Danger Signs // Demi Lovato // 4

6. We're Only Lost Children

Later that day, I texted Jayden so she could save my number in her phone. I explained that's why I was texting and she responded with a thumbs up emoji and an offer to kick someone's ass.

I chuckled and said I'd think about it.

"Who ya texting?" Demi asked, sneaking up behind me.

"A friend." There was a slight pause between my words, but she didn't notice.

"Is-Is it time?" she asked, looking worried.

"What? No!" I cried defensively.

"Okay. Good. I really want Maia to be here for that." She exhaled deeply in relief.

"Speaking of, where is she?"

"Work. She should be home soon. She's picking up dinner."

I just nodded, glancing at my phone.

"Rosie?"

Her tone was serious, and I slowly looked up at her.

"You know you can come to us about anything, right?"

"Yeah, I know." This had to be the most awkward eye contact I'd ever held with anyone.

"Okay..." She took a long pause. "So, is there anything new going on? Besides this new friend? Are your classes okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." The light sigh at the end gave me away.

"Rosie, did something happen today?"

I tapped my fingers on the counter. It felt way too quiet. It was suffocating. "Well, Brie and Emma are in my bio class now. Brie asked why I changed my middle name. And then Miles was staring at me while I was in art."

"Remember your promise." Demi squeezed my hand before going to get a bottle of water from the fridge.

"I am," I said, picking my bag up. "I'm gonna start some homework. Call me when Maia gets back with dinner."

"Sure thing."

I went upstairs to my room, closing the door behind me. I took my shoes off and flopped onto my bed, phone in hand.

Jayden: You can keep the seat if you want

Me: Thanks

Jayden: Don't mention it. Btw I forgot to tell you this. You can call me Jay. Pretty much everyone does but it's whatever

I was stunned that someone as cool as her was trying so hard. But I hadn't had a real friend in a long time, so it was nice.

Jay: Busy this weekend?

A double text. Wow, I must be really special.

Me: I don't think so. Why?

Jay: I have some plans with Jordan and a few of our friends. Wanted to see if you wanted to join. Pizza and ice cream will probably be involved.

Me: Sounds fun

Jay: Cool we'll talk about the details later. Gotta run

I decided to leave it there, grabbing my nearly brand new laptop to work on some homework while I waited for Demi to call me down. Maia had gotten it for me, and it was a nice laptop, but I barely used it for anything besides homework that required a computer. I had tried to tell her not to bother, but she insisted, so I let her.

As I typed up my short book review for English, my phone started lighting up every minute. It was off to the side so I saw it in the corner of my eye, and it was getting annoying. Groaning, I leaned over to flip my phone face down, but I saw why it was lighting up so much. I sat back up in bed, scrolling through my new Instagram followers. I had made an account, but I got on it less than I used my laptop. I immediately saw Jay's profile and followed her back. I found her brother, whose account was private, but I hit request anyway. The other three people—Tess, Paige, and Isaiah, according to their bios—were people I didn't know, but I had to assume these were the friends Jay mentioned. I hit follow on all of them, and soon after, Jordan accepted my request.

I was about to check out his account to see why it was private, but Demi texted saying Maia was back with dinner. I left my phone to charge while I went to eat.

Downstairs, Demi and Maia were sorting through the takeout bags on the counter and getting some plates out. Maia handed them to me and I set the table in the back corner of the room. We barely used it, since it was usually just the three of us, but we didn't have much of an option tonight.

"Jeez, Maia, did you buy the entire restaurant?" I heard Demi ask.

"I just wanted to make sure there was something everyone would like." Maia looked at me. "So, what do you want? There's a lot of choices."

I stepped over, seeing a wide range of Italian dishes.

"I've really been wanting Italian," Maia said to me.

Chuckling, I started for the lasagna. "I can tell."

"This looks so good," Demi said, taking the entire container of garlic bread to the table. We all carried a few things and grabbed some serving spoons so we didn't have to get up constantly.

That turned out to be the smartest thing, because we refilled our plates a few times.

"I got dessert, too," Maia said once Demi and I had stated we were stuffed.

"Man, you shoulda said that before I ate that last plate," I said, leaned back in my chair, pointing to my empty plate. "Tell me it's cake."

"It's cake. And ice cream."

I stared at Maia for a moment. "You're such a good mom. Give me a piece of this deliciousness."

She laughed, clearing the plates to put in the sink. She pulled out a box from the freezer. My eyesight wasn't great, but I could tell it was a chocolatey ice cream cake. She cut three pieces and carried all three plates in one trip, impressing Demi and me.

"I was a waitress for, like, a week in school," she said.

"Really?" Demi asked.

"Yep."

Staring at the cake in front of me, I saw it had chocolate cake on the bottom with vanilla and chocolate swirl ice cream on top, and sprinkled with tiny chocolate chips.

"Speaking of school," Demi started, causing me to look up at her. She caught my eye before continuing on. "Rosie has a new friend."

"Oh, that's great. Who is it?" Maia asked.

"It's not like you guys would know her, but her name is Jay. She has a twin, too. Jordan." I pressed my lips together, slowly eating. Maia was halfway through her slice and Demi was taking her time.

They both gave me looks, like, "And? What else?"

"We just started talking today. I don't know what else to say." I swallowed a lump, staring at my plate for a minute. Taking a deep breath, I said, "We were texting earlier, though, and she invited me to hang out with her brother and few of their friends. This weekend."

Before the world knew Demi Lovato had adopted me, I wasn't really allowed to go out with friends much. Ever, really, so I didn't really expect them to say I could.

"As long as we can meet them first," Demi said, a huge smile taking over her face.