You were sitting at a small table enjoying a nice date with your boyfriend. He could've chosen a better location than a dingy karaoke bar, but you were just happy to be able to spend time with him. “Do you like the food babe?” he asked while grabbing your hand. You were about to answer him, but loud cheers suddenly distracted you.
You turned your head to look at the stage and almost spit your water out at what you saw. “Is that Demi Lovato? What's she doing here?” your boyfriend asked excitedly. “I-I don't know.” Luckily he wasn't the smartest person on the planet, so he didn't pick up on your nervous tone. You weren't exactly lying. While you didn't know why she was here, you definitely knew her more than everybody else in the room.
Before getting with your boyfriend, you had an intense relationship with Demi. It was kept behind closed doors, which was the primary reason you ended it. Demi had refused to go public and that wasn't okay with you. You wanted the world to see the love you shared with her. But you had a good relationship now, so you shook your head to clear your mind and instead focused on what Demi was doing. She didn't make any introductions before starting to sing.
“I don't have much to give, but I don't care for gold
What use is money, when you need someone to hold?
Don't have direction, I'm just rolling down this road
Waiting for you to bring me in from out the cold”
You wanted to look away but before you could, Demi looked in your direction and made eye contact with you. You took a sharp breath at the look in her eyes. They were dark and full of emotions that you couldn't decipher. She didn't look away as she continued singing.
“You'll never know the endless nights, the rhyming of the rain,
Or how it feels to fall behind and watch you call his name”
You swallowed hard finally recognizing the song. “Damn she's a hottie” your boyfriend muttered. You kicked him under the table, glaring at him to make him shut up. You refocused on Demi and prepared yourself for the next lines.
“Pack up and leave everything,
Don't you see what I can bring
Can't keep this beating heart at bay
Set my midnight sorrow free,
I will give you all of me
Just leave your lover, leave him for me.
Leave your lover, leave him for me”
Demi was singing with such emotion that you found your eyes tearing up. She always had a connection with whatever song she was singing and this time was no different. Did she really mean it though? Nobody had noticed that she had been staring directly at you because they were so star-struck. You realized that she had been playing the same notes over again but hadn't started singing again.
She was crying. Or she was about to. Her eyes were slamming shut and she was chewing on her bottom lip, her tell tale sign of when she was crying. You couldn't take it anymore. “I'm really sorry but I have somewhere to be” you told your boyfriend before getting up. The scraping of your chair caused Demi to open her eyes, and she watched you walk out of the bar.
You walked to the back alley where the exit from the stage was. Leaning against the wall, you took a deep breath of the cool night air. Demi would probably try and be professional by finishing the rest of the song, meaning you had a few minutes to get your emotions in check. You closed your eyes and tried to focus on your breathing.
“Hey” a soft voice said. You opened your eyes and looked down at her feet. “Why did you do that?” you whispered. She moved closer to you, moving her hand towards you but stopping before she could make contact. “Because a few months ago I made the biggest mistake of my life. I had a perfect relationship but I ruined it all because I was scared of what everybody would think of me. I haven't stopped thinking of her since, realizing how stupid I was. Why should what anyone else thinks matter to me?”
You blinked away a few tears, refusing to let your emotions get the best of you. “You hurt me so much. Demi this is so unfair...” you trailed off, not knowing how else to put it. She finally put her hand on your arm, soothing you with her thumb. She didn't speak. You appreciated that, because every word counted right now.
“I meant it all you know.” You bit your bottom lip. She was putting you in a really complicated situation and no matter what choice you made, someone would end up getting hurt. “I'd tell everybody this time. You're so beautiful and you deserve to be flaunted. I was scared but also selfish. I didn't want anybody else to see what I had. But if you just give me a second chance I swear I won't be that stupid again.”
You knew exactly what you had to do now. Demi was the love of your life and your boyfriend was just a rebound. If you said no right now that would make you the stupid one. You looked into Demi's eyes again and saw that they were hopeful yet scared.
“I guess I'll have to go and leave my lover now.” She broke out into a large grin, pulling you towards her so she could kiss you. It was just like you remembered her kisses: absolutely perfect. “Go ditch his ass. I'll be waiting for you in my car.”
Song: Leave Your Lover by Sam Smith