fic: False Endings [Chapter 3]

[breathe_it_in94]

Title: Happy False Endings
Author: breathe_it_in94 
Fandom: AU Demi/Selena, unknown pairings
Chapter: 3/?
Rating: M/NC-17 for violence, language, and maybe sexual content
Summary: Just because an ending's happy, doesn't mean it was true.
Disclaimer: I don't own Demi, Selena, Braison, Miley, or any other adult characters in here probably. I own just the plot, and most of the kids.
A/N: Sooo... hey, y'all -sheepish smile-. It's been, what, um... two months? Maybe? Ugh, y'all I really am sorry, especially since there's apparently some people who actually do really like this fic, and I just kept y'all waiting :( since school started I've just been getting more and more tired, more and more stressed out with all the crap my teachers are having me do. I really am sorry, and I hope y'all enjoy this!

Chapter 3


You sigh softly and fight waking up for a moment, snuggling into the warmth. Then you register that this warmth comes from a body, a female body, Selena’s body, and you’re jerking away before you can think; it wakes her, and you wish you’d moved away slower.

She hisses in a sharp breath, rubbing both her side, where your hand sharply pushed, and her chin, where you’re guessing your head hit it (there’s a dull pain on the top of your head that you don’t really notice). “Are you okay?” she asks, and your mind immediately screams No!

But instead you stutter out, “I-I’m fine, yeah, just….” You scramble to get out of the sleeping bag. Distance. Distance is good. Distance doesn’t cause problems.

But you’re already missing that warmth.

“Demi,” Selena says softly, and you can feel it. You bite your lip and tug at the roots of your hair, but there are tears pricking at the corners of your eyes that you know will fall if you open them. Your mind is all over the place, so you don’t realize she’s moved until her hands are on yours.

“No!” you scream, out loud this time, jerking away from her touch. The touch that brings back too many memories, too many feelings, and you can’t let that happen again. None of it. You swing your foot out and kick the concrete tunnel you’re standing in, barely recognizing the pain, because now you’re lost in all those times back Then, and for a minute you actually think you’re back There.

Back with the sweet kisses behind closed doors and around corners; time spent wrapped in each other’s arms both on top of and under the blankets; her naked body moving underneath yours for the nth time, when her little brother decides to try out his new lock-picking kit on her bedroom door….

A soft hand is in your hair, and you lean into the touch subconsciously. Your whispered name, “Demi…”

…I can’t be with you anymore.

Ali, no! You can’t--

“Who’s ‘Ali’?”

Shit.

Your eyes shoot open, and you take a deep, steadying breath. You force the tears away quickly and compose yourself. “Come on, we better get moving.”

Selena looks at you concernedly, but drops the subject as you move to clean up the space around you.

Doran is hyper today; you realize this as you and Selena walk down the faded road with Doran skipping alongside you, swinging your left and Selena’s right hands back and forth. You let him continue this for a few moments, since it seems to amuse Selena, but then you stop him and crouch down to his level. “You tired?” you sign.

He shakes his head “no,” but at the dazed look in his eyes you know the heat’s getting to him. You look at him sternly before turning your gaze up to Selena.

“You want to carry him or my bag?” you ask, and though she doesn’t speak in reply, the wary look she gives at heavy bag on your back is answer enough for you. You shake your head with a chuckle and pick Doran up easily, placing him on Selena’s back when she turns around. You’re slightly surprised when he immediately buries his face into the back of Selena’s neck, attempting to hide from the sun from underneath the dark curtain of her hair.

Selena notices your expression. “What?” she asks with a soft smile.

You shake your head, fighting back your own smile (and trying not to think of why you want to smile in the first place). “He just usually takes a while to trust people. Not me, really, but with the other kids… he just shied away from them.” Out of the corner of your eye, you see her face forward again, her expression blank.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Selena says after a few seconds’ silence, “how did you end up with all of them?”

“It’s okay,” you say, thinking back through the years to remember. “With the twins, Aki, Brooke… basically everyone except Braison, Janay, and Doran, I just passed them in the streets, saw them alone, and checked up on them. When I found out they were on their own, I took them in.”

