windows down and your favorite song [A DC Games Summer] Part Two
Title: windows down and your favorite song [A DC Games Summer] Part Two
Word Count: 11,920ish.
Characters: selena/nick, joe/demi, david henrie and more!
Rating: PG-13
Summary: This is a story of the kids at the 2008 DC Games. In case you don't remember, it was a summer of Nick and Sel, when Demi became a part of the group, when there were pictures of pool parties and man-hugs and other happy wonderful things.
-----
So maybe staying up until four wasn't the greatest idea when you have work at 7 A.M. Particularly when said work involves physical activity while smiling and laughing continuously. Nick can feel his muscles refusing to keep up with him, like there was some sort of anvil-leg transplant that went down last night that he wasn't aware of. They didn't get back later than 2 AM, but he and Joe had to analyze everything that happened last night and that, well, that took a while.
He was planning on hating on Joe about his ridiculous way of "helping" him out with Sel, but honestly, at this point he's just glad it happened. They talk about where he should take Selena tomorrow night and how chill she is and when Nick hints that maybe they could double date sometime, the conversation turns to Demi.
It's been happening a lot lately, those Demi conversations. He's not sure if it's just that they've been seeing her so much lately, or that Joe's just kind of slow, or it's always been there and Nick's never counted, but Joe's had his head filled up with just her recently.
"So what are you going to do when me and Sel are out?" Nick knows that Joe has other friends, but it's kind of weird--they're usually the ones hanging out so he just wants to make sure.
"Actually, me and Dem are having dinner while you two are canoodling." Joe says, relaxing into the bed, and turning over like he doesn't want to say much more.
"Wait, you're going on a date with Demi?" Nick can't figure out why he hasn't brought this up earlier; usually when Joe lands something like this, he hears about it via screaming and Joe jumping on his back. Yeah.
"It's not a date, Nick," Joe says in this snarky voice, "After you two made a public announcement of your date--" and at this point, Nick wants to inject that it wouldn't have been public if Joe had kept his mouth shut but, "---Demi and I figured we should just hang out when you two are gone. So we're watching a movie in her room tomorrow night."
"It sounds like a date to me, Joe" and Nick can't help smiling and he rolls to the edge of his bed to poke Joe's arm across the bedstand, "how cuuute."
"Shut up, Nick," Joe groans and rolls over, and Nick's pretty sure the conversation is over. He closes his eyes and flips over so he's staring out their balcony window. It's quiet for a while and all he can hear is his breath and Joe's on the other side of him.
Nick's body begins to fall asleep and his mind is already fuzzing out, so he's not quite sure that he really hears what Joe says but someone says quietly next to him,
"It's not a date because I never asked her. I never asked."
The games the next morning go alright. He feels like kind of a prick for saying this, but he's not the biggest fan of his team. Brenda's really cool and so are a few of the guys, but besides that, the rest could care less about actually maintaining some kind of rep at the games. Like, obviously chariot racing is not a real sport but that doesn't mean Mitchel has to make some stupid comment about how "gay" it is for them to be doing it. They end up losing the next few events afterwards and even though it's not really Mitchel's fault, Nick feels like blaming him anyways.
They break for lunch and even though no one's filming anymore, they end up eating as teams. Nick would much rather just go eat with Joe and David or Kevin and Selena or Alyson and Dem or ...anyone besides his team, really, but all the other groups seem to be having exclusive team meetings and Nick's not going to be the one to make it look like his team's not good enough for team meetings.
"Alright guys, team meeting."
It's like he's from another planet when he says that. Jason and Mitchel stop mid conversation and Jason does some stupid snort thing like he's not sure whether Nick's joking or not. Anna Maria and Jasmin have gone to the bathroom together or something because they weren't even at the table anymore, and it seems like Jake Austin is the only one who actually thinks this is a good idea.
"Yeah, dude. Let's discuss some strategy!" The kid is nice, Nick thinks. He's actually kind of glad that Jake's, like, thirteen or something because him and Selena are close in that we're-like-siblings-but-more way and it's kind of disconcerting. She has that relationship with David too, but Dave's too ADD girl-wise for him to be much of a threat. So.
"Okay," Nick says, ignoring the fact that it's pretty much Jake and Brenda, who seems to be listening more out of obligation than choice, that are involved. They start discussing the games and about halfway through it somehow switches to the baseball draft picks for 2008 and about ten minutes of that, Brenda not so subtley mentions that if they don't stay on topic, then she's definitely not staying. Nick's pretty sure they need at least three team members for this to look like a legitimate team huddle, so they switch back on topic. Him and Jake start drawing up orders for the hula hoop challenge and even though they're in the middle of a plastic overhang mapping out plans for a fake sport on napkins not the MBA, he likes to pretend that he can always do that later, join the MBA that is. That there will always be time for something else.
He told Selena not to get too dressed up or anything because they'd just be going to dinner, and he meant it. Usually his dates aren't just dinner, but Selena's different for some reason. He's pretty relaxed and just doesn't feel the need to go all out like he did with, well, others, and even though he hasn't decided whether that's a good or bad thing yet, it is what it is. He puts on a pretty normal plaid shirt and jeans and he's kind of grateful that he didn't bring much more than gym shorts to the games and doesn't have the chance to obsess even if he wanted to. He does have a bottle of hair gel though and when he sits down on the dresser in front of the mirror with the bottle half an hour before he's supposed to meet Selena in the lobby, Nick knows he's just asking for crap.
Joe doesn't dissapoint. "Nicky, I'm sure if Selena wanted Jimmy Neutron hair she would have made a special request."
"You never know," he replies sarcastically, squeezing out a blob onto the palm of his hand. "Don't you have a date with Demi to worry about?"
"Dude, why do you think I'm making so many sandwiches? Actually---don't answer that. And it's not a date, so you can stop calling it that."
"Joe, you and Dem are doing the same thing me and Selena are doing. Just plus movie and a hotel room. So less classy," Nick smirks and he can see Joe tense up with his buttering of the sandwiches because, yeah when you put it like that.
"Dude!" Joe chucks the peanut buttery spoon across the room and it gets this close to his hair and Nick can't help but laugh and be simultaneously grateful for Joe's bad aim. He doesn't really have time to redo his hair.
Nick twists one of the curls in front and hops off the dresser to wash his hands in the kitchen. Joe's taking some strawberries out of the can and arranging them in some stupid shape on Demi's sandwich and Nick thinks its ...different. It's not that Joe ignored Taylor or anything, he just never made her sandwich faces or anything. Joe's only like this with Demi and it's nice to see, that it's not something that he does with just every other girl.
Nick leans over Joe's shoulder squeezing it once for good luck (good luck for him or Joe, he's not really sure) before grabbing his wallet off the counter.
"Alright dude. I'm sure me and Sel will drop by afterwards. Have fun on your date!"
