And She's Wrong.

Nick thinks he’ll never fall in love. He thinks he just moves around too much, he’s always too busy going from one place to another, whether if it was playing shows or doing speeches about fighting diabetes. He says that he doesn’t think it matters anymore, besides; what he’s doing makes him happy. And that’s the main thing – “Right?” he asks the girl sitting beside him. She’s hugging a pillow to her chest and she’s sitting cross-legged in his bed – she couldn’t sleep again.

Demi smiles and nods and both actions hold trails of sadness. She doesn’t think he’ll notice – and she’s right, he doesn’t. It’s a smile and as far as Nick is concerned, a smile is a smile, and in the back of his mind, Demi’s smile is a smile and it’s beautiful.

“Yeah,” she says. “As long as you’re happy.” And she means it when she says it.

Demi, on the other hand, is different. She wants to fall in love – or she’s already fallen love. And she doesn’t tell that to people. She’s been holding on to that thought for a long a while now, waiting for the time to come. Because people don’t just fall in love for no reason – “Right?” she wonders out loud, but her voice isn’t the strongest thing ever at the moment. She can’t meet his eyes, she doesn’t think he’ll notice – and she’s right, he doesn’t. But it’s only because he isn’t really looking at her, either.

“Yeah,” Nick says, hand going up to tug on the curls that started just at his neck. “I get what you mean.”

Nick tells Demi all the time that he’ll be there for her, always, night after night if she ever had something to talk about. He tells her all the time that he’ll tear down all the jerks she dates and that one day, a nice guy that respects and understands her will come along; he tells her that all the time with that tiny smile on his face that he doesn’t really realize comes along whenever he hugs her.

“Thanks,” she says with a laugh, head turning down, face turning red. She doesn’t thinks he’ll notice – and she’s right. Nick’s too busy doing the same thing, and now he can’t stop grinning.

About an hour later, Demi yawns, Nick yawns and neither of them realizes how tired they’ve become. Demi says she should go back to her room, get some sleep because tomorrow is a busy day – every day is a busy day. Nick tries to laugh, but he agrees. Awkwardly, he raises his hand up to give her a high five.

And when their hands touch, they both grip each other tightly before letting go. Demi shudders slightly, closes her eyes and turns away. She doesn’t think he’ll notice – and she’s right. He’s already walking behind her to open the door and soon, Demi’s gone for the night.

Her room is just right across the hall. And now that Nick can’t seem to find some peace and sleep, he thinks about going over there with a sheepish smile on his face to say, “Hey, I couldn’t sleep.”

But he never goes through with his thoughts, and that’s only because he knows Demi’s never liked clingy guys.

---

They haven’t seen each other in a while and most of the time it’s because they were on different sides of the country, or on different states, at least. Demi misses waking up at 2am in the morning and forcing herself not to fall asleep again because she knows Nick’s still awake and it’s the only time when they’ll be able to talk alone with no interruptions. But she doesn’t admit that to anybody and half the time it’s only because she’s scared that her secret will go out.

Nick hasn’t been sleeping like he normally does on tour. Half of the time – well, there is no ‘half of the time’, he’s really just expecting Demi to barge in sometime in the middle of the early morning to sit with him on his bed to talk. It never happens, so he sends her a text message with pretty words and he makes sure to tell her all the time that he can’t stop listening to her album.

Now that all of the months have gone by, they finally catch each other in the same town. Nick’s smiling when he knocks on her door, hands shoved tightly inside the pockets of his leather jacket, tongue carefully held back just in case he would say anything stupid. Demi looks tired, but she grins through it, hugs him around his neck before she pulls him in.

They’re sitting beside each other on the floor with soda cans on the coffee table. Demi’s drinking Diet Coke, too, just because she misses Nick. She doesn’t think he’ll notice – and she’s wrong. The thought’s running through his head and he can’t stop smiling again.

“You know what?” He’s beaming, and Demi is, too. But she’s trying to stop herself from smiling too big by putting the soda can to her lips.

She questions him with her eyes. She thinks she’ll stutter if she starts talking.

Demi brings her hand down to the table, fingers still tightly wrapped around the perspiring can.

“I think I’m in love with this one girl,” he says. His hand, it reaches out to pry the can from Demi’s hand. And Demi – Demi doesn’t do anything about it. But her head turns down slightly, her palm pressed against the table, trying to not let her mood change too much. She doesn’t think he’ll notice – and she’s wrong. And Nick smiles; and it’s sad, but it’s a smile and Demi thinks Nick’s smile is a smile and it’s beautiful. Too bad she’s far too busy looking at her lap to see it.

“Who is it?” she can’t help but ask. Nick’s hand is on the table now, too. It’s on top of Demi’s hand, carefully slipping his fingers between the spaces in between of Demi’s.

And he says, “Oh you know – just this girl.”

Demi smiles at the action, it’s almost like she’s holding his hand. She doesn’t think he’ll notice – and she’s wrong. “What’s she like?” she looks at him now; she sees he’s smiling so big and tries not to herself.

“She’s sweet, beautiful,” he says, nodding. “She’s a bit slow, though,” he laughs, and he’s the only one who gets why it’s funny in the slightest. “But I know she’s smart. I’m actually hoping she’ll get a clue, you know?”

And somehow they shift around, and they’re facing each other, hands still attached and more intertwined. Demi’s scared of where the conversation is going – but she still wants to know, anyway. Her heart’s beating faster, but she never likes acknowledging those things.

“Maybe she’s scared,” she suggests, shrugging a bit lamely.

Nick laughs. “I don’t see why she is – I’m not scary, am I?”

And now Demi’s laughing a bit, too. She shakes her head, “No, you’re not. I meant that maybe she’s scared… of loving? I don’t know.” And maybe now she doesn’t know what else to say. She sighs slightly and she doesn’t think he’ll notice – and she’s wrong. Nick rubs the back of his neck slightly, and he thinks that maybe he should just do something.

“No, no – I know she wants to love.”

Demi shrugs again. “I don’t see the problem, then,” she says. Nick agrees, and he’s frustrated all of a sudden. “Maybe she just doesn’t know?”

“She will.” He laughs and he leans forward, tilts his head slightly to the left and he presses his lips against Demi’s. And it takes a while before Demi realizes what’s going on because everything’s just starting to click in her mind and she’s kissing back. Her free hand is trailing up to touch Nick’s neck and she can’t stop thinking about how much this feels right.

And they pull away and it’s like the magic’s still on their lips and clouding up their eyes. And Demi smiles, “What about that one girl?” she asks.

But Nick rolls his eyes, tells her she’s silly. “I told you – she’s a bit slow.”