Nicole's POV
There's a rerun of an old Desperate Housewives on channel four, so I'm sitting here watching that. They all look so young. Mind you i haven't watched this for about a year. This used to mine and mums thing. I heard the front door open.
"I'm back!" Demi shouted.
"In here!" I shouted back, she walked into the living room carrying three drinks and a small paper bag. Demi burst out laughing when she saw the tv.
"Do you like this show?" she asked.
"Yeah I do. Why?"
"That's cool. Ever met any of the actors from it?" she asked. Who does she think I am? Of course I haven't.
"No, I haven't, have you then?" I wonder who's she met.
"Most of them to be honest." she said as if it was no big deal.
"What?! Have you met Eva Longoria then?" I asked kinda spazzing out.
"Yep, she's lovely."
"Oh my god, you're so lucky. How did you meet her? She's bloody gorgeous."
"I know people." she said as if she was hiding something. "And watch your language young lady. Right, I got two lattes and a caramel ice drink thing. So take your pick. I also got us some cookies." she said placing it all on the table in front of me. "Fancy just having a tv day?" she asked.
"That's sounds good, can I have this?" I asked pointing to one of the coffees.
"Sure." she said handing me one and keeping the other for herself. "Did you have the pancakes?"
"Yeah, I washed everything up as well. I think I put it all back in the right place." I told her.
"Aw, thank you Nicole. But you really didn't need to do that." she said.
"Its the least I could do. Do you have a blanket I could have?" I asked her, I'm kinda cold.
"Yeah I'll go get one." she said as she disappeared upstairs. Demi reappeared with a duvet and some pillows. She threw a hoodie over to me and she sat on the sofa next to me. Demi then pulled the duvet over us both and I snuggled down into the sofa and pillows. I grabbed my coffee and we watched Desperate Housewives. Demi kept smirking.
"Demi, you and Juanita have the same eyes." I said randomly.
"How did you work that one out?" she asked.
"When I look at her, I see you as well a little. I don't know."
"Well that would make sense." she said smirking again.
"And why would that be?"
"Because, she is my little sister. Maddie."
"Really? Oh my god, that's so cute."
"Yeah, I'm amazed you haven't seen all the photos of us around the house." she said smiling big.
"I wasn't really looking at your photos." we both took a long sip from our coffees. "Hold up, isn't she American?" I asked. I mean the shows set in America and she sounds very American. But Demi sounds British.
"Yeah, we all are. I'm originally from Texas, Dallas. My family still lives there." she said.
"How come your over here then?" I asked her. She let out a large sigh.
"The treatment center they sent me to was over here and I liked it here. I thought making a fresh start would be good. Plus Jennel had to opportunity to be promoted over here. So we moved here together." she told me, she looked a bit upset again.
"What did you do before?" I asked.
"I was a child actor and singer. I released an album and a tv show." she said.
"Wow, that's incredible! Why'd you stop though?"
"My label didn't want me back after treatment and I didn't want to put myself back in the spotlight. Another factor of being here is that people don't know who I am." she said.
"Oh, that's pretty crap."
"Yeah, they said I was 'bad for their image' and refused to even listen to my new stuff." she looked really downhearted.
"Are you happy teaching now though?"
"Yeah, I couldn't imagine doing anything else really." she said.
"Do you write music?"
"I guess I haven't written anything since then. And what is this, twenty questions?" Demi laughed.
"Sorry, I'll stop." I said looking back to the tv.
"Its okay, you deserve to know about me. I mean your living in my house and all." she said. Demi place a hand on top of my wrist and squeezed it gently. Her fingers ran across my wrist as she traced the lines on my skin. She turned my hand palm up. Demi gasped as she looked at my wrist properly. I looked ay her from the corner of my eyes, a mixture of shock and worry evident on her face.
She lightly traced my scars with her thumb. "Why?" she asked simply.
"Pain demands to be felt." I loosely quoted John Green.
"How long ago?" she asked, not letting go of my wrist.
"My last cut was about 6 months ago or so." I said looking at her. She didn't take her eyes off my wrist.
"That's a long time. I'm proud of you, Nicole." she said smiling a little. "If you ever get an urge to hurt yourself at all, come talk to me. I don't care what the time is or anything. I promise I'll be there for you." she said finally looking me in the eyes.
"Thank you Demi, the same goes for you. I know I'm younger and all, but I know what you are feeling." we both had tears in our eyes. She pulled me into her and we cuddled as we watched more tv.
"Nicole, stop calling me Demi." Huh, what?
"Um, okay?" I gave her a really confused look.
"Call me Dem or D. I just prefer it to Demi."
"Fair enough." We went back to watching tv. I checked the time, half two. Whoa, we've been watching tv for about five hours.