Nick slams the door before Joe can even finish his sentence. "IT'S NOT A DA--." He could guess the ending.
Selena's waiting for him in the lobby when he steps out of the elevator at 6:59, and it shouldn't be a surprise, but it is, the whole girls-being-on-time thing. He's gotten kind of used to waiting for Miley at least fifteen minutes past designated date time, and having to make small talk with whoever's around and---he's got to stop comparing. Because even if this is a good comparison this time, it's not fair. To either of them.
It's not hard to stop thinking about, well, other people with the way Selena's looking at him. Her hair is wavy and soft looking and she's just wearing a simple pair of jeans and ballet flats and maybe it's the fact that Nick hasn't seen anyone dressed in anything but Soffe's but --he's having a hard time looking away.
"Hey," she says, giving him a hug as he walks up to the lounge chairs she's situated in. "How are you?" Selena says this with a huge grin on her face, like she's just genuinely happy to be there and Nick can feel himself grinning back. It wasn't hard to do around this girl.
"I'm great. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Nah, I just like being early for things," she smiles, standing up to go.
Nick laughs before helping her into her jacket. "Man, you are my type of girl."
Dinner is ...perfect. Really, it is. Maybe his expectations were low or something but Nick wasn't expecting to have this good of a time and he hasn't really eaten, if that's a judge of how much they're talking. For some reason, no matter how close they are to Demi, him and Selena never really started talking until this summer, and it's like there's just everything to talk about. They start off with the DC Games of course and Sel does this hysterical impression of Kevin but it's nice to see how close they are and Nick vents--just a little-- about how he wishes they could actually pick teams for games and then the conversation switches from that to summer then to life in general and it flows, just so so good.
"Wait, so you and David are really starting a band?"
"Oh, yeah," She says, and moves a piece of hair out of her face. Nick has this urge to tuck it behind her ear and is about to hold himself back, but wait--he's on a date with this girl. He goes for it, and he touches her cheek in the process and there isn't this burst of electricity or anything, but there is warmth, and she's like this fire on a freezing day or something cheesy like that. Selena blushes and it seems like she forgot what she's about to say and Nick smiles.
"-Umm, yeah. We just get so bored on set, so Dave's got the drums covered and Jake's actually really incredible at bass and Jenn and me are rocking this combo of lead singers and backup dancers." She giggles, and then--Nick's holding her hand under the table. Seriously, he doesn't even know where it's coming from but there's something about her that makes him want to be like this, but it feels comfortable, so he doesn't let go.
They sort of stop talking and the band in the back's switched to some cheesy slow song and people have started to get up to dance. Nick didn't really know the area that well and apparently he picked a place that's a hotspot for the, um, overaged. Grandparents were already slow waltzing across the floor in Sunday dresses and suspenders and it's kind of cute in this way that as long as you're not related it's fine. Plus, they haven't gotten recognized yet since these folks aren't really their demographic, so.
"Okay this is adorable," Selena's saying and tugging on his hand. And, oh crap, she's going to want to dance. Nick hasn't really thought this through yet, but all he knows is he doesn't dance and he doesn't really need that changing anytime soon. Selena's already stood up though and is saying things like "Alright, you picked the Lawrence Welk Show for a date, mister. You at least owe me a dance," and when girls mention Lawrence Welk in the same sentence as a dance offer, there's not much someone can do but stand up and say yes.
She's still holding his hand when she leads him to a corner of the floor, near some of the potted plants, but mostly away from the rest of the people. He wraps his arms around her waist and its so tiny that he has to pull her even closer just to feel like he's holding onto something. Her fingers twine around his neck and into the curls on his nape and he can feel her all the way down to his toes.
"Even the Lawrence Welk Show can be romantic sometimes," he says, his voice feels kind of loud. She leans back a little to look him in the eyes and smiles softly to say, "Okay, no." And just like that, he feels steady again.
He pulls her a little closer, tucking her hair behind her ear again, just to get her to look at him. She blushes, and buries her head in his shoulder.
"Maybe a little," she says, muffled in his shirt, the vibrations going up to the tips of his ears, but still reaching his stomach somehow. He laughs but it's kind of shaky and he can't even tell why, because he's been so so comfortable the entire night and all of a sudden he hears himself say,
"Can I kiss you?"
It's not head-over-heels romantic or anything, and he feels kind of stupid after asking, but she gives him this easy smile that relaxes him. Selena cocks her head to the side a little and Nick can feel himself leaning in, because yeah that was kind of a yes, but Selena pulls back.
"Nick, I don't kiss on the first date. It's just one of those rules." She's grinning at him and he's still holding her close enough to see the little glimmers in her lip gloss and the way her eyelashes are so thick that he can't even see her eyes the way she's looking up at him through them and all of a sudden, his confidence is back. Because this is Nick and Selena, not Nick and Miley or Nick and Jordan and things aren't complicated anymore; they just are.
So instead of hugging her and continuing to dance, Nick lets go of Selena. She looks kind of hurt, like he just hit a puppy dog, and Selena's about to play if off like it's no big deal, probably about to make a smart .comment about what just happened but, he takes her face in both of his hands.
"You know Sel," Nick says, and he can't help but smile, "I don't play by the rules."
They kiss and her hair is just as soft as Nick thought it would be and her lips are softer. They kiss and with the bluegrass band in background and Selena's hands on his chest, things feel easy and uncomplicated and all Nick can think about is how she's just what he needs.
-----
Joe doesn't really know what to wear, his hands are sweaty, and oh, he's feeling kind of like a girl. It's just that he has that "thing"with Demi tonight, is all. Nick called it a date earlier and Joe was quick to correct (and punch him in the arm) because he's pretty sure it isn't one, let alone if Demi wants it to be.
As far as he can see it, it's just two people watching a movie and eating dinner together. In a hotel room. And even though that does sound kind of incriminating, it really isn't all that. They'd planned the details over breakfast and it was decided that they'd use Demi's movies-on-demand and Joe would bring the food. He thinks he got the short end of the deal, but Joe figures that maybe bragging about his world renown sandwiches was not the best conversation topic before they laid out plans.
He rings the doorbell outside her hotel room, wearing a pair of black jeans and a yellow tshirt. In the ten seconds it takes Demi to answer, Joe has decided that he looks like a bumblebee or something that is equally inappropriate for a non-date. But by the time he's ready to run back to his room and change into something that resembles less of an insect, Demi's at the door.
She's in a pair of flannel pajamas and a black fitting tank top and her hair's still straight from shooting and all of a sudden, Joe's thinking about anything but leaving this room.
"Uh Joe? You planning on coming in? Or is this going to be one of those hallway picnics..those are just weird.."she grins at him, tugging his arm, pulling him into her room.
