Disclaimer: Based on real events, but some things are made up to help the story. Slight AU. Goes in a different direction.
Chapter 2 - January 30th, 2017
"Never felt anything so reckless, we were all lit up and restless and comin' alive and we were… Up all night and we were feelin' so good." - Excerpt from Setting the World on Fire, Kenny Chesney ft. Pink
"The show is going to be a disaster!"
Nick glanced up at his overly-dramatic brother. Nick was with DNCE, and they were grouped together in a black limo. The limo was just for show—it was only a ten minute drive to the given address. Nick tugged at his purple shirt again, nervous. Joe had been working up a sweat (it looked like) in the five minutes they had been in the limo. It was five minutes more than Nick could take.
"Joe, you're going to do fine," Nick soothed in the most calming voice he could manage.
Joe rolled his eyes. "No, duh, I was talking about you."
Nick's jaw dropped. "What're you talking about? My show's going to be great!"
Joe patted his shoulder sympathetically as Nick reeled away, still in shock. "Man, we all know you freeze up around Miley. You gotta loosen up." Nick gulped. Did Joe have to mention that? Of course, when Nick had toured with Miley, she had been the one to calm him down before a show. Joe shook his head absentmindedly. "Look, you're freaking out now."
"I wasn't before," Nick growled. "This is all your fault."
"I didn't make you have a crush on Miley," Joe countered.
"You didn't have to bring her up."
"Come on," Joe protested. "We were all thinking it!"
Mumbles of agreement sounded through the limo, and Nick sighed. "You'll be the death of me," he mumbled to Joe, who shrugged casually before fixing his bow-tie. Nick scoffed and tipped his head, staring out the darkened window. Even in the dim he could see a full (or pretty much full) moon glistening in the dark night skies. The moon was an orb shining through the darkness, very visible.
"We're here," Joe announced.
Nick sighed, took a deep breath, and opened the car door. He wasn't sure what to expect. What he saw was a huge mansion. He saw glimmers of rainbow colored lights flashing from the inside, and loud music was blasting. Huh... Nick narrowed his eyes against the fierce lights, and he trailed a little behind his brother as they headed towards the building.
They entered, and it... looked basically like any other concert. There was a pretty big stage and a dance floor. A few red cups littered the floor where some people had conveniently dropped them, and Nick vaguely remembered seeing some of the faces. People were dancing as a song (was it Cold Water?) blasted as the DJ there remixed it.
Nick didn't realize who he was looking for until Joe said, "I don't think Miley's here yet."
Nick shrugged. "I wasn't looking for her."
"Sure."
Nick headed to a shadowy corner, knowing that his face was mostly concealing and that people wouldn't bother him unless they were actually looking for him. This worked... for about two minutes. Truth be told, it was Demi's (yes, Demi Lovato) fault. She had apparently been searching for him because she squealed and yelled, "Nick Jonas!" She had tackled him into a hug... and attracted everyone else's attention.
To say it was a disaster was an understatement.
"Demi, you could keep it down," Nick said.
Demi shrugged happily. "I didn't think you'd come—but you're here." Her smile was so playful and gleeful that it made Nick crack a smile. Demi was wearing a nice navy blue dress and black high heels. Demi wore some mascara and some deep navy eye-shadow—Nick could admit that she was beautiful. Beautiful and confident. Those were the two words for Demi.
"Here I am," Nick said shakily. "Here you here."
Demi smiled coyly. "Yes, that appears to be so."
Nick took a deep breath. "You performing?"
"Didn't the invite say so?" Demi grinned.
"Well, duh," Nick said, crossing his arms. Then, he suddenly became very self-conscious of Demi's staring. He shifted uncomfortably, but her gaze remained on him—or to be more accurate... his... shirt? He frowned at her ogling. "Demi..?" Her eyes snapped to his questioning. He stiffened at her steady appraisal. "Why are you staring at my shirt?"
Demi frowned slightly and touched the shirt's left sleeve. "This is the shirt."
"What... shirt?"
"The one Miley hated," Demi said, matter-of-fact. Nick shifted uncomfortably. "Nick..?" she said slowly, and he looked up. "Did you wear this shirt just for the party?" she asked seriously. Nick paused before nodding a little. Demi sighed and face-palmed. "You knew Miley was going to be here, and you wore this shirt? Damn, Nick." She looked frustrated.
"What? What's wrong with it?" Nick said defensively.
"You're an idiot," Demi said, shoving him a little. "Are you trying to ruin her relationship? And may I add: engagement?"
Nick sniffed. "Who said she's bringing Liam?"
"She's obviously bringing Liam."
Nick glared. "How do you know? I didn't bring a date."
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because she posted a selfie of herself with Liam all dressed up with the caption: Can't wait to see some of ya'll tonight! We'll make this a night to remember!"
Oh. Nick pulled out his phone and quickly checked Miley's Instagram. "Oh."
"Oh is right," Demi snapped.
Nick shifted uncomfortably. "Well..."
Suddenly, the spotlights on the dance floor shifted to the entrance, and Nick's attention was drawn to it. It seemed as if everyone had turned to look. Nick's breath got caught as he saw her. Miley. Fingers laced with Liam, but that didn't matter. His entire world focused on her, only her. She was more beautiful than Nick had remembered.
Her hair was longer now, several inches (two or three) past her shoulders. Her brunette roots were clearly visible, though platinum blonde clearly dominated as of now. Her face seemed to glow in the light, and her eyes were the purest most stunning shade of blue Nick had ever seen. She was wearing a pretty black dress, and her wavy hair played around the dark straps (which were an inch or two?) of the dress, which hit her knees. She wore black high heels and wore only a light gloss on her lips for make up.
