What's my hand without your heart to hold?
Setting: Duff Cake Mix, Los Angeles, California
It was Trey. Tremaine Neverson was standing in front of her in the bakery that she had begged him to go to a million times holding the hand of some other girl, a girl that wasn't her but had the privilege of holding hands with the love of her life. Demi couldn't even think about ordering. She felt her mouth open but she closed it in the same second and just stared at the two of them, standing there in front of her, holding hands...
"Hey."
Trey was the first one to speak, causing her eyes to snap over to him. Hey. After six years that's all she was worth, that's all he could say. Hey. Not 'hey, I'm sorry for breaking your heart.' Not 'hey, I'm sorry for having sex with you knowing that I was planning to cut things off.' Not 'hey, I don't know how to live without you, I need you back.' Just hey, holding the hands of another girl.
"Hi," Demi responded, and the girl whose hand he was holding decided that she needed to join the party as well.
"Hi! I'm Cami, it's so nice to meet you! I'm honestly such a huge fan of your music," Cami gushed, reaching her hand out for Demi to shake, but the only thing Demi could do was look down at it then look at her.
Cami wasn't ugly. Of course, Trey had amazing taste in women; he dated her. She had long, straight deep brown hair that was parted down the middle. It really contrasted against her light blue almost grey eyes. She had a friendly smile, and she seemed so nice that Demi didn't want to hate her but how could she not? Cami was in the position that Demi so desperately wanted to be in. She wasn't about to be best friends with the girl.
"That's so cool," Demi half-heartedly said, because she didn't know how else to respond.
"Well, we'll let you order. Sorry for taking so long. Oh, by the way, I am so excited about your performance at the Grammys. And the fact that I get to see it live is just...amazing!"
That was what made Demi's heart stop. When her and Trey had first started dating it took them a whole year to walk the carpet together, to even attend an award show together and arrive in the same car. He couldn't have been dating Cami for more than two weeks, unless he had resorted back to his cheating ways, so how was he already taking her to the Grammy's?
"Oh, you're going?"
"Yeah, Trey invited me. I'm going to get the final touches done on my dress today. Hopefully we'll see each other there."
Demi forgot that to the world, her and Trey had just been boyfriend and girlfriend. Or maybe Trey had told Cami about their history. Either way, Cami had to know that they were together for six years and now they were broken up. Did she really think that Demi wanted to see her anywhere?
Before Demi could say anything, Maddie came up next to her, and once she saw Trey there her eyes widened.
"I just remembered I have some homework to get done. Can we go?" Maddie said as soon as she noticed the look on her sister's face.
"Yeah..."
"See you Sunday!" Cami said before Maddie and Demi could leave. Demi shot her a grimace before abruptly exiting the shop with trembling hands. Talk about a slap in the face.
Setting: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
"It sounds weird, like, during the bridge, I just don't think it sounds the way that it should," Demi said as she fixed her glasses on her nose and stared at Steve, her music director.
The Grammy's were literally tomorrow so tonight was their last night to rehearse and really fix things before the final practice tomorrow. In a way, Demi was glad for the distraction but by the same token she knew that tomorrow would be the day that she would see Trey with his new girlfriend and a million speculations about why they had broken up and what had happened would start, and she just wasn't ready for all of that. She was nominated for three different categories yet all she could think about was seeing her ex-boyfriend – and current husband – with his new girlfriend.
Since seeing Trey with Cami and with the whole Odell drama, she had decided to perform "Tell Me You Love Me" instead of "Sorry Not Sorry." Jay was right. This was the Grammy's, and everyone knew that she could blow this song out of the water and that's exactly what she needed to do. It would be the perfect pick me up after seeing Trey with his new girlfriend and having to attend the ceremony alone. Kim wasn't going because Kanye was boycotting the whole thing, Kris was off in Paris for the weekend with Kendall, Khloe was with Tristan, Kylie was basically off in her own little world, and Demi didn't like Kourtney enough to take her. So, she was flying solo. She would've taken Maddie but Maddie didn't even like these types of things, and Eddie was with Dianna in Texas. Basically, everyone that she wanted to take was out during their own thing.
"Hey, Demi, one of the stagehands says that you have a delivery," Kelsey said as she approached the stage while looking at her phone.
"I didn't order anything," Demi replied, but Kelsey shrugged and pointed towards the exit.