Demi's ihome is on in the background, playing some old Yellowcard song. It's all guitars and voices and it's simple and it's Yellowcard, so it's just...familiar.
"I thought we'd just have a pajama party kind of thing, but you clearly didn't check your phone before coming,"she says as they walk into the main room. Joe glances down at his phone and sees a few unread messages. Damn. That would've been useful to see before outfit choosing, he grimaces.
He rolls his eyes at her though and she smiles and it's like she's his comfort zone, he thinks. He can't remember why he was nervous in the first place.
''Um Dem, have you SEEN these sandwiches?'' He pulls the second plate which had doubled as a lid to reveal his creations. "I had no time for phone checking when these babies needed my time and attention.''
The sandwiches looked kind of plain now that he had talked them up, but he hopes that she will ignore it.
Yeah, she doesn't.
"Oh man, you did not cut these into triangles,'' she says, laughing down at the pieces in his hands.
"You bet," he smiles, taking off his shoes near the foyer. He hands a plate to Demi before collapsing on her bed. "Banana slices with no crust for the lady."
Her grin turns soft when he says that and her cheeks go pink, and he kind of wishes he had his Polaroid on him. "Thanks Joe."
He's pretty sure she said something after that but it's nothing he can focus on because her cheeks are still colored and her eyes bright and maybe,--he doesn't know--maybe he does want this to be a date. And maybe he wants there to be more than one date and maybe he wants--- he wants a lot of things now that he thinks about it. He can't let himself get too far ahead though, because bad things usually happen when he doesn't think his thoughts all the way through so instead of continuing that process, he says, louder than he intended, "So what are we watching tonight? Pretty in Pink? Miss Congeniality? Breakfast--"
"Friday the 13th sound good?" she interrupts laughing and Joe just grins because, this girl.
They fast forward through the plot parts because, really, who cares and rewind the gory parts a few (well, maybe five) times to laugh at the ridiculous special effects and pretend not to be scared at the parts that are just downright creepy. The movie's over pretty fast and they lay there for a while, picking sandwich crumbs off the plate, recapping the movie in that way that most people hate because it's like re-watching the thing, but it's the only way to do it, Joe thinks.
He glances around the room, briefly, wondering where to put his plate. The place is a total wreck, surprisingly. Clothes are strewn on chairs, tables, and when Joe's eyes finally find the kitchen, a few jeans even litter the vinyl flooring there.
"Dem, I know you're no Martha Stewart but we've only been here, like, two days and this place looks like a tornado zone."
"Dude I know,"she says, groaning. "It was all Selena. She was freaking out about what to wear for the date tonight."
Joe laughs like, oh, that wasn't him two hours ago and tries to imagine how the night's going for those two. Nick and first dates always end up being some over the top, Dawson's Creek-like scenario. He started Miley and him off with a date in Disneyland, and from helicopter rides to parasailing, things only got bigger. If Joe knew anything, Nick probably had some ridiculous ferris wheel or something installed at the restaurant, just because.
''Oh God, they're at dinner right now,"he groans. "Wonder how it's going.''
"Well," Demi says innocently and Joe can already tell he's not going to like where this is going.
"They're probably done eating by now and he's just told her that she looks beautiful and right around then, Nick'll lean in and---"
"Demi--EW. This is my brother we're talking about," Joe says, grimacing. Nick usually tells him the details afterwards, but God, not like this.
"and kisses her,"she continues unaffected, puckering her lips, as if he needs more of a visual or something. "And then, since it's going so well, they start full fledged making out--"
It's like Joe can't take it anymore, with her talking like this, being on a bed, and her being, just, being Demi, because all of a sudden, he's flipped himself on top over her, hovering over her body.
Demi stops talking mid-sentence and her eyes grow big and dark. ''Oh,'' she says.
Joe's not sure what that means, but his brain isn't in a state to analyze, so he kisses her full on the lips.
She tastes like peanut butter still and he can smell her strawberry hair and her flannel pants are rubbing softly against his stomach, where his shirt has ridden up. It's like kissing all of his favorite things, Joe decides, and it's like the best feeling in the world.
He relaxes off of his elbows for a second and kisses her deeper and her hands run through his hair, scraping his scalp just a little and he's smiling into the kiss because of how good it feels to just be. He lifts her tank top a little, thumbing her hipbone, right above her flannels and she shivers underneath him. He's just about to go a little higher--or lower, he hasn't decided yet, when she pulls away from him, gently pushing his body off hers.
She's pushing him away and it feels like someone poured ice water on him. It's cold and it hurts him so quickly that in that moment, all Joe can think about is getting out of the room as fast as possible. It doesn't matter that he can't seem to catch his breath or his shoes are the type you need to sit down and tie, he just has to get out.
that
Then Demi touches his face softly and says "Joe" in this way his stomach doesn't hurt as bad, so he stays.
He lifts himself off of her and they both sit, with their backs against the headboard not looking at each other. It's tense and off and Joe's not sure where he'd rather be: back on top of Demi or half way out the door.
She takes his hand and squeezes it and whispers hoarsely, "I want this, Joe. But I can't let Canada happen again. I just---"her voice cracks at the end and it's like someone suckerpunched him in the gut because it hurts to hear that, and then he realizes that it's him that brought this on her and ugh, it's like a double hit.
She glances over at him, as if waiting for an answer, so Joe closes his eyes. It's just, he has a hard time saying the right thing when she's this close, and he figures saying the right thing is pretty important at a time like this.
He never meant for it to come to this, honest to God. He wasn't just fooling around in Canada. Nick actually had to put a cap on the number of times he could say 'Demi' in a day because it got so bad by the end of those few months. He'd just never made it official with Demi and that was probably his first mistake in this whole thing, Joe figures. Because once he left set, nothing seemed certain with them , and he sure as hell didn't plan on being the clingy one if she didn't even think they were dating.
And then tour started, and at that point, Joe really didn't know what Demi was thinking. Things were back to normal for a little, with them hanging out after shows but there was always this weird something between them, like they were floating in space and something, like lack of gravity was stopping him from really being with her. And then, Joe met Taylor at a concert date and she was there and there wasn't any gravity holding him back with her. Besides, it's not like he was dating Demi or anything when Taylor first kissed him--it's just that him and Demi never dated, he finishes frustrated.
She was always there, though. Not in the physical sense like Taylor, but even without the gravity thing or whatever the hell it was (and he's not even sure what he's talking about anymore) but in a Demi sense. He wasn't a good unofficial boyfriend most of the time, Joe winces, thinking about how many times he might have mentioned Taylor in front of her, but Demi, Demi was the best not-girlfriend he could ask for. She picked up pieces after that breakup, after Nick had conceded the most ping pong wins his ego could take per day to him, she was there after the Frankie monkey bar scare, she was always there.
