The Story of Us (Book 1 of "The Story of Us" Series) [Completed]

Chapter 19 - What It Feels Like For A Girl

[Nick]

I was pissed off over Harley's VMA performance for weeks after that show. I was pissed off that she took it solely out on Paris when it wasn't all Paris' fault. It was my fault, too. Hell, it was Harley's fault also. If she had never jumped off her bed, her lyric notebook would have never fallen and I would have never seen all those plans she made. So to take it all out on Paris pissed me off.

It pissed me off even more that people went absolutely ape shit crazy for the song. You couldn't turn on the radio without someone talking about it. All the gossip magazines started bringing up our breakup again. It just absolutely drove me up the wall, especially when her album came out with the biggest first week sales she had ever seen – all because of a song dissing my girlfriend.

Everybody told me that I needed to listen to the CD that she named "Better Than Revenge" after the song she did on the VMA's. God, even my own mother and father, who was going through a divorce of their own, were telling me I needed to listen to it.

Yeah, I didn't listen to it.

I probably should have at the time, but I didn't want anything to do with Harley Harper.

Not long after the VMA's, news came out that she and Ashton had started dating and they were the new "it" couple. You saw their pictures on all the magazines and gossip sites. At one point, there was a picture of Harley with a diamond ring on her ring finger and there were rumors of an engagement. I'm not going to lie, hearing those rumors gave me a little bit of anxiety. I mean, would she really marry someone after only a few weeks of dating?

Turned out it was only for the movie they were filming, it was fake and she had just forgotten to take it off.

But according to AJ, they were getting pretty serious but with her tour beginning and him starting work on another movie, they were having to spend a lot of time apart but Ashton was making an effort by flying out to see her all the time. She seemed happy from what I heard so I couldn't bash Ashton for that even though I did want to punch his ass for getting into our business at that after party.

After my and AJ's discussion at the VMA's, we started spending more time together. We ended up filming an episode of Oprah where AJ discussed his sobriety and problems and soon after, we all decided we wanted to do another album together. I put my second solo album on hold and we went into the studio. It was pretty great to be back with my boys and I'm not going to lie, dating Paris gave our new album we were starting to work on some great publicity.

And that's what where we were when it came time to go to the Grammy's. I was hesitant in going. Paris and I skipped out on the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards after what happened at the VMA's, but the Grammy's were a bigger deal and Paris wanted to go.

I just didn't know how that was going to go over since Harley was nominated for three awards, including Album of the Year and she would surely be performing.

If I had listened to the album, I wouldn't have been so shocked when she did get on the stage and perform... again.

[/Nick]

[February 2004]

Harley stood in front of the mirror in her Beverly Hills hotel suite, staring at her reflection. She was wearing what she considered the perfect dress. It reminded her of the dress that Cinderella wore, minus the puffy sleeves that looked like she had shoulder pads on from the 80's. It was sleeveless and the color was a goldish color that went perfectly with her newly highlighted hair and her hazel eyes.

She just hoped it matched the Grammy she was going to win later that night. While her album "Better Than Revenge" barely made the Grammy nominations deadline, it was nominated for three awards, including the overall Album of the Year. She was also nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song "Better Than Revenge" and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for a song she recorded with Rascal Flatts. The other awards were fine, but she really wanted to win for Album of the Year.

She had put so much work into that album, more than she ever had before. That album was like her diary of the past few years of her life. It was her baby. She wrote every single song on the album alone and she just wanted to know that it meant as much as it did to her to the music industry and winning a Grammy would prove that it did.

Harley looked over at Ashton who was getting his hair styled and smiled. She was thankful the awards took place in Los Angeles so that he wouldn't have to leave the set of his movie that he was filming to come with her. She wanted him with her.

Sure, her relationship with him was different than it was with Nick because she was younger then, but she loved Ashton. He understood her. He tried his best to work around their schedules and for once in her life, Harley appreciated that. It was always her having to work around her and Nick's schedules.

"I'm ready," Ashton said, standing up from the chair. Harley waved to the hair and make-up people as they walked out of their suite and she smiled at Ashton, reaching up to straighten his tie as he walked up to her. "You're going to do awesome tonight."

"Little nervous," Harley smiled, running her hands over the front of his suit. "Never been nominated for Album of the Year before."

"You deserve it."

"You're just saying that because you're dating me," she said as Ashton sighed and nodded.

"True, I have to give you that, but it was good. It was honest. That's the best kind of music," he said as she reached up, hugging him tightly. "Weird seeing you see these songs about your ex, but it's what you do."

"Just think, my next album is going to be about you," she said as he laughed nervously. "Don't worry, I won't write a bad song about you."

"Good, because then I'll have to punk your cute ass," he said as she started to giggle.