With a roll of her eyes, Demi fixed her distressed Yeezy season two sweater that she was wearing and followed Kelsey towards the exit. She was positive she hadn't ordered anything considering the fact that she had been going over chords with the choir for the past hour. She wrapped her arms around herself as they approached the lobby, but as soon as she saw Odell standing there holding a bouquet of classic red roses and a Tiffany & Co bag, she turned on her heel, but Kelsey tugged her back.
"When I said lose my number, that meant leave me alone," Demi seethed as Odell shrugged with a playful smile on his face. He never took anything seriously.
"Technically, you're in my city. You could be stalking me for all I know," he chuckled, but once he saw that she wasn't laughing along like she normally would, he dropped his shoulders and stepped a little bit closer to her.
"I was out of line the other night. I should've never came onto you knowing how you still feel about Trey and I should've never said those things about you. I know you just needed a friend and I was an asshole who took advantage of that, but bottom line is, I want to be there for you whether you want to be more than friends or not, and I hope you can forgive me," Odell apologized, holding the roses and the bag out for her to take, which she did after a few beats of silence.
"Jewelry and roses. Your mother taught you well," Demi hummed as she opened the box that was inside of the bag to reveal a pair of classic diamond studs.
"How did you know I needed another pair?"
"You told me when I picked you up. You were complaining about wearing hoops because you lost your studs while you were moving your things from your house to Kris's," Odell responded, causing Demi to chew down on her bottom lip as she put the earrings back in the bag. The studs she had lost were ones that Trey had gotten her from Cartier for their one year anniversary, and now they were gone because she was the most disorganized person in the world.
"I forgive you even though you're even more of an asshole than Trey is," Demi huffed, causing Odell's beautiful smile to spread across his lips before he engulfed her in a hug.
"But you been knew that. And you love me anyway," Odell chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her small frame, and Demi let herself relax and sink into his embrace. It wasn't Trey, but for the time being, it would do.
"Okay listen to this one. 'I see people making fun of her outfit, but bitch it's Versace SSW 15 head to toe, love the boots btw,'" Demi cackled as she scrolled through her likes while sitting in the back of the Escalade with Odell.
They were a few minutes away from arriving at the Grammy's and after last night, Demi had decided to throw caution to the wind and invite Odell to go with her. Because if Trey could bring a girl to the Grammy's where he wasn't nominated and wasn't performing and was clearly just trying to prove to the whole world that he had moved on, couldn't she do the same? She couldn't ever see herself liking Odell the way he clearly liked her but she loved being friends with him and right now she just needed a friend. And if Trey happened to get pissed off, she didn't care. Maybe he would finally get to feel the way she felt about him moving on after them being truly broken up for only two weeks.
"When was that?"
"SNL. Wait listen to this, 'Demi and Katy will tagteam Selena and Taylor...who will win? I feel like Demi has hands tbh.' Then this girl responded, 'her name is Demetria Devonne. With a name like that she better be able to throw hands,'" Demi laughed before she exited out of the Twitter app and locked her phone.
"Your life would probably be so different if you went by Demetria," Odell hypothesized as Demi playfully nodded along.
"Totally. I would be a billionaire instead of a millionaire," she joked, feeling the car slow to a stop, causing the rate of her heart to pick up.
Not only was she about to walk the Grammy red carpet, but her dress was completely see through and kind of held together by a single thread, she was nominated for three different awards, she was performing, and she was going to see Trey – again – while she was with his best friend. No big deal. If she could make it through tonight she could make it through anything.
After performing and changing into her third dress of the night, it was time for them to announce Best Pop Vocal Album, which was what she was nominated for, and it was also the award she wanted the most. Best Pop Solo performance was later on in the show, but honestly if she won just one award, she would be satisfied. She wasn't being greedy, just one, that's all she wanted.
"And the winner of Best Pop Vocal Album is..."
Odell held her hand as they watched Ariana Grande struggle to open the envelope. Demi was literally shaking and no matter how many yoga fire breaths she took, she couldn't calm down.
"Tell Me You Love Me, Demi Lovato!"
Odell stood up before she did and then she heard all of the cheers and the claps around her and realized that she had won. She had just won her first Grammy. Finally, after snapping back into reality, she let Odell hug her and then she smiled at all of her peers as she made her way to the stage. Ariana engulfed her in a huge hug and kissed her cheek before she was handed her award and it was time to speak. But she had no idea what to say.