"Dem, you need to pick up josh soon." I reminded her.
"Oh crap, yeah. Come on, get your lazy butt up. Your coming with me."
I internally groaned. I'm really comfy here on the sofa.
"Go get changed into something else and be back down here in ten minuets. If you need me shout." Demi told me. I got up and made my way upstairs. I entered the bedroom and rummaged through her wardrobe. She's gOt some really nice clothes. I pulled out some black ripped skinny jeans and a green checkered shirt. I pulled on the clothes and retied my hair into another messy bun.
"Demi, can I borrow some makeup?" I yelled down to her.
"Use whatever." she shouted back. I fished out some eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss. I applied a small amount of each, before using a splash if perfume. I hobbled back down the stairs. "You look really good Nic." Demi told me. I thanked her. She let me borrow a pair of vans and we got in her car and drive to pick up Josh.
When we arrived at the school she got out and stood at the gates. After a few minuets a hoard of little kids came running through the gates. Josh is normally one of the last ones out and today was no different.
He ran at Demi with open arms when he saw her. I'm glad they get along so well. They were talking as they made their way back to the car. Demi opened the door for him and he jumped in. "Hey NicNic!" he said excited
"Hi Joshy, how was school?"
"Boring." he replied. Demi had started driving again, but we weren't heading home.
"Where are we going Dem?" I asked.
"Oh, I need to go shopping and I figured I need to get you guys some stuff." she replied as she pulled into a car park less than five minuets away from Josh's school. We got out the car and Josh grabbed my hand. The three of us walked into the center.
"Where do you shop normally?" she asked.
"We don't shop. I get stuff from charity shops or what doesn't fit mum. Josh is the only one to get new clothes." I told her.
"Okay, what size are you?" she dragged us into New Look.
"About a ten or twelve I guess."
She pulled out item after item. She sent me off to the fitting room to try it all on. I came out with three pairs of jeans, five tops, one shirt and two dresses. "Dem, I cant get all this."
"Why not?"
"I don't have any money."
"I'm getting you them stupid. You cant keep wearing my clothes forever."
"I'm not gonna be with you forever though."
"You'll be with me for as long as your parents still treat you or each other like that." she told me."No arguments."
"Are you serious?" No one would want to keep me and Josh. She's out of her mind.
"Of course I am." Demi said looking dead serious. Honestly I don't know whether to be happy or to cry right now. I think she saw that I was about to cry because she pulled me into a hug. Josh joined in too. This is one of those moments you never want to end. I have never felt more safe. Demi started to pull away but Josh wouldn't let go of either of us.
"Come on Josh, lets go pay for this and then we'll go get you some stuff." Demi said taking his hand and going off to pay for my clothes. I carried my bags and we left the shop.
"Do you wanna sit out here whilst we go in?" Demi asked me pointing towards a bench opposite Next.
"Um, yeah okay."
"I just thought your ankle might be hurting that's all." I agreed with her and hobbled over to the bench. I sat and watched them through the window. Again they emerged with two bags. They came over to me and we walked off into a bunch of other shops.
After about two hours of complete hard shopping, Josh finally complained that he was hungry.
"What do you want for dinner?" Demi asked us.
"Pizza!" Josh shouted. I just laughed.
"Pizza it is then. Do you have a mobile still?" Demi said.
"I don't, no." and with that she dragged us off to an o2 store.
"What phone would you like?" she asked. I looked around feeling a bit lost. The information by the phones meant nothing to me.
"I don't know. You choose." I told her, she smiled at me.
"Okay, black or white?" she asked
"Er, black." I replied.
"Really?" she asked with a disgusted look on her face.
"Fine, white. I don't really care about the colour." she went over to the counter and brought two phones, one for me and one for Josh. She also picked up a couple of cases.
"Okay, do you need anything for school?"
"Nope, we've got everything." I replied. We left the shopping centre and returned to the car. We put all the bags into the boot and we got in.
"Unlock my phone and find the Dominos app." Demi said passing me her phone before she started to drive.
"Pass code?"
"1234."
"Demi, that is seriously crap." I typed in the numbers and searched for the app. "Got it."
"Okay, order me a medium Hawaiian and then whatever you guys want." she instructed me.
I put in her order, I got a medium cheese and tomato for Josh and a meat feast for me. I don't need to ask him what he wants, he doesn't like any other kind of pizza. Demi told me her address and I brought the pizzas.
"Twenty minuets." I told Demi. We arrived home and she told us to take the bags up into the single room which Demi had slept in the night before.
"Josh, you're gonna sleep in here." Demi told him. "Nicole your in my room still and I'm just down the way." she said pointing to another room.
"I thought you only had two beds." i said.
