Categories > Celebrities > Panic! At The Disco > Just For the Attention
A/n- So I’ve been avoiding writing this chapter for many reasons. One is that I’m really looking forward to the sequel too much and I want to write that instead, so finishing this up is getting hard. I’ve never actually finished something this long before, so it’s kinda scary. Oh well. Plus one of my best friends moved away (AND I MISS YOU SO MUCH), so I must dedicate this chapter to two people. To ‘Juliette’ who has left me and who I already miss more than I can stand and to ‘Nikol’ who left me awhile ago and I can’t wait to see you in three days. This chapter was written for you guys, I love you and miss you more than you can imagine!
Reviews will get to meet Stephenie Meyer with me on Tuesday
*
The next couple days were almost exact opposite for the two girls. Dani was still getting an ill reception from the fans and was constantly wishing she wasn’t on the tour anymore. The verbal abuse had gotten so bad that she had finally opted out of the last few meet and greets and was spending more time with Claire and Juliette than was probably healthy. Meanwhile, Nikol was practically on cloud nine. Things between her and Ryan may not have gotten physical at all, but she was happier than she had ever been before. Their friendship had blossomed right along with their relationship. Nikol had never been this open with anyone besides Dani before, and anyone could tell how happy this made her by the glowing expression of joy that never left her face. Of course, she felt bad about Danielle was going through, but nothing could dampen her spirits.
Thankfully for both of them there was a small break built into the tour that week, giving them both the chance to breath and adjust to the sudden turns their lives had taken. The first day the pair had stayed in their bunks all day and caught up with each other, since the last few days had been a flurry of change that had affected them in its own way. The boys were being kept busy with small TV appearance and interviews, so they hadn’t been interrupted at all. The next day was different. The boys had a true day off and had decided to take the girls on somewhat of a double date. They had gone out to a lunch and then done some ‘shopping’, which was mostly made up of the girls trying on clothes while the boys stood around uncomfortably close to the lingerie department.
The real fun was the next night. The label was hosting a small backyard dinner party in honour of the new album hitting gold recently. Just for the occasion, the girl’s had used a good portion of their credit to purchase almost matching cocktail dresses. Dani was sporting a white thigh length dress with black sequins sewn into it in random patches. Nik’s was a black dress with white beading hand sewn on it. They were driven to the party in a fully stocked limo, so by the time they had reached wherever they were being taken, they weren’t feeling as nervous as they had been when they first stepped into the limo. What they had noted early on about this party was that it wasn’t as casual as an affair as everyone had led them to believe. The first big hint was when Cassie and Haley had flown in the day before, seemingly just for this event, but the big tip off was when they found out they were the only performers going. It seemed that suddenly they were solely to be playing the role of girlfriend for the night, which was a prospect that frightened them both.
They spent the first part of the night clinging to their men as much as they could and when that failed, they would blend into the back of a crowd, drink in hand, always together. It was about halfway through the part that the other two girls grabbed them and escorted them to the pool, sitting down with their exposed legs in the water, shoes forgotten in the grass nearby. They looked up and gestured for Danielle and Nikol to do the same, so after a grateful abandonment of painful high heels they settled down on the cold concrete next to the other two.
“So what do you think of it?” Haley asked casually.
“Think of what?” Nikol asked, still nervous as all hell. The night had set her back on the course of being a natural wallflower, and she suddenly felt put on the spot.
“Traveling on a tour, the boys…” Haley said in reply.
Nikol laughed quietly, a nervous tone behind it, “Oh, that. Well…it’s interesting. I’m used to traveling, and now this tour’s become…almost second nature. And the boys…well…” she flustered as she tried to figure out what to say about Ryan. No one outside of the tour knew yet, and the idea of being his girlfriend still seemed so foreign that she still had difficulty talking about it.
“They’re amazing,” Danielle said, jumping into save her friend, “They have been absolutely incredible since the beginning, and now…well their hospitality is just amazing.”
Cassie laughed at that, “I bet. So are you guys enjoying the perks of the Panic at the Disco Girlfriend Club yet?”