He could ask her out right now, Joe thinks, and he's pretty sure she'd say yes. They'd be happy for weeks, months, who knows how long they could go; hell, they've been practically dating this past year with few issues. Another thing Joe's sure of is that somewhere along the lines, he'd manage to screw it up. He's pretty good at that, he's discovered. And even though he usually wouldn't mind the imminent breakup that came after his regular fuck ups (usually a week of Flight of the Conchords and peanut butter cookies did it for him) it was Demi this time and since Demi was always there, he's not really sure either one of them could handle the aftermath.
Joe opens his eyes and for a second, lets them adjust to the hotel lights. Demi's looking at him, her back perfectly straight against the headboard, as if she's been sitting still this entire time.
"Thought you'd fallen asleep or something,"she laughs shakily, not quite meeting his eyes.
He doesn't respond, and instead pulls her into his arms, as close as possible. It's probably bad for her back to sit that straight, he figures. She relaxes a little, but refuses to put her head down, and it's like holding a strip of cardboard, which is awkward but Joe doesn't let go. She probably wants an answer. It's been a year in the coming, he thinks.
He shifts his body so that she's still close but that he can see her face better. She's still not meeting his eyes and he really needs her to understand what he's about to say, so Joe lifts her chin up with his fingers.
"Hey Dem? I like you. Like, really really like you," his voice coming out soft and quiet and low. And even though he knows what he needs to say, he hasn't exactly planned out the words yet, so he pauses to draw a breath.
Her eyes are still big and dark but there's something in them that wasn't there before and Joe hates it. It's like she's steeled herself for what he's about to say, and it's like she's done this before.
''I'd screw it up, Dem. You know I would, don't even try to deny it,"he says with a smile as she opens her mouth to interrupt.
''And this right here," he begins to gesture with his fingers to the two of them. He forgot how close their bodies were, though, and he accidently pokes her right in the chest.
Joe's horrified because this wasn't the best time to be feeling her up and he reaches out to pat her and then realizes what he was about to do and---Demi laughs out loud for a second. ''Alright, klutz,"she grins, and for a second she has this look on her face, like she's surprised that she's actually laughing right now.
"See?"he smiles, "I can't lose this. I need you around to make fun of me and watch scary movies with. You know Nick's a baby about them."
He leans in and kisses her on the lips softly when she doesn't say anything. He needed to feel that one last time, is all. Her eyes are still closed when he pulls away, so he thinks maybe she needed that too.
They sit there in silence for a little, the dvd's main menu still glowing on the television, replaying the same gory scene over and over.
"Can we just get off this bed?"Demi says, at last. ''I mean, no offense but..." Her kicking him off is probably the best sentence he's ever heard. Honestly, she could say anything and he'd hear angels at this point because Demi still talking to him after what he just said is all he should expect at this moment. And then, her smiling on top of that, Demi smiling, Joe practically jumps off the mattress.
"Yeah,"he grins. ''Yeah."
"What do you want to do instead?" he says, looking around the room wildly for just---anything. He grabs the ihome's remote off the dresser where the volume had been on mute for the movie. "Dance party?"
Joe's not sure why he assumed that Yellowcard would still be playing, but he did and it came as a complete surprise when something soft and slow fills the room. The song begins sweet and sad, with words of hallelujahs and mistakes, and for some reason, Joe feels like he's drowning in it for a moment.
He feels nervous at first, like maybe she'd think that he had meant for this song to come up, trying to screw with her feelings or something. He makes some kind of awkward noise and reaches for the remote to change it quickly to just, anything. Instead, Demi fills the space in between them (he didn’t even realize that much space had come between them), gently takes the remote from his hands, places it on the bed and says, “aw, come here dork.”
She wraps her arms around his neck and buries her head in the hallow of his chest and he feels his body relax, feels his arms pull her close as if it’s the most natural thing for them to do. They sway in small circles around Demi’s hotel room to the music, not saying anything. Joe’s kind of afraid to open his mouth, actually, because he doesn’t want to say the things he wants to say; it’s a little late for that. Her hair’s tickling his chin and he doesn’t want to, like, sneeze on her so he tucks her hair behind her ear. Demi looks up at him, with her eyes big and uncertain and it would be so, so damn easy to kiss her lips like he wants to and he thinks about it for a second, about how good it would feel.
He’s never been the best at thinking on his feet though, and somehow, in the perfectly leveled hotel room, he manages to lose his footing and trips, falling hard onto the bed, taking Demi with him. He lands directly on the remote and it changes the music, drums and electrics rudely interrupting the crescendo arriving in the last song.
Demi jumps out of his arms pretty quickly and sits on the bed next to him, where Joe is still awkwardly sprawled, his back flat in the bed, his legs dangling. The moment’s broken and Joe feels kind of lightheaded, like he’s been underwater too long. It’s a weird feeling, but a good one and he thinks maybe he needed something like that, closure or whatever.
“You okay?” he says, and it’s weird because he sounds kind of breathy, as if there’s a lack of oxygen.
“Yeah.” Demi sounds like she’s trying to steady herself, and Joe lies back still again so she can do that. He listens to the music, singing along under his breath to the ridiculous lyrics that are now floating around the room, in a space that now seems kind of small.
“Oh my god, you actually know this song?” she says, after a few moments of listening to him and the music. Her voice has changed, grown lighter and stronger and Joe’s pretty sure that she’s moved on from …whatever just happened. He tries to shift paces with her, tries not to worry how quickly Demi can turn off and on her feelings.
“Um, yeah,” he grins, because seriously this song has some real memories. He remembers when he went through some insane Weezer phase, forcing Nick to deal with every single one of their albums on repeat while he jumped around their room screaming the lyrics. He’s pretty sure Nick secretly liked it though, because no one forced him to share a hotel room, Weezer-filled or not. Now that he thought about it, every single one of those Weezer songs was the type to jump around a room to.
“How do you know this song, Demetria?” he says, sitting up off the bed and nudging her side with his elbow.
“Dude, this is me and Sel’s jam. I know every single word.” She smiles at him, and it’s not even one of those sad smiles she’s been giving him lately; it’s a real one and Joe feels like he can fly. Without saying a word, he stands up on the bed, the mattress giving way to his weight, and reaches out his hand to her.
They’re still jumping on it twenty minutes later, when Nick and Selena use the key to open the hotel door. Joe’s pretty sure they look ridiculous, him and Demi jumping as high as the unspringy hotel mattresses will let them, yelling out the lyrics to the song, but he’s also pretty sure that he’s too high off this moment to care. He lets the two stare from the stable ground for only a moment before nodding to Demi who grins as she grabs Nick’s hand and he takes Selena’s. They pull the two of them onto the bed and press repeat on the song and they all jump and jump and Joe feels like his heart’s about to explode.
