Butterfly Guitar, Ch. 1 (A Demena RPF)
I pretty much decided that I needed to post something. Because I haven't in like a month. Actually wanna make this one multi-chapter. God knows if I'll actually be able to do it.
Title: Butterfly Guitar (Chapter 1)
Rating: PG-13 for now
Summary: Selena works in a coffee shop owned by Joe Jonas, and one night, a young performer by the name of Demi makes an appearance.
Pairing(s): Demi Lovato/Selena Gomez; one-sided Nick Jonas/Selena Gomez; eventual Joe Jonas/Nick Jonas
Disclaimer: I own nothing of which I write about, except the plot, the universe in which this takes place, and the name The Bean Scene.
The first time I saw her, she tripped over her guitar. She was walking in through the back door from the alley with her acoustic in her hand, grinning like a wild idiot. She tripped over her loose strap that was trailing on the ground and went flying. I went to help her up, giggling without trying to hide it. I picked up the dropped acoustic, and smiled even wider at the butterflies that were carved carefully into the wood.
I fell in love with her that second.
After her open-mike performance, we stayed up late, drinking coffee on the couch out front and talking. I shooed all the customers away and swore up and down to Joe, my boss, that I'd close up. I locked the door, poured her a cup of coffee, and we talked.
She told me her name was Demi.
The next time I saw her was a few weeks after that. After much pleading and begging, The Bean Scene was hosting another open mike night for aspiring young artists. I couldn't get my hands on Joe's roster, so unfortunately I didn't even know if she was coming. I waited all that day, spilling coffee on customers and forgetting orders like the nervous wreck that I was.
But in she walked at around 7:30, grinning once more and this time keeping her guitar slung over her back. My heart leapt to my throat as I waved her in.
"Selena!" she said, waving back to me. "Man, I need to give you my number, I haven't seen you in weeks!"
"I know," I giggled. "Where have you been? Leavin' me all alone with coffee and Joe and Joe's brother who flew in 3 days ago. He's in love with me or something. It's creepy."
Demi feigned offense at this. "Uh oh, you haven't been able to keep the guys off you since I haven't been here to fend them off have you?"
I shook my head as both of us broke down into laughs.
"Sel! Hello? Working? Double-shot espresso?" Joe called from behind the counter in his "I'm pretending to be an annoyed boss" voice. I looked back and stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and went back to pouring coffee into cups. I grinned, triumphant.
"I can't believe you treat your boss like that," Demi said, looking worried.
"Psh, Joe needs me more than I need him," I scoffed, moving around her to glance around at the tables, making sure no customers were planning a revolt against me. "Besides, I've known him for like 5 years, he wouldn't toss me out on the streets."
Demi laughed once more, her glow seeming to get brighter and brighter. I smiled back at her. I couldn't help it, she was contagious. "Well, listen, I gotta go set up before I go on," she said, motioning over her shoulder at the stage where the other musicians were gathering. "But, I'll meet up with you afterwords, kay?"
I nodded and wished her luck, before turning my attention back to Joe. I went to help him deliver his current stack and then moved to wipe down the counter and pour some woman her black coffee.
I stumbled over everything I did the rest of the night. It was funny that earlier I had been wishing so hard for her to show up, hoping that would calm the nerves I had been having all day. However, now that she really was in the building, her presence took over my being. I made even more mistakes. I waited all night for Joe to tell me he was taking away my paycheck or something.
I was pretty much completely useless when Demi was playing. She only did 5 songs, all soft and acoustic, but she stopped my heart. I leaned on my elbows at a back table where no one had occupied. I ignored Joe's hisses to return to the counter. I let her voice completely take me over. It was silly, I thought, to be suddenly so controlled by this complete stranger. By this woman.
At around 9, Demi mosied over to where I was clearing a table. I wiped spilled cream off the wood and placed the mugs on the tray I remember to carry over. "Hey girlie," she said with a grin.
I jumped, of course, almost dropping the mugs. "Gosh I didn't hear you!" I said, placing a hand over my rapidly-beating heart.
She said nothing to this, but instead sat down at the table I had just cleaned. Demi cleared her throat, before saying, "I'm ready to order."
I raised my eyebrow, resting one end of the tray on my cocked hip. "Oh, you are? Well, what is the pretty lady having?" I smirked as a soft blush hit her cheeks.
"I'll take two of your favorite drink." Whoa, was she flirting? That's like totally casting a line, isn't it?
"Coming right up, miss," I said, walking away, and being sure to sway my hips as I went.
I made up a couple of lattes, temporarily too flustered to remember what my favorite drink was. When I returned to her table with them 5 minutes later, she had a pad of paper laid out, a pen in her hand. She tapped it thoughtfully on the wood. I cleared my throat, setting the drinks down. She looked up, surprised. She must have really been absorbed.
"Your lattes, miss."
"Why thank you, they look delicious," Demi said, reaching for one. She took a sip, smiling as the warm liquid went down her throat. "Oh, silly me, I seem to have ordered two! But there's only one of me!" she pretended to knock herself in the head. "Waitress, you wouldn't want to sit and drink the other with me, would you?"
I rolled my eyes up, pretending to be heavily contemplating. "Well...I guess I could handle that."
I sat down with her, untying my apron and placing it over the back of my chair. "Can we stop this now?" I asked with a laugh as I sipped my latte. She nodded her agreement. "You were really great tonight," I said.
The blush on her cheeks returned. "Thanks, Selena..."
We drank the rest of our coffees in a comfortable silence, every once in a while grinning stupidly at each other. Man if I hadn't known better, I would have definitely thought of this as a first date. Unfortunately...I really did know better.
At around 10, she stood to leave as the crowd in the shop began to thin out. We were open for another hour, but not many people want to hang out in a coffee shop that late on a Friday, especially when the entertainment had already finished. "Hey...You wouldn't want to go do something would you? I mean, if you can get off..." she said, playing with the strap on her guitar case as she looked down.
"You mean, when I get off," I said, glancing over my shoulder at Joe. He was bent over an open notebook with a pencil. Perfect, once he started working on songs he was mentally checked out for the night anyway. I brought my apron over to the counter and tossed it in the back, quickly grabbing my jacket. "Hey, Joe, I'm gonna head out with Demi, okay?"
He barely noted my presence, just a quick nod and a "sure". I turned to leave and was halfway out the door when I heard him call out, "You better be on time tomorrow, Sel. I'll tell Nick where you live! And he'll be there with flowers in 20 minutes! Don't think I won't!"