Nikol visibly blanched at this, “How the hell do you guys know?” she questioned, no longer trying to pretend that her and Ryan were simply great platonic friends.
“Oh honey, it’s quite obvious. He invited you to a couple’s only function, and Keltie’s completely dropped off the radar. It’s like putting two and two together, no matter what, you come up with four.”
Danielle laughed hysterically at this. Cassie had a point; it was kind of obvious if you thought about all the little details.
Nik took a second to compose herself then shyly answered the question, “Well I haven’t had too many, to be honest. This whole thing is pretty damn new, and we’re taking it at our own pace. But I will say, I’m looking forward to whatever this has in store for me,” she ended with a coyish smile, something she had picked up from her best friend.
The girls around her hollered in approval, and this caught the attention of most people congregated in the back yard. After a second of confused looks, conversations started up again as if nothing had happened.
“So what about you, Dani?” Haley asked, curious to see how the girl was dealing with the exposure to the public, remembering how tough it could be around girls who idolized your significant other.
Danielle sighed, “Well the beginning was great. Though we do tend to fight more than I believe is necessary, we’re pretty solid. I’m just thrown by everyone’s reactions. It seems like for every one person that supports me, there are five more ready to tear me down. It’s worth it, but I certainly wasn’t prepared and to be honest, I don’t know how much more I can take,” she was surprised with herself by the time she finished talking. It wasn’t like her to spill this much to people she had just met, she normally saved it all up for Nik or her mother.
Cassie sighed and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, giving her a light squeeze, “Hey it happens. I got the same reaction, and I’ve been with Jon longer than he’s been in this band. Same thing happened with Haley, and it was even worse when Keltie and Audrey were in the picture. All I can say is that it dies down eventually, I promise. So if you think he’s worth it, and he’d better be, cause that boy’s crazy, then don’t give up. Soon enough, they learn to ignore you.”
Danielle smiled and leaned her head on her new friend’s shoulder staring out across the water at her boyfriend, gesturing wildly to a group of people and talking so loud she could almost make out what he was saying.
On her other side, Nikol sat staring straight down into the water, wondering what it was going to be like for her, and if she thought she was strong enough to handle being attacked from all sides like her friend was. She couldn’t contemplate for too long though, because after a moment, a hand tapped her on her shoulder, shaking her from her reverie. It was Haley who was pointing across the yard where a Ryan shaped figure was heading their way carrying two glasses of champagne and looking determined.
“Looks like you’re wanted elsewhere darling,” she said, and Nikol smiled, offering the girls a hug before shyly going to great her boyfriend midway.
*
She smiled as a greeting as soon as she knew he would be able to see it. He grinned widely in response and quickened his pace to meet her, secretly glad he wouldn’t have to try and pry her out of the ‘girlfriend club’. It had always been a pain to try and pull Keltie out of girl-talk time, and though he didn’t ever anticipate that with Nikol, it wasn’t something he ever wanted to try again.
When he finally reached her, the progress not taking as long as he had expected since she had managed to cover quite a bit of distance herself, he offered her one of the flutes carefully and then took her free hand in his.
“So, are you enjoying yourself?” he said in way of small talk as he started to lead them towards a part of the yard that was relatively abandoned and well lit by lights casually through the trees.
Nikol gave him a sideways smile, “That’s a loaded question if I ever heard one. If I say yes, you’ll think I enjoy these things too much and take me to more and more, and if I say no, then you’ll think I don’t appreciate you bringing me to something like this.”
Ryan stopped walking and looked down at her, laughter in her eyes, “You’re over thinking this Nik. I just wanted to know if you were enjoying girl time. Hale and Cass seem to be having a ball breaking you in now that they’ve figured it out.”
Nikol laughed, “Yes they were. They wanted to know how I’m liking the perks, and I told them I don’t know, haven’t been getting too many new ones,” she paused and caught the confused look on Ryan’s face, “I just mean that nothing too much has changed between us in the past couple days. We’re spending more time together, and there’s more physical contact, but it doesn’t feel any different to me. I think that’s the part I like the most.”