****
-I THINK I'D BE GOOD FOR YOU, AND YOU'D BE GOOD FOR ME.-
****
Word Count: 11,920ish.
Characters: selena/nick, joe/demi, david henrie and more!
Rating: PG-13
Summary: This is a story of the kids at the 2008 DC Games. In case you don't remember, it was a summer of Nick and Sel, when Demi became a part of the group, when there were pictures of pool parties and man-hugs and other happy wonderful things.
-----
So maybe staying up until four wasn't the greatest idea when you have work at 7 A.M. Particularly when said work involves physical activity while smiling and laughing continuously. Nick can feel his muscles refusing to keep up with him, like there was some sort of anvil-leg transplant that went down last night that he wasn't aware of. They didn't get back later than 2 AM, but he and Joe had to analyze everything that happened last night and that, well, that took a while.
He was planning on hating on Joe about his ridiculous way of "helping" him out with Sel, but honestly, at this point he's just glad it happened. They talk about where he should take Selena tomorrow night and how chill she is and when Nick hints that maybe they could double date sometime, the conversation turns to Demi.
It's been happening a lot lately, those Demi conversations. He's not sure if it's just that they've been seeing her so much lately, or that Joe's just kind of slow, or it's always been there and Nick's never counted, but Joe's had his head filled up with just her recently.
"So what are you going to do when me and Sel are out?" Nick knows that Joe has other friends, but it's kind of weird--they're usually the ones hanging out so he just wants to make sure.
"Actually, me and Dem are having dinner while you two are canoodling." Joe says, relaxing into the bed, and turning over like he doesn't want to say much more.
"Wait, you're going on a date with Demi?" Nick can't figure out why he hasn't brought this up earlier; usually when Joe lands something like this, he hears about it via screaming and Joe jumping on his back. Yeah.
"It's not a date, Nick," Joe says in this snarky voice, "After you two made a public announcement of your date--" and at this point, Nick wants to inject that it wouldn't have been public if Joe had kept his mouth shut but, "---Demi and I figured we should just hang out when you two are gone. So we're watching a movie in her room tomorrow night."
"It sounds like a date to me, Joe" and Nick can't help smiling and he rolls to the edge of his bed to poke Joe's arm across the bedstand, "how cuuute."
"Shut up, Nick," Joe groans and rolls over, and Nick's pretty sure the conversation is over. He closes his eyes and flips over so he's staring out their balcony window. It's quiet for a while and all he can hear is his breath and Joe's on the other side of him.
Nick's body begins to fall asleep and his mind is already fuzzing out, so he's not quite sure that he really hears what Joe says but someone says quietly next to him,
"It's not a date because I never asked her. I never asked."
The games the next morning go alright. He feels like kind of a prick for saying this, but he's not the biggest fan of his team. Brenda's really cool and so are a few of the guys, but besides that, the rest could care less about actually maintaining some kind of rep at the games. Like, obviously chariot racing is not a real sport but that doesn't mean Mitchel has to make some stupid comment about how "gay" it is for them to be doing it. They end up losing the next few events afterwards and even though it's not really Mitchel's fault, Nick feels like blaming him anyways.
They break for lunch and even though no one's filming anymore, they end up eating as teams. Nick would much rather just go eat with Joe and David or Kevin and Selena or Alyson and Dem or ...anyone besides his team, really, but all the other groups seem to be having exclusive team meetings and Nick's not going to be the one to make it look like his team's not good enough for team meetings.
"Alright guys, team meeting."
It's like he's from another planet when he says that. Jason and Mitchel stop mid conversation and Jason does some stupid snort thing like he's not sure whether Nick's joking or not. Anna Maria and Jasmin have gone to the bathroom together or something because they weren't even at the table anymore, and it seems like Jake Austin is the only one who actually thinks this is a good idea.
"Yeah, dude. Let's discuss some strategy!" The kid is nice, Nick thinks. He's actually kind of glad that Jake's, like, thirteen or something because him and Selena are close in that we're-like-siblings-but-more way and it's kind of disconcerting. She has that relationship with David too, but Dave's too ADD girl-wise for him to be much of a threat. So.
"Okay," Nick says, ignoring the fact that it's pretty much Jake and Brenda, who seems to be listening more out of obligation than choice, that are involved. They start discussing the games and about halfway through it somehow switches to the baseball draft picks for 2008 and about ten minutes of that, Brenda not so subtley mentions that if they don't stay on topic, then she's definitely not staying. Nick's pretty sure they need at least three team members for this to look like a legitimate team huddle, so they switch back on topic. Him and Jake start drawing up orders for the hula hoop challenge and even though they're in the middle of a plastic overhang mapping out plans for a fake sport on napkins not the MBA, he likes to pretend that he can always do that later, join the MBA that is. That there will always be time for something else.
He told Selena not to get too dressed up or anything because they'd just be going to dinner, and he meant it. Usually his dates aren't just dinner, but Selena's different for some reason. He's pretty relaxed and just doesn't feel the need to go all out like he did with, well, others, and even though he hasn't decided whether that's a good or bad thing yet, it is what it is. He puts on a pretty normal plaid shirt and jeans and he's kind of grateful that he didn't bring much more than gym shorts to the games and doesn't have the chance to obsess even if he wanted to. He does have a bottle of hair gel though and when he sits down on the dresser in front of the mirror with the bottle half an hour before he's supposed to meet Selena in the lobby, Nick knows he's just asking for crap.
Joe doesn't dissapoint. "Nicky, I'm sure if Selena wanted Jimmy Neutron hair she would have made a special request."
"You never know," he replies sarcastically, squeezing out a blob onto the palm of his hand. "Don't you have a date with Demi to worry about?"
"Dude, why do you think I'm making so many sandwiches? Actually---don't answer that. And it's not a date, so you can stop calling it that."
"Joe, you and Dem are doing the same thing me and Selena are doing. Just plus movie and a hotel room. So less classy," Nick smirks and he can see Joe tense up with his buttering of the sandwiches because, yeah when you put it like that.
"Dude!" Joe chucks the peanut buttery spoon across the room and it gets this close to his hair and Nick can't help but laugh and be simultaneously grateful for Joe's bad aim. He doesn't really have time to redo his hair.
Nick twists one of the curls in front and hops off the dresser to wash his hands in the kitchen. Joe's taking some strawberries out of the can and arranging them in some stupid shape on Demi's sandwich and Nick thinks its ...different. It's not that Joe ignored Taylor or anything, he just never made her sandwich faces or anything. Joe's only like this with Demi and it's nice to see, that it's not something that he does with just every other girl.
Nick leans over Joe's shoulder squeezing it once for good luck (good luck for him or Joe, he's not really sure) before grabbing his wallet off the counter.
"Alright dude. I'm sure me and Sel will drop by afterwards. Have fun on your date!"
