~ Selena ~
I had completed my second set list minutes ago. We had just taken an intermission and were all enjoying our small downtime. Demi had dove into her dressing room, shutting it tight with Kevi, Trevor and Matthew locked inside with her. They were prepping for the finale of the show, so I gave them their space.
"What are they possibly doing in there?" Marissa scoffed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.
"You need to chill." Taylor told the younger woman.
"You need to mind your own business, Blondie." Marissa snapped back as I cleared my throat. The two women faced me, as I shied away from their shared glares, grabbing a pickle to snack on. The dancers stormed into the room behind us, quickly gobbling down food and chugging back water.
"Hey, have you seen Robert?" Melissa, my back-up singer and dancer wondered. I had faced her, trying to answer but stood between chewing what was left of the green vegetable. "Yes, no?"
"I haven't."
"Well he's been missing the entire show." Melissa informed me, passing by with nothing else to go on.
"That must be a normal thing around here." Marissa passed by Taylor, taking my side. "People seem to go missing."
"Maybe I should ask Demi." My words were masked by the large steel door opening, hitting the back wall before it closed once again. Practically everyone jumped as we focused in on the culprit. It was Nick, back for a second round of manipulating I suppose. But I wasn't having it, staring him down as Taylor now joined Marissa and I.
"Ladies." His words were slurred, almost as if he had been drinking. The venue did serve alcohol, so maybe that's what he had been up to for these past hours. Because he definitely wasn't backstage.
"Have you been drinking?" I questioned.
"A little. I wanted to talk to you."
"Not like that you don't." Marissa chimed in, placing herself slightly in front of me.
"Selena." Nick was trying to use that same tone I've come to know. But before he could say anything else, Taylor took him away, coaching him by whispering things I couldn't make out.
"So what are you and Demi going to do about him?" Marissa faced me.
"I don't know."
"Well you better figure it out, because he's still all caught up in you." She waved her hand around, sizing me up as I swatted her away. "I'm going to need you to 'not' do that." Another few minutes had rolled on by just as the television screen lit up. The show would end with Demi taking her last few songs and filling the stage with music. We were about three minutes until the countdown was over. Taylor had left Nick sitting on one of the couches in back.
"So, are we going to watch Demi's performance? Because I'd prefer not to." My friend truthfully told me as I smirked.
"I'm going. Besides, it's the last night on tour. Why not end it with a bang."
"What does that even mean?" The woman questioned as I faced the room.
"Everyone, well, my team. Let's end this night with one final prank, shall we?!" I happily strolled on over towards the food table, grabbing a canister of whipped cream as my dancers took notice. Some grabbed fruits, others grabbed whatever they could.
"Um." Marissa blocked the door. "What are you lunatics going to do with that crap?"
"Everyone." I glanced back towards the group of people behind me.
"Food Fight!" They all belted as I giggled and nodded.
"You people would." The woman scoffed, stepping aside as we hid the items behind our backs as we made our way towards the rear of the stage. Just as the countdown neared its end, Trevor was seen pacing down the hall. Followed by Matt, and then Kevi.
"Where's Demi?" I questioned just as they stepped aside, the brunette was just a few feet behind, sporting her black spandex one piece, covered with a white vest. Her hair messily pulled to one side.
"That's my best friend." Marissa cheered as Taylor and I faced her. "Oh don't give me that look, you get to see her naked." She playfully scolded as I covered my face.
"Please stop talking." I mumbled through my hands.
"Oh that makes you uncomfortable, you two making out makes me uncomfortable." Marissa happily pulled Demi into an embrace as I groaned.
"Does she even have a filter?" Taylor wondered as I shrugged. Demi hadn't glanced my way, whispering to her friend who gave a gentle nod before they separated. Marissa had rejoined us just as Demi took the stage. I was weary on what the woman next to me was going to say, but surprisingly enough, she stayed silent.
The stage lit up. Music began to play and everything went full speed ahead once again. Fans cheered. The placed roared. I enjoyed the energy I often received from the amount of joy and excitement which welled up within the place. But what caused me to smile that evening was the fact that my heart was happy. Although I knew that there were still things I would have to work on and try to fix or even understand about myself and my past relationship, I was content on moving forward.
"Follow me." Marissa finally spoke up, pulling my whipped cream can from my fingers and handing it to Taylor. We pushed our way beyond the black curtain and stood off to the side of the stage. I was confused on what we were doing there, but basked in the fans singing along to Demi's songs. But the second I thought she was going to wrap up, I had realized that she hadn't sung the song she had written.
"She's going to sing a raw song as a finale?" I was surprised to say the least as Marissa latched onto me, her arm wrapping around my shoulder.
