up with his hand. Gingerly, as if he were afraid of what would happen, he brushed a tear away with his thumb and tried to smile.

Can you hear me?
Oh, oh no oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh...

I nodded silently, then I remembered that he could probably hear me now that the background noise was all gone. “Yeah,” I murmured, sniffing and squeezing him a brave smile, “thanks.”

His arms found their way around me again, this time by his own choice. In a strange, new, yet amazing act of intimacy he gently rested his chin on the top of my head. “Don't do that to me again,” he reprimanded in a soft, almost teasing tone, “I thought something awful had happened. It's weird to see Supergirl cry.”

I almost laughed. This was the real Kevin Jonas I knew and loved. He wasn't too busy to talk to me. He didn't have a flock of girls following him around. It wasn't his fault, but I must admit that a little bit before then I'd been angry at him.

“I just needed to know your music hasn't made you deaf.”

Hear me,
Hear me,
Hear me.


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A/N: Hehehehehe, and here you thought maybe she was gonna say those three little words, didn't you? Naw, that doesn't happen for a while still.