~ 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."
"Oh." My racing heart drummed in my ears as I slowly pulled the sheets from his fingers.
"Is this your song for L.A?"
"Parts of it." I nodded, moving away from him and towards the fridge. I grabbed a bottle of water, glancing over the work myself before nibbling on my bottom lip.
"I see that I was your inspiration." Nick happily took his place against the sofa once more. There was no way I was going to break his heart, but knew he only thought such things because it should of only been about him.
"A few curves are coming up ahead." Nancy warned us, her eyes focusing ahead.
"Can you sing it for me?" Nick asked, his eyes happily working against mine. I thought we were taking a break, not basking in one another's presence. But there was something about the way he was with me, that made me give in. I only had a few lyrics on the page still, but sung them as naturally as they flowed out. The man across from me had no worries in the world, at least not to my knowledge.
"The bed's getting cold and you're not here. The future that we hold is so unclear." These words made me think about Demi. So naturally I said them once more. "The future that we hold is so unclear." I pressed my fingers against the pages in my hand, walking into my room without a word. Usually Nick would follow behind me and urge me to speak my mind, but he was respecting our boundaries at the moment. I closed the door, taking in a few deep breaths before spreading the pages on the bed sheets. I would finish this song tonight, because I felt inspired out of nowhere. Something that never happened when it came to me.
Maybe an hour down the road I felt tired as the bus slowed down. I knew we couldn't have been in Houston just yet. We had a few more hours to go. As I stepped out into the living space, Nancy hopped off the bus. Nick lay asleep against the sofa, his head propped up by one of my t-shirts. I shifted past him, glancing out of the large front windows to find that we were at a 'Rest Stop.' The other buses had pulled over as well, a few people, those still awake, making it out to stretch their legs. It was nearing one in the morning when I noticed the neon glow from the other vehicles shining through the night. Demi was definitely going to pay for such actions.
I dressed myself in some shorts and a long sleeved top, sneaking out towards the familiar bus near the road. The inside was quiet, for once it seemed as if the brunette had gone to bed. I let myself on, pacing towards the back where I indeed found Demi asleep. The room sat dark and hardly shone any light as I slowly made it towards my wardrobe vehicle. It was a quick action to do, climbing aboard to grab my small bin of markers before rushing back.
"She doesn't know you're here does she?" I hear her driver ask.
"No. But she wouldn't mind." I shrugged, walking back into the brunette's room. After closing the door I was left in total and complete darkness. The second I flipped on the light, the silhouette of Demi's body under the sheets brought a smile to my face. She had seemed to be in a tank top and her underwear. I made my way over towards her, crawling against the bed as best as I could without waking the woman. But she groaned, swatting at the air before slowly opening her eyes.
"Selena?" Her groggy voice made its way to my ears. "What are you doing on my bus?"
"This is all a dream." I swayed, waving my hands just as the vehicle jerked forward, leaving from the stop.
"Sel, I'm half awake, not drunk." She closed her eyes as I happily placed my marker bin near the woman's waist. She covered her face with her arm, breathing slowly as if she was trying to stay awake, but knowingly drifting back to sleep. I grabbed the first marker I could, a bright red one, trailing it against the woman's skin. Demi began to breath against my hand, my fingers quickly moving across her arm as I created a tiny heart. Although Demi was sporting a cluster of tattoos, not many of them had such a bright color.
"I need advice." I randomly state into the air, brushing my finger against the brunette's abdomen. Demi shudders under my fingertips, just as I push her shirt up above her naval. "Am I a bad person? And if so, why does doing bad feel so right?" My random scribbles began turning into words against her skin. I had gotten the idea to write some of my new lyric across the sleeping woman's body. She stayed still, sleeping peacefully with me at her side. Or sort of sleeping for the most part.
"Bad?" She questioned, trying to keep the room's light out of her face.
"I know I should probably tell Nick about us." I whispered, pulling another marker into my hand before pressing it against the brunette's arm. She still hadn't budged much, trying to sleep while I was up decorating her body.
"We should tell him soon." She mumbled.
"So you'll be there when I tell him?"
"Sel." Demi groaned, shifting a bit before peering from under her arm. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Are you really that tired?" I smirked, almost covering every space on both of her arms with marker. She still hadn't noticed what I was doing to her. Leaving hearts, words and cute little squiggles all over her.
"I couldn't sleep last night because of you. I literally only had about an hour or two of sleep. I'm exhausted." Demi dropped her arms over her face once more as I nodded to her response. My fingers trailed along the sheets as I slowly tugged the fabric away. Demi quickly sat up. "Sel."
"Demi." I added.
"Did you draw on me?" I noticed her trying to shake the sleep evident in her eyes. "Is this permanent marker?"
"At least it washes off. I can't scrub these away." I signaled towards the very visible marks left across parts of my body.
"Cute." She tilted her head, running her fingers through her hair before studying me. "We should sleep. And I suppose since you're on my bus, you must do as I say."
"But what if I don't want to sleep?" I question.