“That’s amazing,” she says softly, and you glance up at her quickly to see the blush adorning her cheeks. You bite back the teasing comment ready to spill from your lips, and instead continue with your story.

“Braison was the first one,” you say. “About a year after the Flash, I’d gotten on the move, decided I had to find more… civilized civilization. Stayed in the woods one night, heard a gunshot. Went towards it--I didn’t know any better then--and here came this little kid running towards me. He stopped and stood behind me, and then here comes this old man waving a shotgun at us, yelling something about trespassing on his property or something. I talk him out of it, say the kid was just looking for me, and eventually he walks off.

“So the kid tries to run off, but I grab him. He says he’s on his own, got separated from his big sister a few weeks back. So I tell him to stay with me, just get something to eat, y’know? The next day, he says he’s going around everywhere to find his sister. Says she got pulled into this car off the street, and he’d never seen the guys before. So I ask him if he wants to come with me, and he’s been with me ever since.”

You shove your hands in your pockets, wondering how Braison’s doing now. And hoping he’s okay.

“Y’all must be pretty close then,” Selena says softly. You nod wordlessly and try to clear your head, shoving the tears back. “I’m sure he’s alright, Demi. They’re all--”

“Anyway,” you clear your throat, “with Janay it was a little different. I had Braison, Aki, and the twins by that time, and Janay was trying to steal from us instead of wanting protection.”

“Janay’s the, uh…?” Selena interrupted questioningly.

“The tan one with the dirty blonde hair; she’s nine now. But yeah, when I noticed her and called out, she did the most amazing thing. She took this bow and shot an arrow up high into the trunk of a tree, and it was like a grappling hook or something, I still don’t know exactly, but she went flying into the air. It was incredible, especially for someone that young. I called out to her, told her that we weren’t upset with her or going to hurt her, and that she could have some more food if she stayed for a bit. Eventually, she came down and had a meal with us. I told her she could stay with us for as long as she wanted, and she did.

“As brilliant as she is, though, she’s a really affectionate kid. She likes to sleep with someone next to her, even if it’s one of the younger kids. I think she has nightmares when she’s by herself, but she’ll never admit it. She likes to show her strength; she always says that she’s just worried about whichever one she decides to sleep next to. Apparently, she told Braison that she’s trying to be strong for me, so I won’t worry about her. It’s her I worry about most, though.”

“Her and Doran?”

You nod shortly. “And Doran.” You shake your head sadly as you think back to finding the little boy. “He was only two when we found him. Two years old. By then we’d added Jooey, Alexi, Lucky, Leto, and Lexa. We were passing through this run-down town, people laying in the streets, trying to trade--espera.”

You stop walking, as does Selena, though you’re pretty sure she doesn’t know what you said. “Wait,” you repeat in English. Doran lifts his head from Selena’s neck at the loss of movement.

“See, there?” you say to Selena, nodding your head towards the side of the road, where three people sit restlessly. When she nods her answer, you say, “Caníbales. They’re a family, so they won’t hurt each other. But they’re eyeing us now. If they try to talk to us, be polite; don’t alarm them, but don’t give in to them either.” Selena bites her lip nervously, and you audibly sigh. “Actually, just let me do the talking. But hopefully it won’t come to even that. Vamos.”

You start walking again, facing forward but watching the family out of the corner of your eye. It’s a woman, man, and what you have to assume is their teenaged son. The boy is sitting with his knees folded up, tapping his foot against the ground, while the parents are pacing back and forth behind him. You can’t help but notice how the boy’s gaze is locked on the three of you.

Once you’re within a few meters of the family, you hear his voice, “Do I know you?”

You almost stop in your tracks, but you don’t. Instead, you slowly turn your head towards him. You spot the glare of recognition in his eyes.

“¿ Perdó n?” you say, making the boy stare in confusion for a moment. Then he shakes his head and stands up.

