Disclaimer: Based on real events, but some things are made up to help the story. Slight AU. Goes in a different direction.
Chapter 24 - June 3rd, 2017
"Out of luck, and there's no shooting star when you need one. Don't need a reason, who do you think you are? Wake up! Don't go chasing dreams! Your hands are tied up, can you fly without wings? Enough! No more make-believe!" - Excerpt from Powerless, Alyson Stoner
"Three days."
Miley closed her book. "I take back what I said about you being delusional. You're insane."
Demi scoffed. "I'm sure three days will be sufficient enough to plan a wedding!" Demi exclaimed. Exactly, she didn't, not really, but she figured that this was good a way as any to distract everyone from the past recent events. Miley just kept shaking her head and muttering things like impossible or it'll take a miracle or other things like that. "And you're going to help me," Demi added brightly.
Miley stared. "There's...that's just...not enough time."
"Not enough time?" Demi scoffed. "Oh, come on, I'm sure we can work something out."
"Oh, for a second there, I thought you were just going to make me do everything," Miley said sarcastically.
"Don't be ridiculous—you'll mess some things up."
Miley raised a brow. "Really feeling the love right now."
Demi shrugged in a devil-may-care sort of way, and Miley sighed and shot her book a sad look. She had wanted to finish reading it, but she supposed that it could be read after helping Demi plan her wedding. With a reluctant sigh, Miley drew up a pad of paper and a pen. She glanced up at Demi and shook her head, slightly amazed, slightly-awed. "Okay, whatcha got?"
Demi thought about it. "A white dress—obviously. I guess some crimson jewelry to match the ring and necklace, which I will be wearing. Make Joe wear his ruby cuff links with a good black tuxedo. Hydrangeas for flowers. Your little sister could be a flower girl—didn't she say in an interview that she always wanted to do that?" Miley grinned. Noah had indeed said that.
"She'll love that," Miley informed. "What else? Seating arrangement?"
"I don't know," Demi said, shrugging. She glared at her cast. "Get me a dress that hides the cast but something I can walk in...and I don't really care what shoes I wear. Just make it level with the cast and make it comfortable, so long as you get a dress that hides my footwear. I'll trust your pick in whatever seating arrangement you think I should have. Just invite family and close friends."
Miley scrawled down the words. "Anything else?"
"Roses," Demi said with a thoughtful look in her dark, intelligent eyes. "Red and white roses. A wedding outside. More natural that way. If you could have a waterfall—I don't care if it's an illusion of a waterfall or the actual thing itself—that would be awesome..." She smirked. "You could wear white, you know? You already wear the color all the time—and it'll match your cast."
Miley shot a wry look at her arm. "Okay, do you want some camera crew there? The whole wedding could be a sort of film."
Demi's eyes lit up in excitement. "So cool." She squinted. "Make it..." She grinned. "Magical."
"Magical," Miley repeated. She grinned and let a devilish smirk curl onto her lips. "Like unicorns and rainbows magical or—"
Demi raised a pillow at Miley, who laughed—until she got a face full of feathers. "Miley"—whack—"Ray"—whack—"Cyrus"—whack—"this"—whack—"is"—whack—"a"—whack—"wedding"—whack. Miley edged away from the pillow, spitting out feathers and shooting a resentful look at Demi. Demi huffed, obviously pleased. "Make it special. Make it memorable, make it—Miley, stop laughing."
Miley hid a smile. "Alright," she said testily. "Special. Memorable. Oh, it's not like other weddings are like that at all."
"Yeah, but this is my wedding. I don't want to be the laughing stock if something goes wrong, and—STOP LAUGHING." Demi glared. "You're just as bad as Joe!"
"Sorry," Miley said, grinning between fits of giggles. She finally stopped laughing to breathe. "Well, if a murderer comes, I've got this handy cast," Miley said, and Demi raised a brow in a way that clearly said, in what way will a cast help? "Well," Miley said, "it's really..." Miley tapped her cast against the table. A loud clanging sound echoed, and Demi winced, apparently torn between being appalled or relieved. "It's really hard."
"Of course it is," Demi scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It has to be, else you'll be back in the hospital noting how clumsy you are."
"Hey! I've got better balance than you do!"
"Of course you do," Demi said testily.
Miley rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, tossing the pad of paper at Demi, whose narrowly caught it. Miley stared at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. "Your wedding's going to be awesome, Demz," Miley told her softly, but that was the truth. "It'll be beautiful." She smiled, grinning. "What kind of wedding gift do you want? Something shiny? Perhaps a crown to show that you rule the world?" Miley teased.
Demi rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Surprise me with a card of release from the doctor to get this stupid cast off?"
"Impossible," Miley informed.
"Fine then, Miss-I-Don't-Want-To-Make-My-Best-Friend-Happy-On-Her-Wedding-Day—"
"—actually, your happiness shouldn't depend on whether I get a good gift or not—"
"—that doesn't mean you shouldn't get me a good present—"
"—and what if I think it's a good present, and you don't—?"