"I did, I got a friend to lend me a big blow up bed. So I'm sleeping on that. They dropped it round this morning whilst you were bnoth asleep and left it outside the front door."
"Demi, no. Let me sleep there. Your the one doing us all the favors." I said ready to argue with her.
"You're a guest and therefore deserve to have a proper bed. Case closed." she retorted.
"Tough, I'm not letting you sleep there." I said. I waked into the room and placed my bags down. If this room had a bed it could be a perfect bedroom. It was mainly white in colour and had a fairly modern style to it. Like the rest of the house really. It also had a ensuite bathroom.
I walked into Josh's room, where Demi was putting all his stuff away. The doorbell sounded.
"Must be the pizzas." Demi left the room and headed downstairs. After a few minuets the door shut and Demi called us down. Josh ran out the room shouting "Pizza pizza!". I hobbled after him.
"Hey Nicole, hows the leg?" Jennel greeted me. She was sitting next to Josh on the opposite side of the dinner table.
"Erm, Hi." what the hell is she doing here? "Yeah, its okay. Still hurts a little." I replied to her. Again I've got to try to be polite. For Demi's sake if no one elses.
"That's good." she said as Demi brought the plates of pizza over.
"Just help yourselves." she then brought over four glasses of coke and took a seat next to me. We all started eating. "So what bring you round here Jennel?" Demi asked.
"Well I was just passing and I thought I'd pop in and see how you were doing after yesterday. And I figured I should check on Nicole's ankle; make sure she has only twisted it." Jennel said smiling at both of us. I feel like she's not telling the truth, but Demi, brought it. Or ay least she appeared to have brought it.
"Fair enough. I owe you some money then." Demi said.
"Don't worry about it Demi." she said.
"I'm not letting you pay for my dinner, we're not going out anymore." Demi replied sternly. Jennel looked like a child that had just got told off and dropped their ice cream. I feel kinda sorry for her. I mean she is trying to be decent and its getting thrown back in her face. I know you can't change what she's done in the past, but right now she's being nice.
We all continued to eat until Demi broke the silence. "You know the talent contest I talked to you about the other day?" this was obviously aimed at me even though she hadn't looked anywhere but her glass or food for the last five minutes.
"Yeah, what about it?" she finally looked towards me. Not at me, but at my plate.
"Have you got anything in mind?"
"I'm thinking an All Time Low cover because they're easy to change to acoustic. Or I was gonna do an original but I'm not sure I have the confidence to do that." I told her. She looked into my eyes and smiled at me.
"I was hoping you'd say an original."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yep, I've been wanting to hear one since you first mentioned it." she said. I laughed at her.
"That was yesterday you idiot!" this caused both Demi and Jennel to laugh. But Demi quickly stopped and went back to looking at my plate.
"What All Time Low song do you have in mind?" she asked.
"Probably Backseat Serenade or Therapy."
"More personal favourites." Demi said smiling slightly. "You sing a lot of their songs don't you?" How does she know that?
"I guess, why?"
"Your files are just full of their covers and the odd Pierce The Veil cover."
"Oh."
"What's your original called?"
"It doesn't have a name yet, I only wrote it this morning. I browed your guitar. I hope you don't mind."
"No, that's fine. Can I hear it?"
"Yeah, later." We finished eating, Josh remained silent, he has been since he saw Jennel in the living room. Demi and I began to clear the table. "Josh, go start your homework and I'll come help you in a few minuets." I told him and he ran upstairs.
"Demi, can I talk to you please?" Jennel asked.
"Yeah sure." Demi replied, she turned to me and said "Go help your brother with his homework and then do your work from today. If you need a hand shout." I followed her instructions and helped Josh before starting my own work.
Demi's POV
Nicole went out the room and upstairs. I turned my back to Jennel and carried on washing up. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked her.
"I don't know if I should really be telling you this, but eh." she responded as she picked up a tea towel and began to dry the dishes. I think she was expecting me to reply to this but I didn't. "You know Sophie?" she asked.
Do I know Sophie?
As in the Sophie you left me for?
As in the Sophie who's tongue you had down your throat?
As in the Sophie the love of your life?
"Yeah" I murmured.
"I just broke up with her." she said simply, I could tell she was trying not to cry. She always stares at the ceiling and clenches her jaw when she's trying not to let the tears escape.
"Is that why your here?"
"I don't know why I'm here. I was going back to my parents but I drove here instead. I followed the pizza guy for about five minuets and he pulled up outside, so I took the delivery for you and paid." she was looking at me. I could feel her gaze boring through my body. "I'm sorry Dem, I'll leave if you want me to."