"I think I was a completely different person when I started to create this album and I think that's the great thing about music. As we change and evolve, it evolves and changes with us. This is all I've wanted for so long and..."
Demi lost her train of thought as her eyes swept over the audience and she saw Trey sitting there right next to Cami. Every time she had imagined this moment, Trey had been right there next to her. He had helped her learn so much about herself and that all contributed to who she was, so she couldn't imagine accepting an award like this without him. But now, she couldn't celebrate and cherish this moment with him because they were over. They were through. And the fact that they were here tonight with two different people sitting in two different sections just solidified that.
"And now it's finally here and it feels so surreal. I can't even begin to thank everyone who has helped me along this journey. I don't even have to say your names because you know who you are. Thank you," Demi shot the audience one last smile before she was escorted off stage.
As soon as she made it backstage, Odell was waiting for her and he engulfed her in a huge hug. And she didn't want to cry because she had just won the one thing she had been wanting for so long, and she didn't want to spend this moment wishing that someone she couldn't have was with her.
Setting: The 40/40 Club, New York, New York
(Side note: I don't usually do this but look at her omg)
"100$ Bill" was playing throughout the club at Jay Z's official Grammy after party and of course Odell was loving it. He was doing an amazing job at keeping her distracted and laughing and happy. Something about his carefree nature made her want to be exactly like that, and made her let loose a little bit more as well. And she deserved to be carefree. She was 25 years old, she wasn't tied down to anyone, and she had just won two fucking Grammy's. She should be the most carefree person in the entire world right now. And that's how she felt as they partied in the VIP lounge with the likes of Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna, sharing shots, turning up to their favorite songs, and taking selfies that would hit 2 million likes in five minutes.
"I need some air," Demi said over the loud music, passing Odell her half empty glass before squeezing out of the VIP section to get to the private balcony. There was only one loner out there puffing on a cigarette so Demi took that opportunity to rest her elbows on the balcony and take a look at the beautiful city. A breath was all she needed, just a second to take a step back and appreciate everything in her life since she had been throwing the world's biggest pity party lately.
"Hey."
The familiar smell of Khiel's aftershave filled her nostrils as someone's arm brushed against her and she didn't have to look to see that it was Trey. How they always seemed to find each other was beyond her but once they arrived at the party, she didn't even consider the fact that Trey and Cami were probably gonna be there. But she couldn't live her life like that. Dipping and dodging events just because he was going to be there wasn't going to work for her. She had to move on. She didn't know how she was going to, but it had to be done.
"Congratulations on tonight. You looked stunning and your performance was phenomenal. I've never seen you sing that song like that before," Trey complimented as Demi played with the tennis diamond bracelet on her wrist.
"Guess I just needed the right inspiration. Thanks," Demi mumbled as Trey sighed and nudged her so that she would look at him.
"You broke up with me, Demi."
"Was I wrong, though? In that moment when I saw those DNA results...was I wrong, Trey?"
"No, you weren't, but you can't penalize me for moving on. We both fucked up..."
"No, where you fucked up is where you had sex with me knowing that you were going to break things off and then getting a new girlfriend and showing her off to the entire world two weeks later. That's where you went wrong," Demi hissed as tears gathered in the bottom of her eyelids.
"Look, today has been an amazing day for me. Clearly, whatever we had wasn't worth much considering how quickly you were able to toss me to the side and move on. I hope Cami makes you happy."
"Oh, we're about to play that game as if you're not fucking around with my best friend? As if that's not one of the reasons why we broke up?"
"I'm not. And I never have. But maybe I will. If you can move on, why can't I? Like I said, I hope you're happy. I'll always love you and as much as I just want to sit around and wait for you to realize that there's no one else on this Earth who can make you feel the way I make you feel, who can love you and support you like I do, that you're my soul mate and I don't want to let you go...I can't live like that. So, for the last time, I hope Cami makes you happy, because clearly from the way you've moved on I never did," Demi mumbled the last part before she turned on her heel and walked back into the party. Once she found Odell she tugged him to the side and looked up at him.
"Can we go? I mean, if you want to stay longer, you can, but I just need to-"
Odell saw Trey coming back in through the balcony doors and nodded after sparing him a glance.
"We can go, come on."
Just gonna take a moment and say that I have absolutely no idea where this second part is going 😭 I was actually gonna end the story after the fight and just be petty and leave it like that but 🙄 anyway, we're all in this together and I greatly appreciate y'all reading this and leaving your comments 😬🤗