Teach Me How To Love

Comfort In The Panic

~ Selena ~

The second the show was over, I ran off stage in a heap of sweat. My heart was racing. I trailed out to the buses with my fellow dancers, leaving Melissa at a distance with her crazy stares. She was genuinely starting to freak me out. Upon stepping into the parking lot, our buses were all lit up in neon bright colors of greens, yellows and reds. Everyone began to gather together, complaining and laughing all at once.

"What?" I heard a few people call out in confusion as my dark haired friend strolled on past us. Demi studied the buses, nodding before facing the group.

"Someone enjoyed painting the night." Her eyes practically turned up into a grin before she disappeared inside of her own bus. Everyone began to screech and holler as I crossed my arms and made my way inside after the woman.

"You're going to destroy the paint." I complain.

"It'll wash off." She assured me.

"You even put it over my face." I whine as she smirks.

"That was my idea." She pointed to herself, strolling into her room as I glared in her general direction before making if back outside. The crew members began filling the buses with different items as I made it towards my own. Just outside of it stood Nick, eyeing his phone before his fingers moved across the screen. I stepped past him as he followed. There wasn't much talk about Nick holding information about his tour from me. We had let that conversation go. As Nancy boarded the bus she faced me, a smile against her cheeks.

"Ready to hit the road?" She questioned as I sent a reassuring nod. Sometime between ten and eleven I made a salad and ate in silence at the small table. Nick was still moving his fingers against his screen, his facial features turning up every few minutes. Although I needed space, I didn't think he'd be giving me the silent treatment.

"So we're heading down to Texas tonight." I happily exclaimed, but nothing came from the man. "Houston." I said louder. "Nick?"

"Yeah." He finally faced me.

"We're heading to Houston."

"I know." That was it. That was all I could get out of him before I rolled my eyes and made it into my room. I showered, lingering under the water as visions of last night began to play in my mind. Funny thing was, I forgot about the many red marks across my body until the water slowly washed them away. Some of the makeup only smudged around until I ran soap over it. When I stepped out onto the cool tile and noticed my first red bruise, I gasped.

"Crap." I turned in a few circles, drying myself off with a towel before searching for my robe. At least the long arms and fluffy fabric could hide what was definitely visible against my skin. Just as I crossed the straps around my waist and tugged them to a close, I could hear whispering through my bedroom door. It was more like someone reading music without putting much feeling into it. My stomach practically caved into itself as I stepped out barefooted into the small living space.

            "But the heart wants what it wants." Nick read aloud as I rushed over towards him.

"That wasn't meant for you to see."

"But it's good." He smiled, his eyes studying mine. He hadn't given me the few scrap pages, he only studied them more intensely. "You wrote this?"

"Yeah, so what?!" I tried grabbing it once again before he stood, a smile caressing his cheeks.

"Baby." He glanced up. "I mean, Selena, this is amazing. It's obviously not finished but, I love it."