3:35

Hands placed firmly on the steering wheel and foot glued to the pedal, she spared a glance at the clock. It read a taunting 3:35 AM. She had been driving for six hours now. The only stops she made were for gas. No food. No bathroom breaks. No naps. Nothing that would delay her more than she already had been. The only thing she had was the cup of now cold coffee she had gotten more than six and a half hours ago.

Her eyes were drooping. Her head throbbed. Her feet stung. Her neck and back were stiff. Her entire body ached from sitting in the same position for so long but she blocked it all out. Her only focus was getting home. Getting home to Selena. The girl she hadn't seen in two months. And it nipped away at her a little more every day she was gone.

Many a night she had spent lying awake crying, wishing the girl was next to her, cuddled at her side. Sometimes being the great rock star Demi Lovato was too much. The gossip, the interviews, the rumors, the paparazzi, the executives that wanted her to be their little minion, she could deal with that. It was the touring that really did her in. Being far away from her support system, waking up in a new city every morning, it always left her drained and irritated.

But tonight none of that mattered because she was finally going home. She was staying awake just to lie in bed with Selena even if it only lasted five minutes. She wanted to be able to fall asleep with a warm body pressed against her side for the first time in two months. And she'd be damned if anything was going to stop her from doing just that.

5:35

Eight hours into this drive. Eight hours of thinking of nothing but the asphalt and Selena. Las Vegas brake lights winking at her like bloodshot eyes. Telling her she was getting closer but was still so far from her destination. Her cold coffee had disappeared and was now merely an empty paper cup. Her ache had vanished and was replaced by numbness. She felt nothing but her exhaustion and steady heartbeat.

When she had found out her flight to LA was canceled because of the Salt Lake City snow she felt her anger boil to a point she hadn't felt in a few years. Fuck this. And with that she was out the airport and headed to the nearest car dealer.

Lucky for her, she didn't have to go far. The first car she saw she bought. It really paid off to be filthy rich sometimes. After she had filed all the paper work, she loaded her bags in the back of her new car and took off for LA.

It wasn't getting any easier going away and coming back after touring. If anything it was getting more and more unbearable and only making her wish Selena would ask her to stop touring and finally settle down with her for the long haul. Because for her Demi could do anything.

Eighty miles left to go. Eighty miles until Demi was in bed with Selena.

6:35

The sun was rising just to her left in the east. Sunlight flooded through her windshield and into her half closed eyes. Her eyes were already burning from the lack of sleep. The rays of light penetrating her weary eyes were only making it more difficult to not give up and simply rest for a few hours.

No, she had come this far and there was no way in hell she was stopping now with Selena only one exit and three miles away. Her ache for the other girl was killing her slowly as it only intensified with every foot of asphalt she gained in her rearview mirror. The thought of being wrapped up in Selena's arms once again for the first time in two months made her press down on the gas pedal harder. Her need for Selena growing exponentially.

Demi made her turn onto her final exit and she felt her hands getting sweaty, nervous with anticipation. She couldn't control herself as she felt her dried lips curled upwards in a smile. She paid no mind to her tension laden muscles or the stiffness that seemed infused with every joint in her body or the extreme grip her hand had on the wheel. All she cared about was that it was only 15,800 and 40 feet until she could be with Selena again.

Varied hues of orange, yellow, red, pink, and blue were all mixing together in the sky to create the perfect sunrise. The sky was shedding its dark colors of the night for the brighter colors of the day. Demi couldn't help but show her teeth as her lips curled farther up her face. She felt like the sunrise. The night taunted her with distance and loneliness but the morning was bringing her home.

6:42

Demi couldn't get out of the car fast enough. The relief of reaching home quickly replaced once again by her need to be with the girl on the other side of the door. It was the final barrier between her and what she needed most. Demi felt a giddiness consume her even in her state of complete exhaustion. Her eagerness caused her hands to shake and the key to miss the hole a couple times before she finally got it in. The lock gave way, making a satisfying click as she turned the key. With a turning of the knob and a pushing of the door, the final obstacle fell away.

Anticipation flooded through her as she made her way through the house and up the stairs to the love of her life. The once short climb now seemed to take so much longer. Her walk down the hallway felt as though it was put in slow motion. The weariness in her body only made it that much harder to move.

The sight that greeted her as she crossed the threshold of Selena's bedroom door was one Demi had missed immensely. She would never get tired of watching the other girl lying there asleep. It was in that moment of seeing her girlfriend for the first time in two months that she allowed herself to be fully impacted by her pain of not seeing the girl for so long.

She felt tears prick the corner of her eyes as her emotions washed over her. The calling and the texting were never enough and never have been enough. Touring was the one thing that always seemed to put a strain on their relationship no matter how much they tried to subdue it. Selena refused to let herself stand in the way of Demi's dream and Demi refused to let Selena put her show on hiatus for her. Both of them were too stubborn to let the other make the sacrifice.

But in this moment none of that mattered to Demi because she was exactly where she wanted to be. Her mind set her body into motion once again as she kicked off her shoes, already in sweats and a t-shirt, and slipped under the covers behind Selena. Demi scooted closer, wrapping her arms around Selena's waist and burying her head in Selena's hair. For the first time in two months she felt her body fully relax.

Demi couldn't resist as she leaned in and pressed a kiss to the back of Selena's neck, making the other girl shiver in her arms. Demi couldn't stop the grin from forming on her lips as her girlfriend stirred in her arms at the intimately familiar action.

"I missed you," she whispered into the other girl's ear.

Selena replied by snuggling closer, intertwining their legs, and threading their fingers together before mumbling out a sleepy, "I know."

That was all Demi needed as she laid back down and nuzzled into Selena's hair while closing her eyes for the first time in over 24 hours. With Selena wrapped securely in her arms and their bodies entwined. She was home.