Challenge number nine…JONAS as Western. Oh, dear Lord. This is going to be ridiculous.

I don't own JONAS. My dad watches lots of Westerns though. Plus, I'm from Texas. Anyway, here goes nothing.

Dedication: i-love-berriTurtles…because she's my real-life best friend. And she stayed up til 3 am writing her first fic last night.

Kevin, Joe and Nick Lucas blew into the dusty town of Mantis, Texas one morning in June. They were a traveling band and there was a rodeo in town today-the perfect place to showcase their talents. They walked down the main street when Joe saw a pretty blonde come out of the dressmaker's shop. He let out a low whistle and excused himself from his brothers as he followed her down a side street. Nick and Kevin walked on to the tavern a few doors down and entered through the swinging doors.

"Howdy, what can I do y'all for?" said a pretty brunette as they sat down at the bar.

"Um…something to drink?" said Kevin. The brunette had a bright smile.

"Sure," she said, leaning forward on her elbows from her place behind the bar, "What'll it be?"

Darn that purty smile of hers! Kevin thought to himself. He always was a sucker for a brunette with a great smile.

"Sarsaparilla," said Nick, knowing Kevin's distracted look.

"Comin' right up," said the girl, as she got out two mugs and filled them full of the dark soft drink, sliding them across the counter into their waiting hands.

"Where y'all from?" she asked, as she filled another glass of sarsaparilla and slid it down the counter to a blond guy at the far end of the bar.

"Austin," said Kevin.

"Ah, y'all're city boys," she said with a smirk.

"Yeah, we're a band. We're playin' at the rodeo later today. You wanna come see me-us?" Kevin asked.

"We-ll…I can try my darndest," she looked a little unsure of herself, but smiled at him anyway. Kevin picked up his glass, smiling back at her and completely missed his mouth, sloshing the sarsaparilla down his chin and onto his shirt. He refrained from hitting the laughing Nick, but cursed inwardly as he heard a giggle from the brunette.

"May I ask, little lady, what is your name?" he said quite smoothly for someone who had just made a fool of themselves. The smoothness wasn't just in his imagination either, because the brunette giggled shyly and blushed before holding her hand out.

"I'm Maciella Misa," she said, ducking her head as Kevin kissed her hand, "But I usually go by Macy."

"Two pretty names for one pretty lady," Kevin said, ignoring the snort from Nick.

Joe walked in the saloon just then, the pretty blonde on his arm. Joe pounded the counter with his fist,

"Two sarsaparillas," he said. Macy let out a squeal though, and grabbed the blonde's arm,

"Stella! Who's the guy?"

That was really the only part of the conversation the three boys heard though. The rest was muffled mumbles and the occasional giggle.

***

At the rodeo, Kevin looked around for Macy, but didn't see her. He sat down in one of the front rows and watched the cowboys rope and ride.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the infamous Shorty Mac on the most fearsome bucking bronc, Apache Clouds!"

A loud cheer went up as Mac, a rather short cowboy, in a bright blue plaid shirt, entered the ring on a beautiful, but madly bucking, paint. He lasted the whole eight seconds, winning the belt buckle at the end.

***

After the rodeo, Kevin found himself wandering into a shed he had seen Joe and the blonde, Stella, wandering into a few hours earlier.

He heard a loud, feminine cry and saw a flash of blue plaid and saw…

"Macy?"

He quickly averted his eyes however, when he saw that Macy was wearing only a loose, rather short shift.

"What the heck are you doin' in here Kevin?"

"I was lookin' for Joe," he said, "Wait, what're you doin in here?"

"This is my daddy's shed. And he don't like strangers in here with his only little girl. Especially boy strangers."

"That still doesn't explain what you're doin' in here."

"Turn around while I finished getting dressed and maybe I'll tell you."

He faced a corner, listening to the faint sounds of Macy getting dressed. He heard her quietly trying to sneak by him and he spun around, grabbing her arm. The bundle of clothing she was carrying in her arms fell to the floor and he heard a clatter of metal on wood. Looking down, he noticed the belt buckle and blue plaid shirt.

Suddenly, it hit him.

"You're Shorty Mac, aren't you?"

"Don't tell anyone!" Macy cried, a look of distress upon her face.

"I won't tell anyone you're Mac," Kevin said with a smirk, "if…"

"If what?"

"If…you kiss me."