"You worry too much."
"I don't worry enough." I studied her arm. "What's going on?"
"Shush!" She instructed just as Demi stripped off her guitar, and the boys made their way onto the stage behind her. The crowd fed off of their appearance, screaming and squealing as loud as they could just as Demi happily pulled her microphone up into her hands.
"So I know this is supposed to be my final song and all that." She shrugged as everyone 'awed' her gesture. "But I thought, why not perform something special for you guys here in LA." Her words caused an uproar of support before she spoke once again. "Now I don't know if you guys have ever heard of Cheat Codes." They screamed again, as if everything she said had to be filled in with constant cheers. "They came to help me write this song this morning, so its not perfect, but I think it has great potential."
Marissa began to happily shake me as I finally pulled away from her. I could see what was going on and I wasn't too sure if I wanted to be a part of this. If they thought that they could prank me before I could prank them, they had another thing coming. But as Demi continued to pace the stage, high fiving fans just before facing the guys, I sensed something different completely.
"We wrote this song because I needed her to hear me out." I caught her brown eyes darting in our direction, her smile evident as she faced the crowd.
"She wrote me a song?" I whispered, as the woman next to me mumbled.
"She surly did. You're welcome."
"I can't handle you right now." I focused ahead at my friend on stage. She closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. It was always a sight to see her get into the zone. The arena went silent before someone shouted how much they loved her. Demi smirked, whispering into the microphone.
"I love you more." She pointed out as a few people laughed. The air in the arena was thick yet bearable. I think it was so heavy because I heard the song she had written, and the lyrics were very sexual in nature.
"Please don't sing that song." I found myself squirming as Marissa happily clapped. The second the guys began to play their instruments, the entire space felt different. The lights dimmed in some areas before blue and purple spotlights were added. I had braced myself for the words that would drift from the woman's lips.
"Cutting me up like a knife and I feel it,
Deep in my bones.
Kicking a habit I love even harder,
You oughta know."
This wasn't 'Body say,' I hadn't heard this song. It was new, catchy. Marissa practically lit up as her friend took the stage and dominated it.
"I just wanna' dive in the water with you,
Baby we can't see the bottom,
It's so easy to fall for each other..."
Demi faced our little hidden corner, her voice never missing a beat. I could feel myself breathing in the energy from the room.
"I'm just hoping,
We catch one another."
It was as if she was pleading to me through song about our constant back and forth struggles. My heart sort of filled with this overbearing happiness as I rolled my eyes. Demi's smile caught me off guard as she refaced the crowd. Trevor stepped ahead, taking Demi's side.
"Oh Na Na,
Just be careful,
Na na,
Love ain't simple,
Na na,
Promise me no promises."
The fans found themselves bouncing and jumping as the lyrics were sung. They were catchy enough to grasp the chorus in one go, as a few of them began to sing along. But I on the other hand, couldn't process where this smile had came from that crawled against my cheeks. The guys strummed along and played their instruments as Demi continued to work the stage.
"Baby I think about you and I feel it,
Deep in my heart."
I study the woman in front of me, her hair brushing against her cheeks as her eyes find mine once again. I'm surprised no one had noticed us off to the side of the stage.
"Maybe we just ain't meant to be something,
Maybe we are."
I could feel myself getting caught up in the moment, a small lump forming in my throat as the group continued to play along. Marissa was at my side once again, her hands against my shoulder. I wanted to shrug her off but ignored the gesture, gazing over at Demi as Trevor began to pick up the notes once more. The second he stopped singing, everyone began to play their instruments as Demi faced me. This time she turned completely towards Marissa and I.
"What is she doing?" I faced the woman at my side.
"She's coming over here."
"What?" I found myself panicking. "Why?"
"Because you're standing here, duh. You need a lesson in romance." The brunette turned blonde sighed in my ear. Trevor's voice picked up once more as Demi stopped directly in front of us.
"Thanks Rissa, I think I've got this." Demi placed her mic to her side, her eyes finding mine as her smile caught my attention.
"What are you doing?"
"So I know that dating is off the table right now, which is completely fine by me. It's not like I've been waiting my entire life for you or anything." She smirked, "but I want you to do something for me." Trevor repeated his last few lines once again.
"I just wanna' dive in the water,
But baby we can't see the bottom,
I just wanna' dive in with you,
I just wanna' lie here with you."
