But I'm Different (A Demi Lovato Fanfiction)

Chapter: Behind Closed Doors

"Sabrina! The tickets have come!" Demi's voice echoed up the stairs like a burst of light through the grey winter day.

I shot up from my spot on the bed, heart pounding with excitement, and ran downstairs. Demi was holding two shiny concert tickets, grinning wide like it was Christmas all over again.

"Thank God! Would you mind dropping them off to Mia?" I asked, barely able to contain my happiness.

"Of course, I was planning to do that anyway," Demi laughed.

I squealed, grabbed my shoes, and rushed out the door to Demi's car.

I handed her a slip of paper with Mia's address as we pulled out of the street.

"Oh, she lives far from us." Demi glanced over.

"I know," I said quietly, "but I've never been there. She always dodges when I ask if I can come over or if we can hang out at her place. I never knew why."

I looked out the window, my stomach twisting. Something about Mia's silence on this felt heavy, like there were secrets too dark to say out loud.

Within minutes, we pulled up outside the flat complex.

It wasn't at all what I'd pictured. The front yard was cluttered with junk-old broken furniture, cracked plastic bins, empty bottles. The grass was patchy, overgrown, and scattered with trash.

The inside of the flats itself looked worn down, paint peeling and chipped in giant chunks, windows grimy and the curtains inside yellowed and ragged.

"Oh." I whispered.

"Want me to go up and just drop them off?" Demi asked, watching me carefully.

"No, it's okay."

I climbed out and walked up towards flat 15. A few flights of stairs. My eyes flicking to the cracked door and stained windows. I wanted to be careful, didn't want to step on trash or upset something.

I knocked softly.

The door cracked open, and a sliver of Mia's face appeared. Her eyes widened in panic when she saw me. She quickly pulled the door wider but then immediately shoved it shut, blocking me out.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered sharply, voice tight and tense.

"Um... I wanted to drop your Christmas present off," I said, my voice catching on the words.

"You didn't have to."

I held out the gift. "But I wanted to."

"Thanks... but you should go now."

"Why? Aren't you going to open it?" I asked, confused.

"Um... oh, of course I will..." Her voice faltered.

I stood there, feeling the cold bite at my skin, watching her trembling hands as she shifted nervously.

"I don't get it, Mia. Why don't you want me to come in?"

She swallowed hard, her eyes flickering away.

"I just... don't want people here. It's... better this way."

I frowned but didn't push. I'd never known much about her home life before, and suddenly the weight of it all was crashing down on me.

Mia lives in a rough neighbourhood. It's the kind of place where people look over their shoulders, where sirens are more common than birdsong, and the streetlights flicker like they're on their last breath. It's noisy, crowded, dangerous in ways that don't always make the news.