"Sel." Demi's hazy eyes were definitely reading exhausted. I nodded, as she slid back under the cover, holding her arm out for me to join her. I cleared the markers, placing them against the floor before quickly snuggling against the woman. This was a normal thing for us back when we were just friends. But whatever we were right now, definitely made this moment ten times more enjoyable. I pressed my lips against the woman's cheek, her eyes quickly closing. A grin slowly making it across her face. I groaned however.
"The light is still on."
Hours later, after comfortably sleeping through the night, I heard a voice fill the air. It wasn't Demi's. But it was a girl's voice. I felt the woman shift at my side before I even attempted to open my eyes. The flash of brunette hair practically standing over us sent a chill through me.
"Marissa?!" Demi screamed in excitement, moving across me before pulling her friend into a hug. Sometimes visiting Houston caused such a scene. Just as she pulled away from her friend, the woman began to chuckle. "What?"
"Demi, what the hell happened last night?" Marissa faced me, judging me like always I was sure, before she gave her friend a once over.
"Uh. Nothing. We just went to sleep."
"You have shit written all over you." Her friend brought up, happily bouncing on the edge of the bed as I sat up annoyed and a bit taken aback. "Also, Selena." She faced me, a smile caressing her face as I studied her. I honestly wanted to bolt back to my own bus but knew that wouldn't be a good idea.
"I um." Demi took in her skin, "I don't know what this is. But you're here." As the two friends caught up with their small talk, I slid from under the sheets and slipped on my shoes.
"Having fun with my friend?" Marissa called over to me as Demi swatted her. Taking a move out of my playbook.
"What?"
"I know about the two of you." The woman signaled between Demi and I, my stomach dropping. I was surprised that she had even known, but what made matters worse is that she was actually talking to me. She wouldn't typically do such a thing.
"Demi." I faced my friend as she faintly smiled. "Great, who else have you told?"
"No one." She defensively responded. "And Sel you can't leave until Lisa gets here."
"And why not?" I ask her as she points. I didn't know how long these red marks were going to last against my skin, but I swear I wish I had magic to get rid of them. I walked into the bathroom, closing the door in order to calm myself down. I hadn't noticed the pounding of my heart until I actually had time alone. Demi and Marissa began speaking amongst one another, whispering and laughing as I dreaded stepping back out there. But within minutes a knock came to the door and Lisa stepped into the bathroom with me.
"I can't do this everyday." She informed me. It wasn't really her job to cater to me whenever I needed her to.
"I know."
"You shouldn't be getting yourself into such situations."
"What situations?" I allowed the woman to cover up everything, moving her fingers against my skin as I studied the tiled wall.
"Whatever situation is going on between you and...Demi."
"Nothing is going on."
"Sure." The woman nodded in disbelief.
"Maybe its just a tour thing. Maybe I'll get over it."
"So you're having a fling?"
"Possibly." I shrugged. Honestly, I refused to work through whatever it was that I was feeling because I wanted to keep a level head about the matter. Yes, I wanted to have this intimacy with Demi, it was more than I had in a long time. She always intrigued me, even during our teen years. But Nick was always there to provide comfort for me. I needed that when Demi left me years ago. She didn't want to speak to me or even be near me. I suppose I understood her reasoning behind it, but it didn't change the situation none the less.
"All done." Lisa tapped my shoulder. "I think you two need to figure out what's going on before you start ruining lives." My stylist spoke to me before opening the door to walk out.
"Look at that." Marissa squealed, "You look like a new woman." The fact that she was even acknowledging me was freaking me out.
"So Demi, I'm going to go. I need to get dressed and..." As the brunette studied me, sitting crossed legged against her bed, Marissa wouldn't look away from me.
"I'll come to find you in a few hours. So we can do what we briefly discussed last night." She smiled.
"Right." She meant Nick, or at least that's what I got out of it. We would tell him about what happened between us and I would try to read the situation. I was torn between wanting him to be happy and wanting to explore this new found attraction towards my best friend. I let myself out, walking to my bus in silence. Nick had been awake, going through his phone like yesterday.
"Morning."
"Morning." I smiled back.
"I didn't even know you left. Were you with Demi again?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "Marissa even dropped by from the city." I waved towards the door.
"You never use to spend so much time with Demi before. I mean, not since our earlier years."
"You told her to take care of me. So she is."
"Right." Nick's eyes were trying to find something in mine, a weakness of some sort. He stood, pacing towards me before holding me in a hug. He was so familiar to me. His touch, his smell, the way he nuzzled his scratchy chin against my neck. I squealed to get out of his grip, his lips kissing my forehead before I pulled away.
"I'm going to change."
"Okay." Nick watched as I stepped away, "I love you." I wouldn't say his words came out of no where, but they did send this chill through me. I prepared to say it back, knowing he wanted to hear it. But the words that came from me were...
"I know." I playfully smiled, leaving him to his own accord just as my phone buzzed on the dresser. I stepped over towards it, glancing at the photos sent to me. They were of Demi, posing and pointing toward the words I left over her skin. I giggled, as a few of them showed her trying to scrub the marker off. As I lowered my phone, shaking my head at the woman's actions, I could hear my tour bus door slam. Confused, I peer out and find Nick storming towards Demi's vehicle. I didn't try to stop him, knowing he must have been mad at me and was going to her about it. But then again, something didn't feel right about his actions.