Echoes in the Darkness | Demi Lovato

Chapter 27- On the Line

"How was school?" Demi asked me as I got into the car.

"Okay, I guess," I replied quietly as she handed me a cup of mango cubes for a snack. I left out the part about the girls in all my classes who hated me for some reason. "Gym and social studies were actually kind of fun." No, they weren't. It was horrible to have to dress out in front of people.

Listen, baby;

"That's good," My aunt replied distractedly as she made a right turn. "What language did you end up choosing?"

I had been trying to decide what to take: French or Spanish. I wanted to learn French, but I've always been in Spanish classes and it's a pretty easy language for me to learn. I hadn't been sure which to choose so I asked Demi about it when we were registering me for classes. "Spanish. I'm in level five."

"How many levels are there?"

"Seven, but you can't take anything about five in middle school." Even though five is really easy and they just won't let me move up a level. I already tested out of it but the counselor wouldn't let me change to French. She said it was too late to make class changes even though my schedule was literally decided two days ago.

"Do you want to go back to the recording studio with me or home?" Demi asked when she came to an intersection. Right to the studio or left to go home.

"Um, the studio I guess," I responded quietly. I don't really want to go home alone. I don't know if I could honestly trust myself to be alone for that long.

"Alright, studio it is," Demi replied with a small smile. "You can do your homework in the lounge area."

Never would've said forever.

---

I'm sitting on an overly plush couch in some reading area at Demi's studio, catching up on To Kill a Mocking Bird for my English class while Demi records a new song. We've been here for almost three hours, but there's no sign that we're leaving anytime soon.

"Hi, mind if I sit here?" I look up to see a brunette with green eyes standing in front of me. She looks to be about sixteen or seventeen.

"Go ahead," I replied, sliding over on the white couch to make room for the girl.

"Thanks, oh, and I'm Lauren, by the way. Lauren Jauregui," Lauren stated, sitting down beside me.

"Max," I introduced, leaving off my last name because, well, I wasn't really sure what I should say it was. On one hand, I don't particularly want to use Miller seeing as it's my step-father's last name and I hate it, but I also don't know if Demi would mind me using her last name. Plus, saying 'Hi, I'm Maxine Lovato' would bring up a whole lot of questions that I don't really want to deal with.

If we knew it ends so fast.

"Lauren? Where did you go?" I heard a voice call out after a few minutes of sitting silently with Lauren. She had been on her phone while I was reading. The brunette didn't respond, but a couple seconds later, two girls came through the hallway. One was pretty short, like, shorter than Demi, while the other was about average height with dark hair.

"I'm right here," Lauren responded with a small chuckle, making the two girls turn around and notice us which they hadn't up until now. "Guys, this is Max. Max, these are my friends Ally and Camila."

I waved to the girls, folding down the corner of the page I was on before closing my book. "Hi."

"Hey!" Camila said with a huge smile. "I've seen you before, I think... you're Demi's niece, aren't you? Didn't she post a picture with you?"

"Yeah, that'd be me," I responded slightly awkwardly. I didn't know there were any pictures of Demi and me.

"Oh, you're right! I do recognize you now!" Lauren jumped into the conversation as the other two girls sat down. "So, Max, what are you doing here?"

"Demi's recording so I'm waiting on her," I answered softly. I don't think I'm gonna go back to my book anytime soon. Not that I really care; it was kind of boring if I'm being honest.

Why did you say I love you?

"Demi's here? She must not be in her normal recording booth cause she wasn't there when we walked by."

"Mhm, I came here with her after school." As I spoke, I started messing with the sleeves on my shirt. They're making my skin itch where I cut, but there's literally nothing I can do about it. That would never have happened if I still had my perfect razor blades, but their back in Russellville.

---

"Hey, Mad Max, you ready to go?" Demi asks as she walks into the lounge room. I've been sitting here talking to Lauren, Camila, and Ally for about the last thirty minutes. All three of them are actually really nice, and they seem familiar, but I can't figure out why.

"Yeah," I replied, standing up and grabbing my book. "Bye."

"See ya," Lauren and Ally respond while Mila gives me a quick hug. My aunt waved to the girls, and then we were gone.

If you knew it wouldn't last?

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Author's Note: Hey everyone! So I have a new chapter for you guys, although I don't know why I felt the need to say that when it's pretty obvious... anyways, I hope everyone is having a good day today, and a good summer overall. I've been kind of sick the last couple of days, but I guess it's not all bad because it meant I had time to work, and I'm feeling a little better now. I don't really have much else to say besides please vote and comment! QOTD: What language can all of y'all speak? I obviously speak English and then I can also speak French semi-fluently. 

Votes: 158

Comments: 32