Ryan sighed as she finished, “I’m glad that’s how that little speech ended, otherwise I’d feel incredibly incompetent. I mean, I know that not much has changed in the way we act, but I definitely feel something different whenever I’m around you. Besides, if you haven’t noticed, we haven’t exactly gone about this in a very normal way.”
“No that’s true. And Ryan, I’m not complaining, I actually love the fact that almost nothing’s changed. Makes it feel like this is more right than we thought it was.”
He smiled at her, and kissed her lightly on the cheek, making the blood rush to them and dye them a darker red than they had been all night. Then he turned and tugged on her arm pulling her behind him. When he finally stopped, they were standing in front of a small table with a couple chair circled casually around it. Earlier in the evening the boys had posed for a couple photos at this table. It was nestled between a couple trees and the moon poured through the leaves so well that it was as if it Ryan had meant for it to be set up that way. Knowing him, it could have been.
He moved from her side silently, placing his glass on the table and holding out a chair for her. After recovering from the shock of chivalry, she quickly sat down and waited for him to do the same. They sat for a moment, sipping champagne in silence, Nikol wondering what Ryan was planning, and him wondering where to start.
Finally, Nikol spoke up, feeling that the silence had stretched its course.
“So did you bring me here to stare at me awkwardly, cause if that’s the case, there were plenty of people inside that house that were willing to do that for you.”
Ryan gave a small chuckle, “No, I’m going to leave that up to everyone else. I find it hard to look at you with anything besides adoration to be honest,” he looked down as he said this, blushing noticeably under the glow of the lights in the trees and the moonlight. He busied himself with something inside his jacket, ignoring Nikol’s reaction, which was a blatant jaw drop as she contemplated what he had just said.
When he finally found what he was looking for, Nikol had recovered for the most part, and was absent-mindedly running her hands up and down the stem of her flute, looking deep in thought. He cleared his throat lightly and she looked up, their eyes catching and her heart tumbling in her chest.
“I got you something yesterday. I saw it while we were at that one new agey store that you basically ransacked. I just saw it, and it screamed your name, and I basically thought it would go perfectly with your outfit for the opening number. I know there’s not really an occasion to give you a gift, but if you want, you can think of it as an incredibly late birthday present or something, since we didn’t really talk when it rolled around. I just could stop myself,” he drifted off as he placed a small box on the table, wrapped elegantly in a dark blue paper and held together by a silver ribbon.
Nikol was stunned. There hadn’t been many instances of her receiving gifts from boyfriends before, and to have one offered up so unexpectedly took her completely surprised. It took a couple seconds to pick up from where it was waiting in the middle of the table, and she carefully unwrapped it, staring at the small box in shock. Ryan watched her the whole time, waiting anxiously for her reaction.
The paper revealed a white box on which the word ‘Pyramid’ was embossed in light gold writing. She pulled back the top of the box and stared at what lied within.
It was a leather choker, made of a thick hide meant to wrap securely around any neck and was held together by a silver pewter triangle buckle. It was a very simple piece of jewelry, but it had caught her eye the day before and she had instantly fell in love with it. She had been tempted to buy it until the price had caught her eye and she had shied away to dig through a sale bin instead.
After a couple seconds of holding it and running her hands over it, she finally set it down in the box and met Ryan’s eager eyes.
“It’s beautiful, I don’t know what else to say. Thank you, so much. I…” she faltered, unable to find the words to convey how much his generosity meant to her.
He smiled, seemingly happy with her response, and stood up, and grabbed her hands to pull her up.
“I’m glad you like it. It’s just kind of my way of thanking you for being so much more than a friend for me on this tour. I know we haven’t delved too far into what this relationship could be, but I want you to know that I’ve never felt like this before. Nikol, I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you, and I’ve never been happier about anything in my life.”
Nikol was speechless. How did you respond to that? She attempted a response the only way she knew how and threw her arms around him, clutching to his back in a hug that she hoped expressed how she thought she might feel exactly the same way. He grinned in her hair and hugged her back for a moment before he pulled back a bit and tilted her chin up. And there, under the picturesque lighting that Mother Nature had so thoughtfully provided, he kissed her so tenderly; she would later describe it as the best first kiss she had ever experienced.