“You’re fucking with me. You’re… you’re Demi Lovato, you lived on my old street!” A grin breaks out onto his face and he starts walking toward you.

“Lo siento, no entiendo…” you try again, but he still shakes his head and laughs.

“Come on, Demi, after all that’s happened, you’re going to avoid me? Nobody is the same as they were before the Flash.”

You stare at him for a couple beats, debating on what to do. Finally, you sigh, “You moved, Doug.”

He hears your unspoken question. “How could I forget the cause of the epic neighborhood scandal, though? I mean--”

“Shut up, Doug.”

“--you went after Stoner? And succeeded? Too bad it couldn’t last long--”

“Doug,” you say through gritted teeth, “shut the hell up.” You somehow keep yourself form glancing at Selena to see if she noticed anything; you know that would only make Doug run his mouth more.

But he takes notice of her anyway. “Hello there,” he says thickly. He rakes his eyes up and down her body, and you step protectively in front of her before you can stop yourself.

There’s another flash in his eyes at your movement, and it also seems as if he’s finally taken notice of Doran.

“Whose kid?” he asks crudely. “Yours?”

You keep your face stoic, your voice firm, “If I have anything to say about it, no.” You feel Doran’s small fist loosely grab the hair at the nape of your neck, and, as if to deemphasize your point, he says, “Mama.” You roll your eyes behind your sunglasses, but bring your hand back to stroke his softly, nonetheless.

Doug laughs, “Looks like you don’t have anything to say about it, huh?” When you don’t say anything, Doug slowly stops laughing and lets the smile drop from his face. “He’s a little skinny….”

You automatically tense at his statement, swiftly moving your hand from Doran’s to your pistol near your thigh. “Dougie?” you hear from behind Doug. “Who’s your friend?”

“We’re gonna be leaving now, okay, Doug?” you say stiffly, but as calmly as you can manage.

“No, wait,” Doug’s mom is right behind him now, “why don’t you three stay with us for lunch?” Her smile is shaky, her voice high and wild, almost hyper. “It’s the least we can do for Dougie’s new friends.”

She takes a couple steps towards you, and your pistol is immediately aimed between her chaotic eyes. She freezes, as does Doug; his father is still pacing, seemingly oblivious to all that’s going on.

“Cover his eyes,” you say to Selena, making her bring Doran from her back to her front and press his face into her neck. “Like I said,” you say firmly to Doug and his mother, “we’ll be leaving now. Nice seeing y’all again.” You press your hand to Selena’s shoulder, making her start walking.

You keep your pistol pointed towards the two of them, and walk backwards next to Selena until you’re a good distance away from them. When you finally turn back around, Selena turns to you.

“What was he talking about, ‘you went after a stoner and succeeded’? And why did he start talking about how skinny Doran was? And why--”

“Selena, don’t ask questions, just keep walking.”

“But--”

“I’ll answer you’re questions tonight, we just have to get away from them first, okay?”

Selena pauses before venturing, “Will you answer all of my--”

“Yes, Selena, sure, just look straight and keep--”

You hear the sound of footsteps too late, and you suddenly find yourself tackled to the ground. Selena screams and backs away, holding Doran tighter to her chest. You feel the small rocks of the road dig and cut into your cheek as Doug presses you down. You bring your leg back to wrap around his and flip the two of you over, then your forearm is pressing against his windpipe. “Back off, Doug, or--”

Then there’s a loud bang and a bullet in your thigh.

You gasp sharply and grit your teeth, pulling your pistol out of your pocket and turning back towards Doug’s parents. His mother has a semiautomatic in her hand, still aimed at you. Even from this distance, you can tell her hands are shaking.

Unfortunately for her, you’re a much better shot than she is.

Immediately after the shot is fired, you turn the gun around in your hand and bring the handle down against Doug’s temple, effectively knocking him out. A trickle (or three) of blood slides down to stain his blonde hair. After making sure he’s, you know, still alive, you roll off of him, and Selena rushes over to you.

“Demi, are you alright?” she says frantically.

“It’s… it’s just minor shock….”

And then it’s just black.