I didn't say anything for a while, she must have taken that as a signal that I didn't want her here. She grabbed her stuff. "Okay I get it. I'm sorry for everything Demi. You deserve so much better than anything I could give you. I get it if you hate me, I hate me too right now. Please just don't forget that you're the only one for me Demi. I love you so so much Demetria. Stay strong. I'm always here for you.." she rambled on. I wasn't expecting this. I mean 'I love you so so much' what does that mean? Like you've just broke up with the person you left me for, and then you cone back and tell me I'm 'the only one' for you. What the actual fuck. No, you're not allowed to do that to me.
Nicole's POV
I heard a door slam and the house went quiet accept the sound of Josh doing his work. I made my way downstairs to find Demi standing in the hallway. She was staring at the front door, tears were streaming down her face and she was shaking. Large sobs were escaping her lungs. "Dem, Demi.." I cooed her. I put an arm around her waist and pulled her into the living room. I sat her down on the sofa and her head snapped to look at me. She said something that I wasn't able to hear. "Come on Dem, speak to me." I said hugging her.
"She..she told me she l-l..loves me." she stuttered out. The tears were flowing steadily down her face. If Demi is anything like me I know exactly what will make her feel better.
"I know what you need." she looked me in the eyes. "You said you had a piano, where is it?" Demi stood up and lead me into a large room I hadn't even noticed before. It had a couple of guitars a large piano and a few microphones with a recording desk.
"I gave up a lot, but I couldn't give up this." she said looking around. I walked over to the piano.
"You play?" she sat at the stool and lifted the lid from the piano. She started to play.
“I'm losing myself
Trying to compete
With everyone else
Instead of just being me
Don't know where to turn
I've been stuck in this routine
I need to change my ways
Instead of always being weak
I don't wanna be afraid
I wanna wake up feeling beautiful..today
And know that I'm okay
Cause everyone's perfect in unusual ways
So you see, I just wanna believe in me
La la la la la la la la” she sang and played. I know this. What’s it called? I don’t know. I joined in with her and we both sang
“The mirror can lie
Doesn't show you what's inside
And it, it can tell you you're full of life
It's amazing what you can hide
Just by putting on a smile
I'm quickly finding out
I'm not about to break down
Not today
I guess I always knew
That I had all the strength to make it through
Not gonna be afraid
I'm going to wake up feeling beautiful..today
And know that I'm okay
Cause everyone's perfect in unusual ways
So you see, now, now I believe in me”
“Now I believe in me” I let her finish up the song.
"You know this song?" she asked she looked a little shocked. I nodded. Smiling. “Do you know who sings it?”
“No, one of the girls at school sung it in the talent show when we were in junior school. We were friends so she gave me the lyrics and the backing track for it. But I lost the tape with the music on.” I told her.
“Oh. That’s cool. Have you heard the original version?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I think you have.” Demi said, her voice was kind of teasing.
“What are you on about?”
“It’s me, this is one of my songs.”
"Oh my god, that's weird." we both laughed. Demi had calmed down a lot. I was right.
"Can you play me your song now?" she stood up and took my place on the stool.
"This is a story that I have never told.."
"Wow, Nicole. That was amazing!" Demi said pulling me into a hug. We were both crying.
"I heard singing." Josh said from the door way. We turned to look at him. "My two favourite girls, both crying." he said walking towards us and hugging us both. The thee if us stood there in this group hug for what felt like a few minuets. He pulled away and grabbed mine and Demi's left hands. He turned them so our wrist was facing him and he took it in turned to gently kiss it.
Josh is the reason I stopped. He did this for the first time six months go. I promised him I'd stop and I have more or less. I mean the thought and the urge is still there, but I haven't physically done anything about it. "I love you Josh." I said whilst leaning down and kissing the top of his head. He told me he loved me too. "Come on then Josh bed time. Its Saturday tomorrow and you know what that means?" to which he excitedly replied,
"No school!" he went off to bed and told us to not bother checking on him. Which of course I will do. I'm his older sister. I get protective yahno.
Demi and I sat in the living room talking when she suddenly got up and walked out. She returned a few minuets later carrying a white iPhone 5. "Here, I meant to give it to you earlier but I forgot. Its all set up and ready to use." she handed me the phone.
"Oh, thank you Dem. That's really good of you. How, how do I use this thing?" over the next half hour she taught me all I needed to know about the phone and the contract.
She entered in her details for her contact. I changed her display name to D. Then I put in her home number and then added Josh's number. She had brought him a black version of mine.
She got out her phone and and we stared to take selfies for a while. I know I've only know Demi for a fee days, but it feels like I've known her for a lifetime. She's like the big sister I've never had.
I said good night to Demi and went to bed. Tomorrow we have to take Demi's mind from Jennel. I don't know how, but we'll have to find a way.