*
A/n- …I’ll just leave it at that. JOIN:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/justfortheattention/
It's got cookies from the last three chapters!
And check out the girls' facebooks:
Danielle: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1225177637
Nikol: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1204657581
Reviews will get to meet Stephenie Meyer with me on Tuesday
*
The next couple days were almost exact opposite for the two girls. Dani was still getting an ill reception from the fans and was constantly wishing she wasn’t on the tour anymore. The verbal abuse had gotten so bad that she had finally opted out of the last few meet and greets and was spending more time with Claire and Juliette than was probably healthy. Meanwhile, Nikol was practically on cloud nine. Things between her and Ryan may not have gotten physical at all, but she was happier than she had ever been before. Their friendship had blossomed right along with their relationship. Nikol had never been this open with anyone besides Dani before, and anyone could tell how happy this made her by the glowing expression of joy that never left her face. Of course, she felt bad about Danielle was going through, but nothing could dampen her spirits.
Thankfully for both of them there was a small break built into the tour that week, giving them both the chance to breath and adjust to the sudden turns their lives had taken. The first day the pair had stayed in their bunks all day and caught up with each other, since the last few days had been a flurry of change that had affected them in its own way. The boys were being kept busy with small TV appearance and interviews, so they hadn’t been interrupted at all. The next day was different. The boys had a true day off and had decided to take the girls on somewhat of a double date. They had gone out to a lunch and then done some ‘shopping’, which was mostly made up of the girls trying on clothes while the boys stood around uncomfortably close to the lingerie department.
The real fun was the next night. The label was hosting a small backyard dinner party in honour of the new album hitting gold recently. Just for the occasion, the girl’s had used a good portion of their credit to purchase almost matching cocktail dresses. Dani was sporting a white thigh length dress with black sequins sewn into it in random patches. Nik’s was a black dress with white beading hand sewn on it. They were driven to the party in a fully stocked limo, so by the time they had reached wherever they were being taken, they weren’t feeling as nervous as they had been when they first stepped into the limo. What they had noted early on about this party was that it wasn’t as casual as an affair as everyone had led them to believe. The first big hint was when Cassie and Haley had flown in the day before, seemingly just for this event, but the big tip off was when they found out they were the only performers going. It seemed that suddenly they were solely to be playing the role of girlfriend for the night, which was a prospect that frightened them both.
They spent the first part of the night clinging to their men as much as they could and when that failed, they would blend into the back of a crowd, drink in hand, always together. It was about halfway through the part that the other two girls grabbed them and escorted them to the pool, sitting down with their exposed legs in the water, shoes forgotten in the grass nearby. They looked up and gestured for Danielle and Nikol to do the same, so after a grateful abandonment of painful high heels they settled down on the cold concrete next to the other two.
“So what do you think of it?” Haley asked casually.
“Think of what?” Nikol asked, still nervous as all hell. The night had set her back on the course of being a natural wallflower, and she suddenly felt put on the spot.
“Traveling on a tour, the boys…” Haley said in reply.
Nikol laughed quietly, a nervous tone behind it, “Oh, that. Well…it’s interesting. I’m used to traveling, and now this tour’s become…almost second nature. And the boys…well…” she flustered as she tried to figure out what to say about Ryan. No one outside of the tour knew yet, and the idea of being his girlfriend still seemed so foreign that she still had difficulty talking about it.
“They’re amazing,” Danielle said, jumping into save her friend, “They have been absolutely incredible since the beginning, and now…well their hospitality is just amazing.”
Cassie laughed at that, “I bet. So are you guys enjoying the perks of the Panic at the Disco Girlfriend Club yet?”
Nikol visibly blanched at this, “How the hell do you guys know?” she questioned, no longer trying to pretend that her and Ryan were simply great platonic friends.
“Oh honey, it’s quite obvious. He invited you to a couple’s only function, and Keltie’s completely dropped off the radar. It’s like putting two and two together, no matter what, you come up with four.”
