Los Angeles

Jackie

I nod and take a deep breath, sighing and yawning. I kiss him quickly and stand, my shirt rolled up to show my stomach from my sleep. I run a hand through my hair and take off my shirt, looking around in my closet to find a new one.

Nic

I'm very tempted to watch, but I don't. My lips curl into a pout, though I don't know what I'm upset about, as I stare up at the ceiling. As I wait, I think about going back to the hotel to change as well; but I decide against it. It's not like I smell or anything. Jackie doesn't care either way.

With a deep breath, I sit up and run a hand through my hair to tame it a bit. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and yawn again.

"What are we doing until he gets here?" I ask without looking at her.

Jackie

"You can look...I really don't care," I chuckle, "And just play around I guess. Hangout," I reply. I take a deep breath and find a shirt, slipping it over myself and brushing my hair.

Nic

I shrug and lift my gaze to where she is, too late anyway. As I do, I wonder why I didn't look in the first place. If she was anyone else, I would have done the complete opposite. I don't like the change of heart.

Nodding, I lie back down and bury my face in a pillow again.

"Okay then," I say into the fabric.

Jackie

I sit next to him and yawn, flicking him playfully in the back of the head before smiling mischeaviously, "Aren't you a badboy? You aren't proving to me that you are..."

Nic

I groan and keep my face in the pillow.

"What gave you the idea I was a bad boy?" I ask.

I don't mean it to sound as harsh as it might, but it bothers me how quickly everyone is to label me. Even her. She did when we first met, but I thought I proved her wrong with that; and already she has another label for me.

With a sigh, I look at her.

"That sounded more pissed than I really am," I tell her, though I'm not so sure. "I just am curious."

Jackie

I sigh and lie down next to him, "Because I've heard things. You always have a smarta*s response to everything. I don't know. You just don't seem to care about anything," I whisper, placing a hand on my stomach.

Nic

Studying her, I release a sigh of my own and think about it all. For some reason, my mind jumps back to my first gig. All the pressure, all the nerves, the screams, the lights--I had stepped off that stage and surrounded myself in the unfamiliar. Jace had been lost in the crowd, and for a moment I hadn't noticed. He hadn't been my manager at the time, just my kid brother tagging along. Charlie had supposed to have been looking after him, but I guess he turned his back for a second and lost him.

And then some crazy woman had tried to run off with him.

Before the end of the memory, I blink out of it and focus on Jackie again.

"I care about stuff," I whisper. "In this business, though, it's hard to. Everything gets in the way, and everything worsens. Sometimes it's best to pretend not to."

Jackie

"I get it," I whisper, "And I like that. I mean, it's always okay not to care about stuff."

I play with my hair and chuckle a little, "I do it sometimes."

Nic

I nod and study her again. As I begin to wonder what she has to pretend to not care about, I find myself slipping into deep thought again; and those thoughts lead straight back to the same old memories. My eyes close, and I take a deep breath.

"What do you mean?" I ask, focusing on her again instead of my own mind.

Jackie

I shrug, honestly not knowing but not really wanting to talk about it anyways. I turn to face him and give him a kiss on the cheek, "I don't know. I just don't care about stuff that hurt me."

I twine my hand with his, sighing before Rayah comes in the door, freezing, "Um..."

Nic

With a sigh, I study Jackie's reaction before texting Jace just to come now. After I put my phone away, I look at Rayah in the doorway without expression.

"Nothing happened," I say dryly. "You might want to pick up your jaw from the floor, though."

Looking away, I turn to lie on my back and close my eyes again.

Jackie

Right when I'm about to go asleep I hear the doorbell ring. I groan and stand, dragging Rayah with me to the door. Rayah just sits on the couch as I answer, "How may I help you?"

Jace just studies me, and I study him as well before opening the door wider and allowing him to step in. Nic comes down the stairs, wrapping his arms around me from behind, and burying his face in my neck. Rayah just sits there awkwardly, looking at the floor.

Nic

Jace studies me, overly confused, before clearing his throat and shifting awkwardly on his feet. Shoving his fists in his pockets, he appears completely out of place. His eyes every so often shift to Rayah, but eventually he stops and focuses on his surroundings instead.

"Why am I here, Nic?" he asks.

"Because you're going to make nice with with only other single person here, loverboy," I say. "And don't say you aren't interested, 'cause you've both been googly-eyeing each other since you met."

Jackie

I nod and Rayah just laughs, moving the hair from her face, "Seriously? I don't give anyone googly-eyes."

"You get the point," I glare at her, wrapping my arms around Nic's, "Just...we know you guys are into each other."

"Maybe I'm drunk," She chuckles, "I do stupid things when I'm drunk."

"Your not drunk. If you were, you'd be seeing Unicorns all over the room," I tell her.

"I like Unicorns..." she pouts.