Her face was natural and beautiful, exactly the way Nick always loved it. But she was beautiful with make-up, too. Her hands were free of jewelry (thank god), and Miley was unusually jewelry-free. Her fingers were still interlaced with Liam, which kind of ruined the effect. Liam was wearing a black tuxedo, looking classy. But Nick felt that Liam would never amount to Miley's beauty.
Or maybe he was just biased.
Immediately, people began to talk to Miley. She was radiant and crowned in light (or spotlights, in this case), and she was easily, easily the most beautiful girl in the room. To Nick, anyway. She had a charisma that seemed to draw people to her. Her eyes were bright, and Liam looked so proud of her as she worked her personal crowd. Smug bastard, Nick thought darkly as he watched Liam.
"Nick, quit insulting Liam."
Nick stared at Demi. "W-what? I'm not!" She raised an eyebrow. "Fine, maybe a little. What gave me away?"
"Your expression."
The party was surprisingly awesome for lack of better word. When Demi sang, Nick found himself enjoying it. When DNCE did their performance, Nick found himself dancing along to the beat of the song. The suckers who clapped at beats one and three, Nick felt, should be slapped. And when Miley sang... Nick was captivated and couldn't tear his eyes away. She had started with a "I hope you guys enjoy this song. It's called I Hope You Find It." She had sang the notes ever so brilliantly.
"And I hope you find it, what you're looking for. And I hope it's everything you dreamed your life could be, and so much more. And I hope you're happy, wherever you are. I wanted you to know that, and nothing's gonna change that. And I hope you find it," Miley sang, her voice as clear as the look in her beautiful azure irises. Nick got lost in her eyes... or maybe that was just the piano music talking.
"Nick Jonas!" came the announcer.
Nick soaked up the attention and cheers as he headed towards the stage. He glanced at Miley, who had finally noticed him. She balked slightly as Nick took the stage. He had his acoustic guitar with him, and he knew that that alone (plus his appearance) would definitely spark up some rumors and shock. "This song is called Before the Storm," Nick announced, and gasps chorused around the room. He looked at Miley, and her mouth was open in shock. He smirked and strummed the first chords.
"No this isn't what I wanted. Never thought it'd come this far. Thinkin' back to where we started, and how we lost all that we are," Nick sang, pouring out his soul in the words. He could hear her singing by his side as if she was. "We were young and times were easy, but I could see it's not the same. Standing here but you don't see me. Give it all for that to change."
He looked at Miley as he sang the last chorus. "Standing out in the rain. Knowing that it's really over. Please don't leave me alone. I'm flooded with all this pain. Knowing that I'll never hold ya. Like I did before the storm. Yeah. Like I did before the storm," he sang, strumming the ending chord. Cheers erupted, and Nick took a deep breath. "I promise not to take up more of your guys' night, but I would like to sing one more song. If that's alright with all of you."
Nick heard someone hiss, "He's going to sing one of Miley's songs!" Nick took a deep breath and began plucking at his guitar. "This song is called Still In Love Somehow by Evan Taubenfeld." Nick took a deep breath. "Maybe we could stand on better ground. Maybe we could turn this shit around..." He sang passionately, fully aware of everyone's eyes on him.
"And is he anything like me? No, I bet he's not. But that's all I've got to say. I never wanted to try this out. I never wanted you seeing others. Never wanted to take a break. Never wanted you getting lovers. Never wanted to try this out. Now it hurts looking at you now. And I'm not sure if you noticed. But I'm still in love somehow." When Nick sang the final note, he looked up and was shocked to the core to see that Miley's eyes were bright... with... tears.
Nick stepped down from the stage and was immediately bombarded with questions. He shoved his way out of the crowd, not paying attention if his guitar hit anyone. He was back in his corner again, and Selena Gomez took up the stage. Almost immediately a rough hand tapped Nick's shoulder. He turned, frustrated, to meet the angry eyes of—
Oh. Liam.
"Why the hell did you do that?" Liam snarled. Miley was by his side, and Liam's arm was wrapped protectively around her waist.
"I didn't do anything," Nick defended. "It was a song."
"It was enough that you already wore that stupid purple shirt," Liam growled, his eyes flashing. His grip tightened around Miley's slim waist, and Miley stared at Nick with huge eyes. To an outsider, she might look defiant. But to Nick... he saw a vulnerable girl. She looked so, so vulnerable and so, so beautiful. "But now you go and perform two songs!" People began to turn to look at them.
"What was I supposed to do?" Nick demanded. "Miley should—" He stopped short.
"I should what?" Miley said, not quite yelling but visibly frustrated.
Nick turned to her. "You should know you always have another choice," he forced out.
Miley stared, eyes wide. She was more bewildered than anything now. "W-what?"
"Miley, I'm not going to be backed in a corner this time—and I'll just say it for the entire world to hear if you want. I'm in love with you, and I want you to choose me over him."
QotD: Ooh, drama. Did anyone expect the songs?
#I doubt anyone expected 'Still In Love Somehow.'
A/N: Hey, it's Darky! The drama manifested pretty quickly, but that's only because this is just the START. This is not even the most dramatic scene I have planned. So there. Stay tuned! I hope this is interesting. Is it? Review? I appreciate it. Just a little? Or not. If you don't want to. Your choice. Though I'm curious... Is this not realistic? But I thought I should have Nick do a big gesture...
Of course, slight AU and all... Might have to change that to just AU... What do you think?
So, answer to the last QotD: Question of the Day! I'm planning on updating on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, by the way. If I'm nice, maybe one on Sunday, too? But let's start out slow. Expect a chappie on Friday!
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