‹ Prequel: Hanging By a Moment
Inclined to Recline
Would It Be Okay If I Took Your Breath Away?
The party was in LA, a few weeks after the album had been recorded and edited and completely finished. It was officially getting released at midnight on the night of the party.
“Emma, hurry up or we’re going to more than just fashionably late,” Toby sighed, yelling through the bathroom door again.
I rolled my eyes and ignored him, mentally cursing myself for allowing him into my hotel room whilst I did my hair. He’d done nothing but rush me since he came in, “Looking beautiful takes time and effort,” I replied, pulling the curlers out of the last strand of hair that needed doing. He was silent and I smirked, twirling the curl around in my fingers to make it extra bouncy.
“Just hurry up,”
I giggled, and then applied some lip gloss and checked myself out in the mirror. I was wearing a tight dress, with a black bottom and a cream top that said ‘love music’ in black lettering. My hair was tied up in a loose bun, with the front tendrils of my bangs curled, and my fringe straight about my eyes. My make up was minimal; foundation to hide my blemishes, and eyeliner and eye shadow enhancing my eyes, with a lick of lip gloss to finish the look.
I unlocked the door and skipped out. Toby turned around in his tux, “About ti-wow.” His eyes widened and I felt myself blush.
“Hold that thought!” I rushed to my bed and sat on the edge, slipping my feet into my trusted black heels. Then I stood up, straightened my dress and then turned back to face Toby. I placed a hand on my hip and posed, pouting. “What do you think?”
He cleared his through and I felt the blush creeping back up once again. I hoped my layer of foundation was hiding the redness though. “Wow,” He repeated.
“Wow good?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes, “What other type of wow is there?”
I shrugged, and then picked my clutch bag off of the bed. I’d spotted it in a shop in the airport back in New York; it matched my dress perfectly, so I had to have it even though it left a sizeable dent in my bank balance. “Wow, you look hideous. Wow, that bird flying behind you is huge?”
He chuckled, “What?”
“I don’t know!” I smirked, “But I look okay?” I asked again.
He nodded and then looked me up and down, slowly, I noticed, and then he glanced at my face again, “You wear those shoes everywhere,”
I laughed, “Do you know how much these bad boys cost me?” I shook my head, “I’d wear them to bed if I could,”
**
There was a red carpet laid out outside the venue, and I giggled as Toby opened the door to help me out of the car, and then I looped my arm through his. The flashes of the papparazzi’s cameras weren’t so bright because the sun was still in the sky, so they weren’t lighting the nightfall.
We stopped a few times on our walk down to the entrance, but since we weren’t technically celebrities, we wanted to just get inside and leave the red carpet to the professionals. When we were inside, we glanced around at the many tables around the outskirts of a large dance floor. There was a professional DJ manning the music system in a bay over looking the dance floor.
Demi spotted me and excused herself from some people she was talking to, to run over. “Hey!” She smiled as she hugged me.
“Hey! The place looks great,” I replied and she grinned. Toby cleared his throat beside me and I turned, “Oh, Demi this is Toby, Toby this is Demi!”
Toby held his hand out and Demi placed hers in his, “Nice to meet you,”
“Likewise,” Demi smiled sweetly, and then glanced over my shoulder at the door, “I’ll catch up with you both later okay? Got more people to greet!” And just like that she took off to play the role of the gracious hostess.
It looked great inside; with drapes and balloons hanging everywhere, and an extremely large picture of the album cover hanging above a small stage area that was to the front of the room. There were tables and chairs surrounding the dance floor with blue cloths over them, with flower arrangements in the centre.
Toby headed towards one of the tables and I followed him, smiling at him when he pulled out a chair for me. I giggled and sat down, and then he took the chair beside me. We chatted until I heard a familiar voice behind me, and then a groan.
“Julia!” Joe snapped, and I turned to look over my shoulder, seeing him right behind me, arms raised. He dropped his arms to his side and frowned, “I was trying to sneak up on her!”
Julia stuck her tongue out, “Yes, well, she’s my friend and I wanted to greet her first,”
“I’ve known her longer,” Joe argued. I giggled and stood up, opening my arms to the both of them. Julia rushed forward, but Joe was already closer and Julia had the disadvantage of also wearing heels. Joe wrapped his arms around my waist in a hug, lifting me off the floor and spinning me round. When he set me down, he turned to Julia and smirked, “Beat that,”
She rolled her eyes, “It’s not a competition, Joseph,” She said, and then pulled me into a hug.
He laughed, “Only because you can’t beat me,” I saw him step towards Toby and she shake his hand, as Julia and I swayed in a sort of half dance/hug for a while.