Danielle laughed hysterically at this. Cassie had a point; it was kind of obvious if you thought about all the little details.
Nik took a second to compose herself then shyly answered the question, “Well I haven’t had too many, to be honest. This whole thing is pretty damn new, and we’re taking it at our own pace. But I will say, I’m looking forward to whatever this has in store for me,” she ended with a coyish smile, something she had picked up from her best friend.
The girls around her hollered in approval, and this caught the attention of most people congregated in the back yard. After a second of confused looks, conversations started up again as if nothing had happened.
“So what about you, Dani?” Haley asked, curious to see how the girl was dealing with the exposure to the public, remembering how tough it could be around girls who idolized your significant other.
Danielle sighed, “Well the beginning was great. Though we do tend to fight more than I believe is necessary, we’re pretty solid. I’m just thrown by everyone’s reactions. It seems like for every one person that supports me, there are five more ready to tear me down. It’s worth it, but I certainly wasn’t prepared and to be honest, I don’t know how much more I can take,” she was surprised with herself by the time she finished talking. It wasn’t like her to spill this much to people she had just met, she normally saved it all up for Nik or her mother.
Cassie sighed and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, giving her a light squeeze, “Hey it happens. I got the same reaction, and I’ve been with Jon longer than he’s been in this band. Same thing happened with Haley, and it was even worse when Keltie and Audrey were in the picture. All I can say is that it dies down eventually, I promise. So if you think he’s worth it, and he’d better be, cause that boy’s crazy, then don’t give up. Soon enough, they learn to ignore you.”
Danielle smiled and leaned her head on her new friend’s shoulder staring out across the water at her boyfriend, gesturing wildly to a group of people and talking so loud she could almost make out what he was saying.
On her other side, Nikol sat staring straight down into the water, wondering what it was going to be like for her, and if she thought she was strong enough to handle being attacked from all sides like her friend was. She couldn’t contemplate for too long though, because after a moment, a hand tapped her on her shoulder, shaking her from her reverie. It was Haley who was pointing across the yard where a Ryan shaped figure was heading their way carrying two glasses of champagne and looking determined.
“Looks like you’re wanted elsewhere darling,” she said, and Nikol smiled, offering the girls a hug before shyly going to great her boyfriend midway.
*
She smiled as a greeting as soon as she knew he would be able to see it. He grinned widely in response and quickened his pace to meet her, secretly glad he wouldn’t have to try and pry her out of the ‘girlfriend club’. It had always been a pain to try and pull Keltie out of girl-talk time, and though he didn’t ever anticipate that with Nikol, it wasn’t something he ever wanted to try again.
When he finally reached her, the progress not taking as long as he had expected since she had managed to cover quite a bit of distance herself, he offered her one of the flutes carefully and then took her free hand in his.
“So, are you enjoying yourself?” he said in way of small talk as he started to lead them towards a part of the yard that was relatively abandoned and well lit by lights casually through the trees.
Nikol gave him a sideways smile, “That’s a loaded question if I ever heard one. If I say yes, you’ll think I enjoy these things too much and take me to more and more, and if I say no, then you’ll think I don’t appreciate you bringing me to something like this.”
Ryan stopped walking and looked down at her, laughter in her eyes, “You’re over thinking this Nik. I just wanted to know if you were enjoying girl time. Hale and Cass seem to be having a ball breaking you in now that they’ve figured it out.”
Nikol laughed, “Yes they were. They wanted to know how I’m liking the perks, and I told them I don’t know, haven’t been getting too many new ones,” she paused and caught the confused look on Ryan’s face, “I just mean that nothing too much has changed between us in the past couple days. We’re spending more time together, and there’s more physical contact, but it doesn’t feel any different to me. I think that’s the part I like the most.”
Ryan sighed as she finished, “I’m glad that’s how that little speech ended, otherwise I’d feel incredibly incompetent. I mean, I know that not much has changed in the way we act, but I definitely feel something different whenever I’m around you. Besides, if you haven’t noticed, we haven’t exactly gone about this in a very normal way.”