Nick slams the door before Joe can even finish his sentence. "IT'S NOT A DA--." He could guess the ending.
Selena's waiting for him in the lobby when he steps out of the elevator at 6:59, and it shouldn't be a surprise, but it is, the whole girls-being-on-time thing. He's gotten kind of used to waiting for Miley at least fifteen minutes past designated date time, and having to make small talk with whoever's around and---he's got to stop comparing. Because even if this is a good comparison this time, it's not fair. To either of them.
It's not hard to stop thinking about, well, other people with the way Selena's looking at him. Her hair is wavy and soft looking and she's just wearing a simple pair of jeans and ballet flats and maybe it's the fact that Nick hasn't seen anyone dressed in anything but Soffe's but --he's having a hard time looking away.
"Hey," she says, giving him a hug as he walks up to the lounge chairs she's situated in. "How are you?" Selena says this with a huge grin on her face, like she's just genuinely happy to be there and Nick can feel himself grinning back. It wasn't hard to do around this girl.
"I'm great. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Nah, I just like being early for things," she smiles, standing up to go.
Nick laughs before helping her into her jacket. "Man, you are my type of girl."
Dinner is ...perfect. Really, it is. Maybe his expectations were low or something but Nick wasn't expecting to have this good of a time and he hasn't really eaten, if that's a judge of how much they're talking. For some reason, no matter how close they are to Demi, him and Selena never really started talking until this summer, and it's like there's just everything to talk about. They start off with the DC Games of course and Sel does this hysterical impression of Kevin but it's nice to see how close they are and Nick vents--just a little-- about how he wishes they could actually pick teams for games and then the conversation switches from that to summer then to life in general and it flows, just so so good.
"Wait, so you and David are really starting a band?"
"Oh, yeah," She says, and moves a piece of hair out of her face. Nick has this urge to tuck it behind her ear and is about to hold himself back, but wait--he's on a date with this girl. He goes for it, and he touches her cheek in the process and there isn't this burst of electricity or anything, but there is warmth, and she's like this fire on a freezing day or something cheesy like that. Selena blushes and it seems like she forgot what she's about to say and Nick smiles.
"-Umm, yeah. We just get so bored on set, so Dave's got the drums covered and Jake's actually really incredible at bass and Jenn and me are rocking this combo of lead singers and backup dancers." She giggles, and then--Nick's holding her hand under the table. Seriously, he doesn't even know where it's coming from but there's something about her that makes him want to be like this, but it feels comfortable, so he doesn't let go.
They sort of stop talking and the band in the back's switched to some cheesy slow song and people have started to get up to dance. Nick didn't really know the area that well and apparently he picked a place that's a hotspot for the, um, overaged. Grandparents were already slow waltzing across the floor in Sunday dresses and suspenders and it's kind of cute in this way that as long as you're not related it's fine. Plus, they haven't gotten recognized yet since these folks aren't really their demographic, so.
"Okay this is adorable," Selena's saying and tugging on his hand. And, oh crap, she's going to want to dance. Nick hasn't really thought this through yet, but all he knows is he doesn't dance and he doesn't really need that changing anytime soon. Selena's already stood up though and is saying things like "Alright, you picked the Lawrence Welk Show for a date, mister. You at least owe me a dance," and when girls mention Lawrence Welk in the same sentence as a dance offer, there's not much someone can do but stand up and say yes.
She's still holding his hand when she leads him to a corner of the floor, near some of the potted plants, but mostly away from the rest of the people. He wraps his arms around her waist and its so tiny that he has to pull her even closer just to feel like he's holding onto something. Her fingers twine around his neck and into the curls on his nape and he can feel her all the way down to his toes.
"Even the Lawrence Welk Show can be romantic sometimes," he says, his voice feels kind of loud. She leans back a little to look him in the eyes and smiles softly to say, "Okay, no." And just like that, he feels steady again.
He pulls her a little closer, tucking her hair behind her ear again, just to get her to look at him. She blushes, and buries her head in his shoulder.
"Maybe a little," she says, muffled in his shirt, the vibrations going up to the tips of his ears, but still reaching his stomach somehow. He laughs but it's kind of shaky and he can't even tell why, because he's been so so comfortable the entire night and all of a sudden he hears himself say,
"Can I kiss you?"
It's not head-over-heels romantic or anything, and he feels kind of stupid after asking, but she gives him this easy smile that relaxes him. Selena cocks her head to the side a little and Nick can feel himself leaning in, because yeah that was kind of a yes, but Selena pulls back.
"Nick, I don't kiss on the first date. It's just one of those rules." She's grinning at him and he's still holding her close enough to see the little glimmers in her lip gloss and the way her eyelashes are so thick that he can't even see her eyes the way she's looking up at him through them and all of a sudden, his confidence is back. Because this is Nick and Selena, not Nick and Miley or Nick and Jordan and things aren't complicated anymore; they just are.
So instead of hugging her and continuing to dance, Nick lets go of Selena. She looks kind of hurt, like he just hit a puppy dog, and Selena's about to play if off like it's no big deal, probably about to make a smart .comment about what just happened but, he takes her face in both of his hands.
"You know Sel," Nick says, and he can't help but smile, "I don't play by the rules."
They kiss and her hair is just as soft as Nick thought it would be and her lips are softer. They kiss and with the bluegrass band in background and Selena's hands on his chest, things feel easy and uncomplicated and all Nick can think about is how she's just what he needs.
-----
Joe doesn't really know what to wear, his hands are sweaty, and oh, he's feeling kind of like a girl. It's just that he has that "thing"with Demi tonight, is all. Nick called it a date earlier and Joe was quick to correct (and punch him in the arm) because he's pretty sure it isn't one, let alone if Demi wants it to be.
As far as he can see it, it's just two people watching a movie and eating dinner together. In a hotel room. And even though that does sound kind of incriminating, it really isn't all that. They'd planned the details over breakfast and it was decided that they'd use Demi's movies-on-demand and Joe would bring the food. He thinks he got the short end of the deal, but Joe figures that maybe bragging about his world renown sandwiches was not the best conversation topic before they laid out plans.
He rings the doorbell outside her hotel room, wearing a pair of black jeans and a yellow tshirt. In the ten seconds it takes Demi to answer, Joe has decided that he looks like a bumblebee or something that is equally inappropriate for a non-date. But by the time he's ready to run back to his room and change into something that resembles less of an insect, Demi's at the door.
She's in a pair of flannel pajamas and a black fitting tank top and her hair's still straight from shooting and all of a sudden, Joe's thinking about anything but leaving this room.
"Uh Joe? You planning on coming in? Or is this going to be one of those hallway picnics..those are just weird.."she grins at him, tugging his arm, pulling him into her room.
Demi's ihome is on in the background, playing some old Yellowcard song. It's all guitars and voices and it's simple and it's Yellowcard, so it's just...familiar.
