Demi's POV
Demi wandered aimlessly through the crowd, feeling alone. She had wanted Miley to go have fun, so she had let her go, but now Demi felt as if she had lost her crutch, she felt lost. Demi stumbled across the beach having trouble putting one foot in front of the other.
"Woah," Demi giggled as she nearly tripped face- first on to the sand. "I definitely shouldn't have had that third drink," Demi laughed to herself. The world seemed to be spinning under her as she continued through the party looking for something to do. Suddenly, she found Tom and Ryan, the guys who were playing Chicken earlier, having a chugging competition on one of the beach tables. Ryan was looking determined, but Tom was the master of this game. He might have been a chicken, but drinking was what he excelled at. "What the hell," Demi whispered to herself before pushing through the cheering crowd surrounding them.
When Demi finally reached the two drunks, Tom had already finished his whole bottle of beer leaving Ryan in another embarrassing defeat. "I am the master, man! You know you can't beat me!" Tom bellowed. He let out a few celebratory burps before grabbing the ten dollar bill on the table.
"I call next, Tom," Demi laughed. She was so drunk, but this would be fun. Tom looked at her with an 'are you serious' expression, not taking her challenge into any seriousness.
"No. I don't think so, Demi. I don't want to make a girl cry," he smirked. The crowd laughed along. Demi grinned.
"Aw, Tom. First you chicken out on Ryan, now you chicken out on a little chugging competition? Tsk tsk. I thought you were better than that. Oh well, I guess you've drank too much already," Demi sighed. "And I use to hear that you NEVER drink 'too much'. Maybe I'll find someone of my… level," Demi challenged with a raised eyebrow. The crowd screamed with laughter.
Tom smirked. "Come here, Lovato. Let's do this, but don't cry when I kiss your sorry ass. I am undefeated." They both took a seat on the table. Tom brought out a ten dollar bill, but Demi stopped him.
"I'm only playing for $50," Demi exclaimed. The crowd 'ooooh'ed. Tom threw an unsure glance, but the crowd pressured him on.
"Sure. Whatever. Just an extra $50 for me," he shrugged confidently, but Demi could see nervousness in his eyes. Two huge cups of foaming beer were place in front of them. "Don't hurt yourself," he winked at her before the crowd screamed 'GO!'
Demi chugged as much beer that could fill in her mouth. Her throat was burning, but airiness was building inside her. She felt free. She could hear Tom chugging as fast as he could on the other end of the table, and she laughed in the middle of a sip. Finally, Demi licked the last drop and threw the cup behind her.
"Ah, refreshing," Demi sighed. She smiled standing up. Tom finished his cup five seconds later. He was silent with shock, but Demi could almost see a hint of pride for her too.
"Crap, man. Did she just beat you?" Ryan laughed. He punched Tom in the shoulder. The crowd was going crazy spreading the news that Demi, a freshman, had beaten the party- going undefeated senior at drinking.
"Yes, I did, and I think this is mine," Demi giggled as she took the two $50 bills off the table. "Goodbye, boys," she said as she stumbled her way out of the crowd.
She was so drunk. She couldn't walk a step without tripping. She looked around to look for a steady seat, but everything around her was spinning and fuzzy. Although she felt blissful inside, being drunk was not helping her at finding a place to sit down.
After walking around the pier for a few minutes, it started to rain. The sounds of thunder echoed through the air. Demi felt the beer starting to hit in. Before she was able to find her way out of the rain, a wave of nausea and dizziness over took her. As she took her next step, she fell forward, about to hit the cold hard pavement. A pair of strong hands grabbed her waist before she had made impact with the ground.
"Are you okay," her savior said. She couldn't make out what was happening. Demi felt herself losing consciousness, her mind giving up. She heard the soft whisper of, "Demi," before she drifted off to another dreamless sleep.
Demi felt the head ache hit her. She opened her eyes slowly, as if scared of what she'd see. She was at the beach, for sure. The signs of the storm were left on the moist sand. She sighed in relief that she wasn't at the hospital. Her mom would have killed her. Now all she was thinking was how she got there.
She slowly sat up, trying to push away the headache pounding through her mind. Her stomach was churning and her muscles ached with displeasure. The beach was silent as the ocean waves lapped up the shore gently. "How beautiful," Demi whispered.
"I know," another voice answered. She jumped in surprise finally noticing the boy sitting next to her.
Joe Jonas.
"Joe?! What are you doing here? What am I doing here?" Demi asked frantically. "Oh my god, did we um… do… anything?" Demi whispered, afraid of his answer. She didn't think they did, but her mind was in a fragile and confused state. She could have done anything.
` "Not that I know of," he joked. He ran a hand through his hair. God, he looked sexy.
Demi slapped his arm. "Don't joke around. I asked you what happened…" Demi demanded frustrated. "Wait, what am I still doing here with you? Sorry, I don't waste my time with assholes," Demi exclaimed attempting to stand up confidently. Instead, once she had pushed herself up a wave of nausea and pain slammed into her. Her head ache grew with the higher she stood up. She collapsed on the sand with pain.
"Sit down, Demi. You're not in a good state to be walking around. Just lie down," Joe soothed. He lay her down on the beach blanket.
"I hate you," Demi whispered. Joe pretended not to hear her words, but she could see his cocky smile waver for a second. She hated how he was acting as if he cared for her; she hated being so close to him; she hated that she liked it.
After a long time of silence, Demi asked, "I'm kind of out of it. Can you please tell me what happened tonight?"
Joe turned around from the edge of the beach blanket where he sat quietly with his arms wrapped around his knees.
"All I know is that I found you wandering around the pier alone, and it was raining. You looked kind of… um… unstable so I was going to ask if you were alright. But when I walked over to ask you, you kind of answered my question when you kind of just collapsed," Joe explained, no sarcasm or jokes included.