"Go out on stage with me." Demi placed her hand before me, never losing her gaze. My heart was literally caught in my throat. My body felt warm and fuzzy yet I was paralyzed by the uncertainty of it all. "Step out on the edge with me." As the guys began playing their instruments once more, I took in a deep breath, sliding my fingers between Demi's as she happily scrunched up her nose. Her freckles slowly taking place before she stepped back as I followed. Fans weren't quite sure what I was doing out on stage, but screamed and went wild over seeing us together none the less. It was rare to see Demi and I in the same place even though we were on tour together. The brunette rose her microphone back up to her lips.
"Oh Na Na,
Just be careful,
Na na,
Love ain't simple,
Na na."
The guys and Demi were completely in tuned.
"Promise me no promises." She studied me. I finally think some fans caught on and went into a uproar of joy. I wasn't quite sure how everyone felt. Standing before me, once again, was Demi in her purest state. Her most comfortable state. When she was just being herself.
"Promise me." Demi's voice belted over that of the guys, her fingers squeezing mine as fans chanted 'promise, promise.' It was a weird, electrical and scary feeling to stand in front of thousands of people, and have your heart on your sleeve. I could feel the song coming to an end. The chants from the crowd echoing through the air as I found myself shyly closing my eyes before nodding. I swear if you'd walk into any situation like this someone would think we'd be getting married. I smirked before opening my eyes, finding my face cupped between the woman's hands. As the confetti from above began to burst from the ceiling and my team ran out onto the stage with their unnecessarily massive amounts of food items, Demi studied me. Her microphone was cool against my cheek as she struggled to keep it clutched between her hand. Without question, without reserve and without regret, I leaned into the brunette and kissed her.
It felt as if I was doing this for the first time. The space seemed to have deafened around us. My cheeks became warm. My spine tingled. My heart jumped. I lost myself in Demi's soft lingering kiss just as I felt someone run up to me, hugging my waist. I pried myself away from my friend to find her younger sister holding onto me. Demi burst into laughter just before Taylor handed me the whip cream.
"I'm so sorry." I told Demi, spraying the stuff in her hair as she stumped.
"How dare you." She snatched the can, quickly turning it back on me. "Madison, hold her down." As her sister did as she was told, I could feel the streaming caked up substance run against my cheek. She literally sprayed a small amount against my skin as I rolled my eyes.
"You're so bad at this." I reached for the can once more before Demi quickly licked my cheek.
"Or am I?"
"You're so dead." I shouted, just as Taylor came to my rescue, scooping up Madison before we all found ourselves in an all out war on stage. Food flew everywhere. Confetti began to mix in and we were definitely causing a mess. Fans tried joining but were quickly stopped by the massive amount of security trying to protect all of us. My mom ran out onto the stage, followed by Phil and Demi's parents and other older crew members. They chased us all backstage as I held my chest before laughing.
Tonight was the last night that I would take the stage with these people as a whole. It was the last night I would have so many personalities in one place all at the same time. As we all grabbed towels to clean up with, my mom made it over towards me. I faintly smiled before lowering my head.
"So you and Demi?" She questioned.
"You're not mad about what just happened out there, right?"
"The food was a surprising touch." My mom had a small amount of yellow substance clinging to a stand of her hair. "We should discuss this. The three of us." My mom signaled towards my friend in the corner.
"But I really don't want to talk about it." I groaned.
"Make that four people." Diana, Demi's mom added herself into the mix. I complained even louder, causing the brunette to notice. She strolled over towards us.
"She belongs to me right now." She declared to our parents. "You can finish your conversation later."
"Which will include you as well." Diana called to us as we strolled down the hall. Taylor, Marissa, Melissa, Trevor, Matthew, Kevi and all of our dancers followed us down the hall.
"My team totally won Prank Wars." I announced as Demi rolled her eyes.
"I'll allow you to win this time, because you're cute."
"Don't downplay my victory." I pulled away crossing my arms as we all ended up in our own respective places. I joined Demi in her dressing room, knowing that Mary and Lisa would pack up my clothes for me. Taylor stood near the door as Marissa took place among Demi's makeup chair.
"I'll never forget tonight." Marissa roared. "Never."
"Neither will I. I can't unsee those two making out." Taylor had been finally talking to the other woman for a change.
"I just wish someone would help me pack my wardrobe." Demi studied us as I joined her side.
"You're cute when you're upset." I smirked.
"I'm always hella' fine." She countered.
"No wonder you and Marissa are friends." I poked her side before rolling my eyes.
I couldn't of written this chapter weeks ago. Whereas I was going to use 'Body Say' and it would of been completely different. I have a new use for that song. I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter. Just a few left to go. So sad to see it ending, but knowing more exciting stories are to come. To those who've read, reviewed and voted for this story, thanks a million. I love you guys. One vote, one review, heck, even one read fuels the next chapter, so thanks again.