"I thought we'd just have a pajama party kind of thing, but you clearly didn't check your phone before coming,"she says as they walk into the main room. Joe glances down at his phone and sees a few unread messages. Damn. That would've been useful to see before outfit choosing, he grimaces.
He rolls his eyes at her though and she smiles and it's like she's his comfort zone, he thinks. He can't remember why he was nervous in the first place.
''Um Dem, have you SEEN these sandwiches?'' He pulls the second plate which had doubled as a lid to reveal his creations. "I had no time for phone checking when these babies needed my time and attention.''
The sandwiches looked kind of plain now that he had talked them up, but he hopes that she will ignore it.
Yeah, she doesn't.
"Oh man, you did not cut these into triangles,'' she says, laughing down at the pieces in his hands.
"You bet," he smiles, taking off his shoes near the foyer. He hands a plate to Demi before collapsing on her bed. "Banana slices with no crust for the lady."
Her grin turns soft when he says that and her cheeks go pink, and he kind of wishes he had his Polaroid on him. "Thanks Joe."
He's pretty sure she said something after that but it's nothing he can focus on because her cheeks are still colored and her eyes bright and maybe,--he doesn't know--maybe he does want this to be a date. And maybe he wants there to be more than one date and maybe he wants--- he wants a lot of things now that he thinks about it. He can't let himself get too far ahead though, because bad things usually happen when he doesn't think his thoughts all the way through so instead of continuing that process, he says, louder than he intended, "So what are we watching tonight? Pretty in Pink? Miss Congeniality? Breakfast--"
"Friday the 13th sound good?" she interrupts laughing and Joe just grins because, this girl.
They fast forward through the plot parts because, really, who cares and rewind the gory parts a few (well, maybe five) times to laugh at the ridiculous special effects and pretend not to be scared at the parts that are just downright creepy. The movie's over pretty fast and they lay there for a while, picking sandwich crumbs off the plate, recapping the movie in that way that most people hate because it's like re-watching the thing, but it's the only way to do it, Joe thinks.
He glances around the room, briefly, wondering where to put his plate. The place is a total wreck, surprisingly. Clothes are strewn on chairs, tables, and when Joe's eyes finally find the kitchen, a few jeans even litter the vinyl flooring there.
"Dem, I know you're no Martha Stewart but we've only been here, like, two days and this place looks like a tornado zone."
"Dude I know,"she says, groaning. "It was all Selena. She was freaking out about what to wear for the date tonight."
Joe laughs like, oh, that wasn't him two hours ago and tries to imagine how the night's going for those two. Nick and first dates always end up being some over the top, Dawson's Creek-like scenario. He started Miley and him off with a date in Disneyland, and from helicopter rides to parasailing, things only got bigger. If Joe knew anything, Nick probably had some ridiculous ferris wheel or something installed at the restaurant, just because.
''Oh God, they're at dinner right now,"he groans. "Wonder how it's going.''
"Well," Demi says innocently and Joe can already tell he's not going to like where this is going.
"They're probably done eating by now and he's just told her that she looks beautiful and right around then, Nick'll lean in and---"
"Demi--EW. This is my brother we're talking about," Joe says, grimacing. Nick usually tells him the details afterwards, but God, not like this.
"and kisses her,"she continues unaffected, puckering her lips, as if he needs more of a visual or something. "And then, since it's going so well, they start full fledged making out--"
It's like Joe can't take it anymore, with her talking like this, being on a bed, and her being, just, being Demi, because all of a sudden, he's flipped himself on top over her, hovering over her body.
Demi stops talking mid-sentence and her eyes grow big and dark. ''Oh,'' she says.
Joe's not sure what that means, but his brain isn't in a state to analyze, so he kisses her full on the lips.
She tastes like peanut butter still and he can smell her strawberry hair and her flannel pants are rubbing softly against his stomach, where his shirt has ridden up. It's like kissing all of his favorite things, Joe decides, and it's like the best feeling in the world.
He relaxes off of his elbows for a second and kisses her deeper and her hands run through his hair, scraping his scalp just a little and he's smiling into the kiss because of how good it feels to just be. He lifts her tank top a little, thumbing her hipbone, right above her flannels and she shivers underneath him. He's just about to go a little higher--or lower, he hasn't decided yet, when she pulls away from him, gently pushing his body off hers.
She's pushing him away and it feels like someone poured ice water on him. It's cold and it hurts him so quickly that in that moment, all Joe can think about is getting out of the room as fast as possible. It doesn't matter that he can't seem to catch his breath or his shoes are the type you need to sit down and tie, he just has to get out.
that
Then Demi touches his face softly and says "Joe" in this way his stomach doesn't hurt as bad, so he stays.
He lifts himself off of her and they both sit, with their backs against the headboard not looking at each other. It's tense and off and Joe's not sure where he'd rather be: back on top of Demi or half way out the door.
She takes his hand and squeezes it and whispers hoarsely, "I want this, Joe. But I can't let Canada happen again. I just---"her voice cracks at the end and it's like someone suckerpunched him in the gut because it hurts to hear that, and then he realizes that it's him that brought this on her and ugh, it's like a double hit.
She glances over at him, as if waiting for an answer, so Joe closes his eyes. It's just, he has a hard time saying the right thing when she's this close, and he figures saying the right thing is pretty important at a time like this.
He never meant for it to come to this, honest to God. He wasn't just fooling around in Canada. Nick actually had to put a cap on the number of times he could say 'Demi' in a day because it got so bad by the end of those few months. He'd just never made it official with Demi and that was probably his first mistake in this whole thing, Joe figures. Because once he left set, nothing seemed certain with them , and he sure as hell didn't plan on being the clingy one if she didn't even think they were dating.
And then tour started, and at that point, Joe really didn't know what Demi was thinking. Things were back to normal for a little, with them hanging out after shows but there was always this weird something between them, like they were floating in space and something, like lack of gravity was stopping him from really being with her. And then, Joe met Taylor at a concert date and she was there and there wasn't any gravity holding him back with her. Besides, it's not like he was dating Demi or anything when Taylor first kissed him--it's just that him and Demi never dated, he finishes frustrated.
She was always there, though. Not in the physical sense like Taylor, but even without the gravity thing or whatever the hell it was (and he's not even sure what he's talking about anymore) but in a Demi sense. He wasn't a good unofficial boyfriend most of the time, Joe winces, thinking about how many times he might have mentioned Taylor in front of her, but Demi, Demi was the best not-girlfriend he could ask for. She picked up pieces after that breakup, after Nick had conceded the most ping pong wins his ego could take per day to him, she was there after the Frankie monkey bar scare, she was always there.
