Skyscraper // Demi Lovato // 5

1.

"But that's awesome," Jay told me after I ranted about my meeting. It was a Friday afternoon and we only had an hour to talk, and my ranting had taken up at least half of the time.

"Yeah, I guess so, but I don't wanna be away from home on weekends."

She was wearing a simple pair of sweats and a Nike sweatshirt with holes for her thumbs. She reached over and took my hand. "I'll be okay."

"I'm not worried about you, well I am, but I'm worried about me too. I don't know if I can get through this without seeing you."

Her brow furrowed. "How did you and Maia talk to Demi when she was on tour?"

I couldn't believe she was bringing this up now. "I really don't see how this helps our situation," I said, Jay rolling her eyes.

"FaceTime, you cute dummy. You can FaceTime Jordan when he comes and we can talk that way."

I felt my cheeks heat up after she called me cute. I also felt like a dummy because I hadn't figured out the answer.

"And I know it'll be hard. Nothing can be easy, for whatever reason, but we'll get through it. Like we got through high school."

I hesitated before saying my next words. "Speaking of school, Emma texted me on Instagram. She wants to be friends again."

Jay raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you sure she's not coming back because of your new career?"

"It's not much of a career yet. Nobody even knows outside of family, close friends, and the people I work with. But I believe her. I don't think I trust her completely, but I wanna give her a second chance. I was thinking she could have lunch or dinner with me and my moms. They're good at reading people."

Jay nodded and I was glad she wasn't upset. "Okay. Just be careful. Time is almost up."

I glanced at the clock above us. "I'm sorry I made this all about me," I said.

Jay chuckled. "Oh, don't be. It's all about me in here, so I need a break." We stood and hugged. Our kiss was cut a little bit short by her therapist telling us it was time for her to go back to her room. I made my way outside and sat on a bench, texting Maia that I was ready to be picked up.

I stared at my lockscreen, a picture of Jay and me in our graduation dresses. Every time it went black, I clicked the side button again and stared some more. Her hair was glowing with the white lights and her cheeks were pink because Demi had seen us kissing and she made us pose for the picture. The only thing I hated about the picture was a strand of hair that had come untucked from behind my ear. Since then, I was constantly touching my hair and making sure it was laying the way it was supposed to be. Letting my phone go dark again, I ran a hand over the side of my head and as I did, I realized I wasn't alone. A guy with a large camera aimed right at me stood behind a bush in front of the lobby window. I flinched when the flash went off. He looked like he was about to say something, but Demi's car pulled up and I ran to it, practically throwing myself into the backseat.

Maia turned around, Demi speeding off. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just caught me off guard."

"They tend to do that," Demi said bluntly. "There's nobody behind us, is there?"

Both Maia and I looked out the back window to confirm that there were no cars trailing behind us.

Everyone relaxed and I decided to ask if Emma could come over one day and I explained that I wanted to get their opinions on her before I fully decided if I would be friends with her again.

"She seemed genuine when she was giving her speech, but we can do that," Demi said. "When is it?"

"I didn't know when would be good for you."

I waited a moment while Maia checked her phone. "Tuesday?"

"That's good for me," Demi said. "Rosie?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll ask her now."

After she agreed to dinner on Tuesday, I noticed that Demi wasn't going home.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Oh, nowhere," Demi said. She was trying to not be suspicious, but it wasn't working.

I quickly learned that they were planning on getting me my license. It had always been something I wanted to do, and Maia had taught me to drive, but I just never took the test.

"This is cool and all, but I don't even have a car," I said.

"Or do you?" Demi said.

"I swear, if you got me the most expensive car..." I trailed off as Demi parked next to a car with a big, blue bow on it.

"No, we got you the cheapest used one we could find," Maia said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Now come on and look at your car." We got out and I got a good look at my new car. It was a Ford, I knew that from the logo on the front. I could see my warped reflection in the shiny red paint and I instantly fell in love with the black hubcaps.

"This is so awesome!" I shouted, even though there were some people around us. I threw my arms around Demi and then Maia and Maia pulled the keys from her bag.

I took them, hitting the unlock button and the car clicked. After that, a woman with a clipboard came out from the building we were parked near. Giving Demi a confused look, she quickly introduced me to the driving instructor, Michelle.

"Wait, I'm doing this now?" I asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Maia asked as if I had been preparing for months for this. "We can go with you, if you want," she added, seeing my concern.

Since I had already unlocked the car, we got in, Demi and Maia getting in the back after removing the bow and tossing it into Demi's car. It felt wrong to be in the driver's seat, and I had to take a few deep breaths before I could put the key in the ignition and turn it.

Once I got out of the parking lot, everything was fine. There were times when I got nervous about hitting another car, but I made it back without a scratch and I left with my driver's license.

"I think this calls for ice cream," Maia said.

I grinned, but it fell slightly when I realized I would have to drive my car alone. Thankfully Maia noticed my hesitation and said she would ride with me and adding that whoever was last to get to the ice cream shop had to pay.

For the first time in months, I felt happy as Maia directed me to the ice cream shop and since I had taken a shortcut, we got there before Demi. I didn't worry about  all the people staring at us as Demi claimed we had cheated and Maia just shrugged. I didn't care that some guy was probably selling my picture from when I was sitting outside the rehab center.

Everything, for once, was fine.