“No that’s true. And Ryan, I’m not complaining, I actually love the fact that almost nothing’s changed. Makes it feel like this is more right than we thought it was.”
He smiled at her, and kissed her lightly on the cheek, making the blood rush to them and dye them a darker red than they had been all night. Then he turned and tugged on her arm pulling her behind him. When he finally stopped, they were standing in front of a small table with a couple chair circled casually around it. Earlier in the evening the boys had posed for a couple photos at this table. It was nestled between a couple trees and the moon poured through the leaves so well that it was as if it Ryan had meant for it to be set up that way. Knowing him, it could have been.
He moved from her side silently, placing his glass on the table and holding out a chair for her. After recovering from the shock of chivalry, she quickly sat down and waited for him to do the same. They sat for a moment, sipping champagne in silence, Nikol wondering what Ryan was planning, and him wondering where to start.
Finally, Nikol spoke up, feeling that the silence had stretched its course.
“So did you bring me here to stare at me awkwardly, cause if that’s the case, there were plenty of people inside that house that were willing to do that for you.”
Ryan gave a small chuckle, “No, I’m going to leave that up to everyone else. I find it hard to look at you with anything besides adoration to be honest,” he looked down as he said this, blushing noticeably under the glow of the lights in the trees and the moonlight. He busied himself with something inside his jacket, ignoring Nikol’s reaction, which was a blatant jaw drop as she contemplated what he had just said.
When he finally found what he was looking for, Nikol had recovered for the most part, and was absent-mindedly running her hands up and down the stem of her flute, looking deep in thought. He cleared his throat lightly and she looked up, their eyes catching and her heart tumbling in her chest.
“I got you something yesterday. I saw it while we were at that one new agey store that you basically ransacked. I just saw it, and it screamed your name, and I basically thought it would go perfectly with your outfit for the opening number. I know there’s not really an occasion to give you a gift, but if you want, you can think of it as an incredibly late birthday present or something, since we didn’t really talk when it rolled around. I just could stop myself,” he drifted off as he placed a small box on the table, wrapped elegantly in a dark blue paper and held together by a silver ribbon.
Nikol was stunned. There hadn’t been many instances of her receiving gifts from boyfriends before, and to have one offered up so unexpectedly took her completely surprised. It took a couple seconds to pick up from where it was waiting in the middle of the table, and she carefully unwrapped it, staring at the small box in shock. Ryan watched her the whole time, waiting anxiously for her reaction.
The paper revealed a white box on which the word ‘Pyramid’ was embossed in light gold writing. She pulled back the top of the box and stared at what lied within.
It was a leather choker, made of a thick hide meant to wrap securely around any neck and was held together by a silver pewter triangle buckle. It was a very simple piece of jewelry, but it had caught her eye the day before and she had instantly fell in love with it. She had been tempted to buy it until the price had caught her eye and she had shied away to dig through a sale bin instead.
After a couple seconds of holding it and running her hands over it, she finally set it down in the box and met Ryan’s eager eyes.
“It’s beautiful, I don’t know what else to say. Thank you, so much. I…” she faltered, unable to find the words to convey how much his generosity meant to her.
He smiled, seemingly happy with her response, and stood up, and grabbed her hands to pull her up.
“I’m glad you like it. It’s just kind of my way of thanking you for being so much more than a friend for me on this tour. I know we haven’t delved too far into what this relationship could be, but I want you to know that I’ve never felt like this before. Nikol, I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you, and I’ve never been happier about anything in my life.”
Nikol was speechless. How did you respond to that? She attempted a response the only way she knew how and threw her arms around him, clutching to his back in a hug that she hoped expressed how she thought she might feel exactly the same way. He grinned in her hair and hugged her back for a moment before he pulled back a bit and tilted her chin up. And there, under the picturesque lighting that Mother Nature had so thoughtfully provided, he kissed her so tenderly; she would later describe it as the best first kiss she had ever experienced.
*
A/n- …I’ll just leave it at that. JOIN:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/justfortheattention/
It's got cookies from the last three chapters!
And check out the girls' facebooks:
Danielle: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1225177637
Nikol: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1204657581
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