He could ask her out right now, Joe thinks, and he's pretty sure she'd say yes. They'd be happy for weeks, months, who knows how long they could go; hell, they've been practically dating this past year with few issues. Another thing Joe's sure of is that somewhere along the lines, he'd manage to screw it up. He's pretty good at that, he's discovered. And even though he usually wouldn't mind the imminent breakup that came after his regular fuck ups (usually a week of Flight of the Conchords and peanut butter cookies did it for him) it was Demi this time and since Demi was always there, he's not really sure either one of them could handle the aftermath.
Joe opens his eyes and for a second, lets them adjust to the hotel lights. Demi's looking at him, her back perfectly straight against the headboard, as if she's been sitting still this entire time.
"Thought you'd fallen asleep or something,"she laughs shakily, not quite meeting his eyes.
He doesn't respond, and instead pulls her into his arms, as close as possible. It's probably bad for her back to sit that straight, he figures. She relaxes a little, but refuses to put her head down, and it's like holding a strip of cardboard, which is awkward but Joe doesn't let go. She probably wants an answer. It's been a year in the coming, he thinks.
He shifts his body so that she's still close but that he can see her face better. She's still not meeting his eyes and he really needs her to understand what he's about to say, so Joe lifts her chin up with his fingers.
"Hey Dem? I like you. Like, really really like you," his voice coming out soft and quiet and low. And even though he knows what he needs to say, he hasn't exactly planned out the words yet, so he pauses to draw a breath.
Her eyes are still big and dark but there's something in them that wasn't there before and Joe hates it. It's like she's steeled herself for what he's about to say, and it's like she's done this before.
''I'd screw it up, Dem. You know I would, don't even try to deny it,"he says with a smile as she opens her mouth to interrupt.
''And this right here," he begins to gesture with his fingers to the two of them. He forgot how close their bodies were, though, and he accidently pokes her right in the chest.
Joe's horrified because this wasn't the best time to be feeling her up and he reaches out to pat her and then realizes what he was about to do and---Demi laughs out loud for a second. ''Alright, klutz,"she grins, and for a second she has this look on her face, like she's surprised that she's actually laughing right now.
"See?"he smiles, "I can't lose this. I need you around to make fun of me and watch scary movies with. You know Nick's a baby about them."
He leans in and kisses her on the lips softly when she doesn't say anything. He needed to feel that one last time, is all. Her eyes are still closed when he pulls away, so he thinks maybe she needed that too.
They sit there in silence for a little, the dvd's main menu still glowing on the television, replaying the same gory scene over and over.
"Can we just get off this bed?"Demi says, at last. ''I mean, no offense but..." Her kicking him off is probably the best sentence he's ever heard. Honestly, she could say anything and he'd hear angels at this point because Demi still talking to him after what he just said is all he should expect at this moment. And then, her smiling on top of that, Demi smiling, Joe practically jumps off the mattress.
"Yeah,"he grins. ''Yeah."
"What do you want to do instead?" he says, looking around the room wildly for just---anything. He grabs the ihome's remote off the dresser where the volume had been on mute for the movie. "Dance party?"
Joe's not sure why he assumed that Yellowcard would still be playing, but he did and it came as a complete surprise when something soft and slow fills the room. The song begins sweet and sad, with words of hallelujahs and mistakes, and for some reason, Joe feels like he's drowning in it for a moment.
He feels nervous at first, like maybe she'd think that he had meant for this song to come up, trying to screw with her feelings or something. He makes some kind of awkward noise and reaches for the remote to change it quickly to just, anything. Instead, Demi fills the space in between them (he didn’t even realize that much space had come between them), gently takes the remote from his hands, places it on the bed and says, “aw, come here dork.”
She wraps her arms around his neck and buries her head in the hallow of his chest and he feels his body relax, feels his arms pull her close as if it’s the most natural thing for them to do. They sway in small circles around Demi’s hotel room to the music, not saying anything. Joe’s kind of afraid to open his mouth, actually, because he doesn’t want to say the things he wants to say; it’s a little late for that. Her hair’s tickling his chin and he doesn’t want to, like, sneeze on her so he tucks her hair behind her ear. Demi looks up at him, with her eyes big and uncertain and it would be so, so damn easy to kiss her lips like he wants to and he thinks about it for a second, about how good it would feel.
He’s never been the best at thinking on his feet though, and somehow, in the perfectly leveled hotel room, he manages to lose his footing and trips, falling hard onto the bed, taking Demi with him. He lands directly on the remote and it changes the music, drums and electrics rudely interrupting the crescendo arriving in the last song.
Demi jumps out of his arms pretty quickly and sits on the bed next to him, where Joe is still awkwardly sprawled, his back flat in the bed, his legs dangling. The moment’s broken and Joe feels kind of lightheaded, like he’s been underwater too long. It’s a weird feeling, but a good one and he thinks maybe he needed something like that, closure or whatever.
“You okay?” he says, and it’s weird because he sounds kind of breathy, as if there’s a lack of oxygen.
“Yeah.” Demi sounds like she’s trying to steady herself, and Joe lies back still again so she can do that. He listens to the music, singing along under his breath to the ridiculous lyrics that are now floating around the room, in a space that now seems kind of small.
“Oh my god, you actually know this song?” she says, after a few moments of listening to him and the music. Her voice has changed, grown lighter and stronger and Joe’s pretty sure that she’s moved on from …whatever just happened. He tries to shift paces with her, tries not to worry how quickly Demi can turn off and on her feelings.
“Um, yeah,” he grins, because seriously this song has some real memories. He remembers when he went through some insane Weezer phase, forcing Nick to deal with every single one of their albums on repeat while he jumped around their room screaming the lyrics. He’s pretty sure Nick secretly liked it though, because no one forced him to share a hotel room, Weezer-filled or not. Now that he thought about it, every single one of those Weezer songs was the type to jump around a room to.
“How do you know this song, Demetria?” he says, sitting up off the bed and nudging her side with his elbow.
“Dude, this is me and Sel’s jam. I know every single word.” She smiles at him, and it’s not even one of those sad smiles she’s been giving him lately; it’s a real one and Joe feels like he can fly. Without saying a word, he stands up on the bed, the mattress giving way to his weight, and reaches out his hand to her.
They’re still jumping on it twenty minutes later, when Nick and Selena use the key to open the hotel door. Joe’s pretty sure they look ridiculous, him and Demi jumping as high as the unspringy hotel mattresses will let them, yelling out the lyrics to the song, but he’s also pretty sure that he’s too high off this moment to care. He lets the two stare from the stable ground for only a moment before nodding to Demi who grins as she grabs Nick’s hand and he takes Selena’s. They pull the two of them onto the bed and press repeat on the song and they all jump and jump and Joe feels like his heart’s about to explode.
****
-I THINK I'D BE GOOD FOR YOU, AND YOU'D BE GOOD FOR ME.-
****