"What? You think blackmail's gonna work on me? My daddy's the sheriff. I tell him you got fresh with me and he'll run you and your city slicker brothers outta town 'fore you can say scat."

"Well, I'll just tell your dad that you routinely cross-dress and participate in rodeos."

She opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. He smirked at her, knowing he was going to get his wish.

"Fine…" she said angrily. She pushed him up against the wall, pressed a quick, fierce kiss against his lips and stalked out of the shed, slamming the door behind her.

He scrambled out the door, determined to follow her, but, she had disappeared in a matter of moments.

***

The next day, Kevin saw "Mac" running through the streets, away from a huge, towering man who was chasing her. The guy pinned her against a wall, and she struggled to get out of his grasp, but failed.

"Hey," shouted Kevin. He had no idea what really possessed him to try to stick up for her, but the grateful look on her face gave him some clue as to why.

"What?" asked the guy in an annoyed tone.

"Get away from the kid."

"Kid?" said the guy with a snort, "This ain't no kid. This here is Maciella, the coolest drink of water in this here town besides her little blondie friend."

"Billy, I swear, if you don't get your hands off me, right now I'm gonna…"

"What? Get your little loser beau to have a gunfight with me?"

"One, he's not my beau, two, I can beat you in a gunfight."

"Is that right? Well, can you beat me at this?" he leaned in towards Macy, trying to force a kiss on her, when he doubled over in pain.

"You little wench!" Billy spat out between gasps of pain, "Why'd you knee me you good for nothing girl?"

"Kevin, let's get out of here," she said, grabbing his hand and running away from the hunched over Billy.

When they got to the river a few minutes' walk (or in their case, run) away, Macy let go of his hand, slumping against a rock.

"Why'd you do that, Kevin?" Macy asked after a brief silence.

"I don't like to see a girl in trouble," he shrugged.

"Oh, c'mon. I can take care of myself. I'm the best shot in Mantis, thank you."

"Well, Billy there had your arms pinned against the wall back in town, so I don't know if you coulda shot him."

"Well, I kneeed him in the groin without any help from you," she said, sticking out her tongue.

"I tried to help you out," he said, whiningly.

"I know," she said comfortingly.

"Hey, Macy?" Kevin said nervously, tugging on the brim of his cowboy hat.

"Yeah?"

"I know I'm a traveling musician and all that, but…next time I come through…do you want to um…go for a ride or something?"

"What happened to that smooth guy who blew through the door a few days ago?

"I get nervous around pretty girls."

"I bet you have a pretty girl in every town from here to Santa Fe."

"Naw, that's Joe. But I tell you, that purty blonde friend of yours sure done caught his eye."

"Oh, Stella? Yeah, good luck to him gettin' her attention for much longer. She don't notice just any old guy. He's gotta be special."

"And what about you? Does a guy have to be special for you to notice him?"

"I like guys who are musical," she said with a smirk.

"I play a mean banjo."

"I like the mandolin better."

"Good thing I play both then."

Kevin had closed the small gap between them and was about to press his lips to hers, but the ringing of a distant bell startled them from their moment.

"That's my cue to leave, cowboy," Macy said softly, placing her hand on the side of his face. She hopped off the rock, walking back towards town.

Kevin was rewarded with a glimpse of her jean-encased backside. The dark denim hugged her hips and traveled down her rather…shapely legs, making them seem miles longer than they really were. Girls really needed to wear jeans more often he thought. Or at least Macy does.

***

Kevin, Joe and Nick were due to leave on the train back home that day, but Kevin was a little melancholy. He hadn't seen Macy the last few days and he kind of missed her. Okay, he really missed her. She was sassy, sweet, funny, pretty and looked really good in those jeans.

His brothers were boarding the train, looking at him expectantly.

"Hey, cowboy," said a familiar voice. He looked up at a smiling Macy.

"Hey cowgirl."

"So, Mandolin Boy; know when you're blowin' back into town?"

"Naw, but if you stay around here, I'll be sure to come around."

"How about if I promise to stay here in Mantis if…"

"If what?"

"If you kiss me?"

"Little lady, I'd be glad to oblige."

Okay, so the western thing disappeared a bit…but I'd like to think that's what Kevin would be like if he tried being smooth…And I would love to see Kevin in Western wear. Cowboys are HOT. Let me tell you. Ooooh, Lordy.