Avenir // tyler joseph

fourteen // i know i'm not your favorite record

--Courtney's P.O.V--

It didn't take me very long to get changed out of the horrible costume that I was forced to wear and into a long-sleeve black shirt and some grey sweatpants. I chose to leave my hair down before stepping out of the dressing room, my bare feet hitting the floor roughly.

"Hey, Courtney?" I jumped slightly as I looked up from my phone to see Ryan Ross smiling at my gently. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to startle you at all. I just want to talk to you."

"It's fine," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "It's quite easy to scary me honestly." I turned my head, looking left and right. "Where's Brendon? He's usually with you."

Ryan scratched the back of his neck. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Promise you won't tell anyone about Brendon and I. He doesn't really want to come out yet and he's worried that since you pretty much guessed it, other people will too."

It was quite funny that Brendon thought that his and Ryan's relationship was completely secret. The way they acted around one another gave it away to everyone. However, I was surprised that he actually thought that I was going to tell the whole boat that they were dating.

"I wasn't going to tell anybody about you guys even if Brendon told Pierre about Tyler. I just hoped that he wouldn't call me out on my bluff and keep quiet," I explained. "Just understand that I'll keep my mouth shut."

Ryan smiled. "Thank you, Courtney, and I'm sorry Brendon blackmailed you in the first place. He shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay, Ryan. It's over and done with." I looked down at my feet before clearing my throat. "I better get back to Pierre and our kids."

The boy in front of me nodded. "Okay, have a nice rest of the night."

I started towards the exit of backstage when I stopped ad turned around to yell something to Ryan. "Hey, Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"Brendon and you seem to be very happy together, but if he ever gives you a hard time, tell me. Pierre would be happy to have a talk with him. He likes you a lot and doesn't want to see you hurt. Neither do I."

A big smile appeared on his face at my words. "Thank you guys for caring, but I can handle Brendon on my own. However, if I need any help, I'll be sure to call you first. Would you be willing to fly down to Las Vegas from Canada if I did call you?"

I chuckled. "I've always wanted to go to Vegas."

•••

"You did so good!" Nick exclaimed, Séverine positioned on his shoulders. "I never knew you could dance like that!"

He passed my daughter to me as I grinned. "I didn't know I could dance like that either. I just learned the full routine last night."

"She should have seen her last night. She was so worried that she wouldn't remember all the moves," Pierre added, popping up beside me, Benji and Bowser both in his arms. "Séverine even tried dancing along," he said, planting a kiss on our daughter's cheek.

"I'm a good dancer," she protested, her hand wrapping itself in my hair.

"Better than me, sweetheart," Nick grinned.

A smile appeared on my face as Tyler and Josh popped out of the crowd. "You did really good, Courtney. However, you looked pissed at Brendon the whole time," Josh remarked.

"That's because he's beyond annoying," I replied. "It's hard not to be angry at him." Pierre shifted to where the twins were in a more comfortable position as they both began to fall asleep. "I don't understand how his band members put up with him."

Nick shrugged. "At least none of them left him yet."

"That's true," Tyler added.

I smoothed my daughter's blonde hair back and kissed her forehead. She leaned against me. "Are you ready to go back to our cabin? It's way past your bedtime."

She responded by leaning against me and letting out a sigh. I glanced at Pierre who nodded. "Hey, guys, I think Courtney and I are going to go back to our cabin. All of our kids are tired and since tomorrow is the last day of the cruise, we have to get up early to pack."

That was the strange part about being a parent. You always had to put your children' needs before your own and sometimes that was proven to be very difficult, especially when Pierre and I were both musical artists. We had concerts to do and that always caused us to push our children off to each other and that would always be something I would feel guilty about for the rest of my life. I've already decided that I was never going to put out another album again. Well, at least until my kids were older.

Nick gave me a hug before kissing Séverine on the cheek. "Good night, guys. I'll still you all tomorrow for breakfast." He patted Pierre on the back as Josh pulled me into a one arm hug.

"You did really good tonight, Courtney," he said. "And I hope you have a good night sleep."

"Thanks, Josh," I smiled. "I'll see you in the morning."

I turned to Tyler who awkwardly smiled at me. "I'm sorry that my actions made you have to dance tonight," he whispered as I hugged him. "If I could take it back, I would."

Tyler was honestly a great person and I understood that he still had feelings for me, but I wish he knew how to keep himself in check. He regretted every fight or move that he made on me when I was with Pierre, yet he kept doing everything he regretted. That's what I couldn't wrap my head around.

"I know you would, Tyler," I mumbled. "And I promise that everything is okay between us. I'm not angry or anything."

I pulled away from him, stepping back to stand beside Pierre. Tyler smiled at me and I watched as Josh nudged him in the ribs, playfully.

"We'll see you all tomorrow," my fiancee said once again. "Goodnight."

•••

"Keep your voices down. Your sister's sleeping," I remarked as Benji shrieked as Bowser splashed him with water.

"Séverine is a heavy sleeper. She won't wake up," Pierre promised as he started to wash the shampoo out of Benji's dark hair.

"They still shouldn't scream. We have neighbors,"  I retorted, gently rubbing conditioner into Bowser's hair.

Giving the twins a bath was never an easy task and it was only because they enjoyed splashing each other and splashing Pierre and I. We both usually ended up soaking wet by the time we had them dressed and ready to go to bed. It was going to get easier as they got older, but it still frustrating to say the least.

I poured a cup of water over Bowser's head as I heard Benji squeal. "What's that?" He reached out to grab something floating in the water.

"Benji, no-" Pierre tried to get out before our son's little hand wrapped around the object, but it was too late. He started crying as the object squished in his hand.

"Bowser Noel," I said in outrage. "You know better than to poop in the bath!" The boy in front of me giggled, hitting his hands against the surface of the water as his twin brother kept crying.

Pierre groaned, standing up before pulling Benji out of the water. "Courtney, sweetheart, will you tell me exactly why we decided to have three kids?"

A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay on updating and the shortness. Driver's ed is kicking my butt.

-L.A