"Then what?" Demi asked curiously. She wondered if he had really carried her down to the beach by himself. The image of being in his arms made her heart race. She pushed the feeling away.
"Well, I wasn't exactly sure what to do, so I carried you down under the pier, and when the storm ended I brought you out here. I thought you might want some fresh air," he answered politely. He kept full and steady eye contact with her.
"How long was I out?" Demi asked scared. Her mom would kill her. She had promised to get back by midnight, and this story seemed to be going on longer than expected.
"About an hour," Joe explained. Demi sighed. At least she wouldn't be too late. She took a deep breath and asked the question that had been lingering in her mind.
"What are you still doing here?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Even though she convinced herself he was a jerk who was nothing to her, she still couldn't help but feel hopeful in his answer.
"You collapsed," he answered surely. He raised an eyebrow as if wondering how clueless she was. Demi rephrased her question.
"I mean, what are you still doing here?" she asked looking straight up at the sky. She watched the stars endlessly stretch above her.
Joe stayed silent for a few minutes leaving an eerie silence. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. I didn't think you'd want to be alone," he said in a slight whisper so it was barely audible.
Demi was baffled at his care and worry for her. Her heart's barriers almost gave in to his words, but she held back. "Um, thanks," she said quickly. The air around them became uneasy.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Joe asked. Now he had trouble making eye contact with her as he rocked back and forth anxiously.
"Trust me. I'm restraining myself. It's really hard to not smack you right now," Demi laughed. She threw a glance at him seeing a growing grin on his face. Suddenly, he began to laugh. Demi sat up slowly and slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Hey! I thought you said you were restraining yourself," Joe laughed, rubbing his arm as if he really was hurt. He pouted, causing Demi to playfully slap him again. Both began to laugh hysterically, and for a moment Demi forgot about what had happened and pushed away all headaches and nausea. She was reaching over to smack him again to stop his unfaltering laughter, but memories of what he had done to her pushed through her mind, flooding her with desperation and pain. She drew her hand back and moved away to the corner of the beach towel. Joe noticed the hesitation.
"Demi, I'm sorry." He looked at her with sympathetic eyes. He looked as if he was suffering. Demi stayed silent sitting on a corner. She didn't want to be here, but she couldn't make herself run away. "I'm sorry for kissing you, then kissing her. I know I'm an asshole. Don't worry. I beat myself up," he explained quickly. His voice was shaking.
Demi looked up to meet his pleading eyes. She could almost see a hint of regret in them. "I just have one question," Demi whispered. Joe turned to look at her. "Why? Why did you do it?"
Joe's eyes wavered as he retold his side of the story. "Well, after I helped my cousin, I started looking for you, but I couldn't find you," Joe explained.
"I ran after Miley," Demi answered. Joe nodded quickly and continued.
"So I went upstairs, thinking you went up there. But when I got up, I saw my ex- girlfriend slumped down on the hallway. Obviously, I couldn't just leave her there, so I came to help her up." Joe's eyes wandered through his memories. "When I tried helping her up, she was really drunk. The minute I helped her stand up, she flung herself at me. Next thing I knew she was kissing me," he sighed defeated.
"Don't lie. I saw you kissing her back," Demi shot back. She stared at him coldly.
"I was," Joe answered guiltily. "When she started kissing me, I was too overwhelmed. I got caught in the moment." He looked away so he faced the ocean. "Then you walked in, and I was just so confused. I didn't mean to hurt you," he explained. "I'm really sorry," he whispered again. He turned around to meet her gaze. She He had such beautiful eyes, and Demi was getting lost in them. She wanted to be with him so bad. Her heart was pulling her forward but...
"No," was all she said. Demi would not take his apology. She was getting ready to leave when she heard a soft sob coming from the other side of the beach blanket. She turned around surprised to see Joe near tears, but trying his best to keep them inside. Seeing him so vulnerable broke Demi.
"Why are you crying?" Demi asked questioningly. She kneeled down on the spot next to him.
"I… I didn't want to hurt you," Joe whispered. His shoulders were trembling, but his sobs had stopped. Demi placed her hand gently on his shoulder. "Shhh. It's okay. I forgive you," Demi soothed sympathetically. She knew that she had promised herself never give him another chance, but this had to change the rules. Obviously, this proved her cared about her.
"I really like you. When I saw you at that party, I got this little feeling. I can't explain it, but I knew you were going to be someone really important to me," Joe whispered, taking her hand into his own. Demi's own breathing stopped; her heart raced; her body was shaking with anticipation. He had stopped shaking after Demi had put her hand on his shoulder, but she could still see his eyes were frantic.
"I care about you too," Demi replied, finally breaking down the final barrier to her heart. She felt free as she broke down the barrier, ready for anything. She no longer felt nervous or frightened about what would happen; all she cared about was that she was finally living, sitting next to the guy of her dreams, falling in love.
"So you forgive me?" Joe asked anxiously. He tightened his grip on her hand. They seemed to fit perfectly together, like puzzle pieces. He looked at her with his chocolate brown eyes. Instead of arguing, Demi nodded.
His smile stretched out from ear to ear, and his eyes glistened with happiness and hope. Joe leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. She smiled, once again smelling the minty smell, but this time mixed with a taste of tears and sand. She kissed him back gently. She felt him place his palm on her cheek slowly. She blushed from the intact. As they pulled apart, Joe opened his arms out in front of him. Smiling, Demi entered them, leaning her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his own; intertwining her small hands with his rough palms, and wishing for once that time would stop just for them.
*Author's Note* Sooo. I wanted to mix in a little bit more couples. ;) Hope you guys like Jemi! If you want any other couples included just tell me.
Enjoy. :D