The Beauty & The Tragedy

The Highway Don't Care

Chapter Four

Demi stayed with Nick and I for a couple weeks. She was quick to find her own apartment and get out of our hair. She wasn't a burden, but sleeping on the couch wasn't exactly ideal for her. She needed time to grieve and heal from the relationship she just walked away from. It was hard for her. She never said anything about it, but her eyes gave it away. They didn't dance quite as much as they did the night I met her. She grew distant for a while and I think it was the kind of heartbreak that never really healed all the way.

I managed to book her and the guys on a California wide tour with a band that had a decent enough following to actually do a small scale tour. They somehow manage to scrape together enough money to buy a van and a trailer. That van would end up being my home for the better part of a year while we traveled the state playing clubs and small theaters. It was terrible and wonderful all at the same time.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out the logistics of four guys and two girls living in a van. There was absolutely no room, no privacy, and no money. My job took a backseat to Nick and his band mates. I wanted to be there and see them succeed. I wanted to be a part of the journey. We barely scraped by selling merch and ep's at the shows. I was their biggest fan and I guess for lack of a better word, their very first groupie.

"Turn it up!" I shouted over the commotion of the overstuffed van. "I love this song."

Joe nodded and cranked the volume. As soon as everyone heard the song, I knew they were going to give me shit. It was Say Something by A Great Big World.

"Seriously?" Demi asked as she lifted her sunglasses and raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up." I mumbled trying to hide a smile.

"Oh Jesus. I'm about to get emotional." Johnny teased.

"Y'all are assholes." I laughed.

"I wrote this song just to depress you.

When this song is done you'll need a tissue." Joe sang very loudly and off key.

"You could've smiled. Didn't want you to. I wrote this song just to depress you." Demi added as they all held up lighters.

"I hate you." I smiled as I shook my head.

"And now...You're starting to bawl.

Bet you wish you were dead. For no reason at all." She finished.

They then proceeded to give me a group hug and they all pretended to cry. I loved every single one of them.

"Can y'all keep it down?" Nick grinned. "I'm trying to drive."

"No one cares." Johnny shrugged before he licked his finger and shoved it into Nicks ear.

"Dude! That's gross." Nick grimaced.

"You don't know where that finger has been." Joe stated with a straight face.

"Thank you. That makes me feel so much better." Nick responded sarcastically.

The three of them continued to argue back and forth and I opted to read one of the many books I had hoped to finish by the time the tour ended. I wasn't doing well at the moment. In fact, I was barely a third of the way through the first one. I barely finished a page before I felt Matt nearly knee me in the face as he traded seats with Demi.

"Hi." She smiled as she settled in next to me.

"Hi." I sighed trying not to smile back. She made me want to grin like an idiot.

"How's your book?" She asked. Her gaze was intense.

"It's...ummm...well actually, I don't know." I said softly. "I haven't really been able to read it."