"—well, hello, I just almost died; you could be just a little considerate about getting me a good present—"
Miley burst out laughing at their bantering. "Fine, you win," Miley grumbled. "I'll get you a good present—okay, a present you'll like." Miley closed her eyes briefly. It was times like these that made her question why Demi Who-Prides-Herself-In-Being-The-Most-Impossible-Person-Ever Lovato was her best friend, but she supposed that there was the fact that Demi knew her better than everyone. Well, almost everyone.
"Thanks," Demi said in the tone she used when she was trying to sound sarcastic but was really grateful.
Miley shot her a warning look. "If you keep bossing me around like this, I'll sing a horrible song at your wedding."
"I'll turn off your microphone."
Miley shook her head in equal disbelief and amazement. "Of course you will... Only you would be ready for something like that. I can't tell whether I'm lucky or cursed to have you."
Demi sniffed. "Works both ways, really."
"Again, only you would have an answer like that."
Love Will Find A Way
"You think you'll sing Before the Storm?"
"For what? Your wedding?"
"No, for my cat's pity party."
Nick blinked. "You don't have a cat."
Joe scoffed. "No, durr. Of course I'm talking about the wedding. What else would I be talking about?"
"Uh, is that a trick question?" After all, Joe talked about himself all the time.
Joe sighed as if Nick was a little kid wasting his time. Joe had the audacity to look that way! Well, Nick supposed that since Joe was Joe, he could let it slide. He was sure half of what Joe said—or, rather, more like three-quarters—was pure randomness and the other half was...um, whatever. Which made Nick question whether he was lucky to have skipped the 'crazy' genes or unlucky to have a crazy brother. Well, it was best to be, um, sane, right? Unless no one was really sane, and everyone was just crazy, and some people just—never mind. You could drive yourself crazy with such thoughts.
Nick thought about Joe's question again. To be honest, he had really thought about the song. But honestly, the song was kind of about regrets and stuff—who would want that song sung at a wedding anyway? Nick turned back to Joe and shook his head. "No, not that." He tilted his head. "Though...I was thinking about some other stuff...not sure what you'd say about it anyway."
"What other stuff?" Joe said, looking alert. Yes, you heard him: alert. This, from the guy who was distracted by three things every millisecond.
"Well," Nick said with an awkward shrug, "what about Send It On?"
There was a pause. Then:
"WHAT? ARE YOU NUTS?!"
Nick winced. "No." He rubbed his ear and sarcastically said, "It's not like I needed that ear or anything."
Joe was too distracted to pay attention to Nick's comment, which Nick had always wanted to use, but no one ever really screamed in his ear before. But, of course, Joe was exactly what you'd call a 'normal person.' Joe stared. Then, his incredulity and disbelief faded into...a slight look of awe, wonder, as if he wondered why he hadn't thought of the idea before.
It was astonishing how much Joseph Adam Jonas's face could change in the matter of two seconds. First, he had the perpetually confused look on his face—you could tell by the way his blank eyes seemed slightly too wide and bulging. Then, his gaze turned shrewd with concentration and thoughtfulness that reminded Nick of the look a wise old philosopher would have—if that was even the right word.
Joe blinked. "That's actually not a bad idea."
"Well, it did come from me," Nick said with a slight smirk.
Joe rolled his eyes. "Righttt. Anyway, what do you think? We grab Kev and ol Selena—haven't seen her in a while—though I'm not sure how Demi would deal with Selena. Do you think Demi will have our heads for this?" He grinned and smirked. Then, he slapped Nick hard on the back, so unexpectedly that Nick stumbled a little before catching himself. Joe tsked. "You'll have to work on that balance, lil bro."
"W-w-what?" Nick spluttered. "You have worse balance than me, Mister-I-Fall-Down-Every-Two-Seconds-Even-When-I'm-Sitting."
Joe scoffed. "How do you fall down when you're sitting—oh." Joe smirked. "You were quoting from Miley's song Fall Down. I see what you did there. Pretty smooth."
Nick face palmed. "Ugh, what am I going to do with you?"
Joe shrugged. "You've kept up with this for years. Did it take you this long to figure out you should just give up?"
Nick stared at Joe. "Yes. Yes, Joe," he said sarcastically.
"Tsk, show your superiors some respect," Joe said, shaking his head in mock-disapproval.
If Nick was Kevin, the appropriate response would be to subtly shake his head and ignore Joe. "Do you mean senior?" Nick said, slightly confused. Joe shook his head and stared at Nick like he was a turkey that had grown a unicorn horn. "Well, you may be older than me, you may have, I don't know, a wedding before me, but you are not my superior. You're my brother."
Joe shrugged, as if they were just playing a game of Go Fish. Of course, during those games, more times than not Joe would demand where the fish was. Joe pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. Nick watched Joe, amazed at how Joe could brush things off so easily. It seemed so...strange. In some ways, Joe was smart. And then there were times when you just felt like screaming.
"Yellow? Selena?" Joe said conversationally into the phone. "Hold up." Joe actually put up a finger. Did he realize that Selena couldn't see him? "Let me put you on speaker."
Nick blinked. "You just—" He groaned. "Never mind."