I pulled away from her and examined her outfit; she was wearing a red dress that was ruffled at the bottom, with a white cardigan and red heels. Her hair was simply straightened, and her make up was simple. “You look nice,” I smiled.
“Likewise!”
Kevin and Danielle strolled up behind them, and my eyes widened. Danielle always managed to hold a sort of effortless beauty that made me green with envy. Right now her hair was curled loosely over her shoulders, and she was wearing a boob tube type dress that was grey at the top, with a cut in at the centre, and a creamy colour at the bottom. She’d completed the look with a pair of grey heels with a silver bow on the front, and a silver clutch bag. All of the Jonas’ were wearing suits, including Nick who was hanging awkwardly behind his older brothers.
“Hi,” I said to him, and he smiled in response.
After all of the greetings were over and done with, Toby took my hand and dragged me towards the dance floor. There was a slow type song on first, so we took my hand and waltzed me around the dance floor, gaining us a few stares from the celebrities surrounding us. We gasped as the next song came on, and then we locked gazes and said simultaneously, “JASON DERULOOOO!”
We started dancing to ‘In My Head’, Toby dancing very suggestively, which would have been awkward if it was anyone else. I kind of forgot where we were, and forgot all the people around us, as I danced with him, just letting go and enjoying myself. I almost forgot Nick was there too.
Almost.
At least until the song ended, and Toby disappeared off to find us some drinks. I glanced around and saw Joe and Julia dancing too. Joe was making faces as he did, causing Julia to crack up every few seconds. I smiled to myself, and then glanced around for any other faces I recognised.
There was a few; Chelsea Staub, Nicole Anderson, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Dylan and Cole Sprouse...none of which had a clue who I was, however, so I continued looking. I spotted Denise and Paul by the bar, and Frankie was running round talking to random people he bumped into. I smirked, and then noticed Danielle and Kevin in the corner, talking to each other. Nick was sat beside them by himself.
I exhaled deeply, toying with the idea of going to talk to him. I glanced around to check that Toby wasn’t heading over, and when I didn’t spot him I headed across the dance floor in Nick’s direction.
I made it halfway before she made an appearance. She came swanning out of nowhere in a short and shiny dress, all black, white and gold. She headed over to him and he glanced up, smiling sweetly. I felt myself deflate as I made to turn away but then I frowned as he glanced past her at me, and then excused himself.
Shit.
He’s coming this way.
I toyed with the idea of running back into the crowd, but knew I couldn’t. He’d already seen me. So I stayed where I was. It seemed to take forever for him to reach me.
“Hey,” He said.
“Hi,”
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and then said, “You look beautiful,” I blushed, “Wanna dance?” I started to open my mouth to argue, but he noticed and cut in, grabbing my hand quickly, “Oh come on, please? How am I supposed to win you back if you won’t give me a chance?”
I frowned, and then gasped as a spotlight moved to shine on us, and then the DJ changed the song to another slow one; Two Is Better Than One by Boys Like Girls.
I felt my cheeks burning up as everyone turned to stare at us, and then egged us on. Nick smirked, clearly proud of the situation we’d been put in, and then he leaned closer to me. “If you come and dance with me, we’ll be lost in the crowd and nobody will be able to see you,”
I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face, and then I nodded and allowed him to lead me to the dance floor to a large applause. I laughed and then put my hands on his shoulders as he put his on my waist. I saw Julia wink at me as her and Joe passed us, and I smiled shyly.
Nick never moved his eyes away from my face as he sang along, and I felt the long silent butterflies springing to life in my stomach again, the way they always did when he sang to me.
“I heard the song,” He said suddenly, “You sound amazing,”
I shrugged, “They probably edited it a lot,”
“Maybe, but they edit our songs too and you still like my voice,” I didn’t reply and we danced silently until the song had finished. We barely noticed though, just carried on slow dancing even though the song that followed was I Kissed A Girl. “Listen Emma-”
I sighed and he pulled his eyebrows together in confusion, “This was nice and you’re going to go and ruin it by telling me you love me again, aren’t you?”
“Actually I was going to ask if we can still be friends,”
I felt myself go red again, only this time with embarrassment. I also felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as if I’d been punched in the stomach, “Oh,”
“Not that I don’t love you, because I do,” He continued, “But I’ve got to accept that you don’t want me back, and I guess I deserve that but-”
I breathed in deeply, and then exhaled slowly. I still loved him, I knew that. It was clear that he still loved me too, and I was just being stubborn about this whole thing. I looked up at his face; he looked concerned, and I felt a stab of guilt for what I’d done with Toby. I bit my lip and closed my eyes before saying, “Nick, I have to tell you something.”
“Emma, hurry up or we’re going to more than just fashionably late,” Toby sighed, yelling through the bathroom door again.
I rolled my eyes and ignored him, mentally cursing myself for allowing him into my hotel room whilst I did my hair. He’d done nothing but rush me since he came in, “Looking beautiful takes time and effort,” I replied, pulling the curlers out of the last strand of hair that needed doing. He was silent and I smirked, twirling the curl around in my fingers to make it extra bouncy.
“Just hurry up,”
I giggled, and then applied some lip gloss and checked myself out in the mirror. I was wearing a tight dress, with a black bottom and a cream top that said ‘love music’ in black lettering. My hair was tied up in a loose bun, with the front tendrils of my bangs curled, and my fringe straight about my eyes. My make up was minimal; foundation to hide my blemishes, and eyeliner and eye shadow enhancing my eyes, with a lick of lip gloss to finish the look.
I unlocked the door and skipped out. Toby turned around in his tux, “About ti-wow.” His eyes widened and I felt myself blush.
“Hold that thought!” I rushed to my bed and sat on the edge, slipping my feet into my trusted black heels. Then I stood up, straightened my dress and then turned back to face Toby. I placed a hand on my hip and posed, pouting. “What do you think?”
He cleared his through and I felt the blush creeping back up once again. I hoped my layer of foundation was hiding the redness though. “Wow,” He repeated.
“Wow good?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes, “What other type of wow is there?”
I shrugged, and then picked my clutch bag off of the bed. I’d spotted it in a shop in the airport back in New York; it matched my dress perfectly, so I had to have it even though it left a sizeable dent in my bank balance. “Wow, you look hideous. Wow, that bird flying behind you is huge?”
He chuckled, “What?”
“I don’t know!” I smirked, “But I look okay?” I asked again.
He nodded and then looked me up and down, slowly, I noticed, and then he glanced at my face again, “You wear those shoes everywhere,”
I laughed, “Do you know how much these bad boys cost me?” I shook my head, “I’d wear them to bed if I could,”
**
There was a red carpet laid out outside the venue, and I giggled as Toby opened the door to help me out of the car, and then I looped my arm through his. The flashes of the papparazzi’s cameras weren’t so bright because the sun was still in the sky, so they weren’t lighting the nightfall.
We stopped a few times on our walk down to the entrance, but since we weren’t technically celebrities, we wanted to just get inside and leave the red carpet to the professionals. When we were inside, we glanced around at the many tables around the outskirts of a large dance floor. There was a professional DJ manning the music system in a bay over looking the dance floor.
Demi spotted me and excused herself from some people she was talking to, to run over. “Hey!” She smiled as she hugged me.
“Hey! The place looks great,” I replied and she grinned. Toby cleared his throat beside me and I turned, “Oh, Demi this is Toby, Toby this is Demi!”
Toby held his hand out and Demi placed hers in his, “Nice to meet you,”
“Likewise,” Demi smiled sweetly, and then glanced over my shoulder at the door, “I’ll catch up with you both later okay? Got more people to greet!” And just like that she took off to play the role of the gracious hostess.
It looked great inside; with drapes and balloons hanging everywhere, and an extremely large picture of the album cover hanging above a small stage area that was to the front of the room. There were tables and chairs surrounding the dance floor with blue cloths over them, with flower arrangements in the centre.
Toby headed towards one of the tables and I followed him, smiling at him when he pulled out a chair for me. I giggled and sat down, and then he took the chair beside me. We chatted until I heard a familiar voice behind me, and then a groan.
“Julia!” Joe snapped, and I turned to look over my shoulder, seeing him right behind me, arms raised. He dropped his arms to his side and frowned, “I was trying to sneak up on her!”
Julia stuck her tongue out, “Yes, well, she’s my friend and I wanted to greet her first,”
“I’ve known her longer,” Joe argued. I giggled and stood up, opening my arms to the both of them. Julia rushed forward, but Joe was already closer and Julia had the disadvantage of also wearing heels. Joe wrapped his arms around my waist in a hug, lifting me off the floor and spinning me round. When he set me down, he turned to Julia and smirked, “Beat that,”
She rolled her eyes, “It’s not a competition, Joseph,” She said, and then pulled me into a hug.
He laughed, “Only because you can’t beat me,” I saw him step towards Toby and she shake his hand, as Julia and I swayed in a sort of half dance/hug for a while.