"Hello?" came a slightly distorted voice from the phone.
"This—is—Joe—Jonas—and—his—dorky—little—brother," Joe said slowly in his phone.
Nick groaned. "She can hear you fine, Joe."
"Oh, right," Joe said cheerfully. "Is that why people always hang up on me?"
There was laughter through the phone. "Joe? Nick? I can't say I'm not surprised to hear from you guys," Selena said, the laughter still in her voice. There was a slight pause and some ruffling, as if Selena was adjusting something (maybe the position of her phone or something) on her end. Then, Selena's voice filled the air again: "So, what's up? Or did you just call me to see if I was too polite to hang up?"
Joe laughed. "Nice one, Gomez. Actually, we"—Nick cleared his throat—"well, Nick came up with the idea..."
"Oh?" Selena sounded more amused than anything.
Nick cleared his throat. "You heard that Demi and Joe are getting married, right?"
He could almost feel her smiling. "Yup," Selena said, popping her 'p.' "When's the wedding?" she chirped.
"According to Demi," Nick said in a strained voice, "three days."
Nick felt that if Selena had been holding something, that something would shatter. "Oh," Selena said, sounding positively astounded. "Oh...that's...wow."
"We were thinking about doing an old song," Joe continued conversationally. "You remember that old song that Disney made us do? You, me, Nick, Kevin, Demi, and Miley? Send It On? Well, we were thinking about doing that—it's a very private wedding and all, but you know, a wedding, it's really a big step in someone's life. I'm sure Demi and Miley would agree."
There was a pause. "Oh. That's sounds..."
"You don't have to sugarcoat things, Selena," Nick told her bluntly. "If you don't want to do it, say so please."
"That sounds...great," Selena finally said, still sounding shocked. "If Demi and...Miley agree, then I'm game."
"Excellent," Joe said crisply. "Well, Selena, we'll be in touch. Gotta talk to Demz and Mi first."
"I understand," Selena said, voice strained. Nick couldn't quite catch what emotion was hidden in her voice, but he suspected that if they were face to face, he would see the emotion. He had a feeling that it was something akin to regret perhaps, for how things had turned out. Selena was very successful and well known, they all were, he supposed, but he supposed catching up would be nice, if that.
"We'll get you the deets later," Joe said, grinning.
Nick snatched the phone. "I don't know where he gets those words, either. Bye, Selena."
She laughed. "Bye, Nick."
He sighed and glanced over at Joe. "So, are you going to tell Demi and Miley now?"
"Nope," Joe said crisply. Before Nick had time to feel confused, Joe said, with a smirk, "You are."
"What?! Joe—they'll burn me at the stake!"
"Better you than me—gotta look sharp at my wedding."
Nick curled his fists. Sometimes, it was really hard to keep his temper.
Love Will Find A Way
"You WHAT?!"
Joe shrugged, wondering why it was so hard to comprehend. Despite him telling Nick that Nick would be the one to gently break the news, here Joe was (well, Nick was there, too, but he was sort of just standing there rigid, muttering words under his breath that sounded suspiciously like prayers...or curses), telling Demi the news. "Come on. You and Selena were close."
"That's the point—was."
"She wants to be there," Joe pointed out. "You heard her, Nick, right?"
"She...wants to...be there?" Nick said. It sounded more like a question to Joe, and he nudged Nick in the ribs.
Miley finally spoke up. "I think it'll be nice."
"WAIT—WAS THAT YOU TALKING?" Demi said incredulously.
"You're being over-dramatic, Demi," Miley said, grinning. "Come on. It'll be fun. You'll want her there. Then, when you and Joe have kids, you can tell them you're friends with people up in high places, ergo Selena Gomez." Joe was pretty sure Miley was only joking, though if she wasn't...he had no idea why she wanted Selena there. "A nice demonstration of politeness," Miley urged.
A smile broke out on Demi's face. Then, she glared. "Fine."
"What does that even mean?" Miley said. "When you smile and then glare at me?"
"Well, Smiley, you glare at me all the time—what is that supposed to mean?!"
"My name has no—"
"—shh, no need to tell me I'm right."
Joe clapped his hands together. "Then I'll tell Selena the news? Okay, then."
Beside him, Nick let out a relieved sigh. Joe shook his head in disbelief. His little brother needed to man up.
QotD: What do you think is going to happen at the wedding?
#I don't know. It could be peaceful and happy. I can do happy scenes, you know? Instead of drama and whatnot.
A/N: Hey, it's Darky! Well, will you look at that? It isn't almost twelve! Well, sort of. It's almost ten. For me, anyway. So, I finally dragged Selena into the story. Ha, I don't really want to put her as an enemy—thought that would be pretty fun to write, if I'm being honest. I was actually listening to Taylor Swift's Wonderland song, from 1989, so I don't know how I came up with the Send It On wedding song idea thing.
Eh, we'll see. Can you guess at what date I'm going to end this book at? Gah, I'm being way too obvious.
Review your answer to the QotD! Tell me your thoughts? I appreciate it though you don't need to. But who doesn't love reviews? ;)
- Darky