I pulled away from her and examined her outfit; she was wearing a red dress that was ruffled at the bottom, with a white cardigan and red heels. Her hair was simply straightened, and her make up was simple. “You look nice,” I smiled.
“Likewise!”
Kevin and Danielle strolled up behind them, and my eyes widened. Danielle always managed to hold a sort of effortless beauty that made me green with envy. Right now her hair was curled loosely over her shoulders, and she was wearing a boob tube type dress that was grey at the top, with a cut in at the centre, and a creamy colour at the bottom. She’d completed the look with a pair of grey heels with a silver bow on the front, and a silver clutch bag. All of the Jonas’ were wearing suits, including Nick who was hanging awkwardly behind his older brothers.
“Hi,” I said to him, and he smiled in response.
After all of the greetings were over and done with, Toby took my hand and dragged me towards the dance floor. There was a slow type song on first, so we took my hand and waltzed me around the dance floor, gaining us a few stares from the celebrities surrounding us. We gasped as the next song came on, and then we locked gazes and said simultaneously, “JASON DERULOOOO!”
We started dancing to ‘In My Head’, Toby dancing very suggestively, which would have been awkward if it was anyone else. I kind of forgot where we were, and forgot all the people around us, as I danced with him, just letting go and enjoying myself. I almost forgot Nick was there too.
Almost.
At least until the song ended, and Toby disappeared off to find us some drinks. I glanced around and saw Joe and Julia dancing too. Joe was making faces as he did, causing Julia to crack up every few seconds. I smiled to myself, and then glanced around for any other faces I recognised.
There was a few; Chelsea Staub, Nicole Anderson, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Dylan and Cole Sprouse...none of which had a clue who I was, however, so I continued looking. I spotted Denise and Paul by the bar, and Frankie was running round talking to random people he bumped into. I smirked, and then noticed Danielle and Kevin in the corner, talking to each other. Nick was sat beside them by himself.
I exhaled deeply, toying with the idea of going to talk to him. I glanced around to check that Toby wasn’t heading over, and when I didn’t spot him I headed across the dance floor in Nick’s direction.
I made it halfway before she made an appearance. She came swanning out of nowhere in a short and shiny dress, all black, white and gold. She headed over to him and he glanced up, smiling sweetly. I felt myself deflate as I made to turn away but then I frowned as he glanced past her at me, and then excused himself.
Shit.
He’s coming this way.
I toyed with the idea of running back into the crowd, but knew I couldn’t. He’d already seen me. So I stayed where I was. It seemed to take forever for him to reach me.
“Hey,” He said.
“Hi,”
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and then said, “You look beautiful,” I blushed, “Wanna dance?” I started to open my mouth to argue, but he noticed and cut in, grabbing my hand quickly, “Oh come on, please? How am I supposed to win you back if you won’t give me a chance?”
I frowned, and then gasped as a spotlight moved to shine on us, and then the DJ changed the song to another slow one; Two Is Better Than One by Boys Like Girls.
I felt my cheeks burning up as everyone turned to stare at us, and then egged us on. Nick smirked, clearly proud of the situation we’d been put in, and then he leaned closer to me. “If you come and dance with me, we’ll be lost in the crowd and nobody will be able to see you,”
I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face, and then I nodded and allowed him to lead me to the dance floor to a large applause. I laughed and then put my hands on his shoulders as he put his on my waist. I saw Julia wink at me as her and Joe passed us, and I smiled shyly.
Nick never moved his eyes away from my face as he sang along, and I felt the long silent butterflies springing to life in my stomach again, the way they always did when he sang to me.
“I heard the song,” He said suddenly, “You sound amazing,”
I shrugged, “They probably edited it a lot,”
“Maybe, but they edit our songs too and you still like my voice,” I didn’t reply and we danced silently until the song had finished. We barely noticed though, just carried on slow dancing even though the song that followed was I Kissed A Girl. “Listen Emma-”
I sighed and he pulled his eyebrows together in confusion, “This was nice and you’re going to go and ruin it by telling me you love me again, aren’t you?”
“Actually I was going to ask if we can still be friends,”
I felt myself go red again, only this time with embarrassment. I also felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as if I’d been punched in the stomach, “Oh,”
“Not that I don’t love you, because I do,” He continued, “But I’ve got to accept that you don’t want me back, and I guess I deserve that but-”
I breathed in deeply, and then exhaled slowly. I still loved him, I knew that. It was clear that he still loved me too, and I was just being stubborn about this whole thing. I looked up at his face; he looked concerned, and I felt a stab of guilt for what I’d done with Toby. I bit my lip and closed my eyes before saying, “Nick, I have to tell you something.”