[Tori] I Just Want To Love And Treat You Right

[Joel Carter Foster]

Joel pulled his jeans up at the side of his hips as he stood backstage, letting all sorts of people come up to him, add microphones, run wires through his shirt, adjust the way his belt fit, all while seemingly holding a conversation with Ryan. It was weird how they could appear to be so normal while an entire production was going on around them. It felt like his pocket weighed about a thousand pounds. He licked his lips, reaching his hand into a bowl of sweetarts before he tossed one up in the air and caught it with his mouth. He chewed against the familiarity of his favorite candy before he looked back at Ryan, discussing anything but the show tonight, about what the meaning of tonight would hold. His dad was stable, not completely out of the woods, but a lot better than any of them could have imagined for. But something about Ryan seemed off. He seemed distant, distracted, like there was something on his mind. Whatever it was, Joel wasn’t entirely sure he had said anything about it yet to Madeline considering she was her chipper self. Joel chewed on a few more of the sour candies before he made his way out of the dressing room, walking down the hallway with what felt like a swat team full of people for someone far more important than him. Seventeen and this is what his life was? Joel looked over his shoulder, wondering where Tori was and how she had gotten lost in the mix. Madeline had probably taken her under her wing and shown her the ropes of being backstage.

Backstage he was at peace, calm, usually riding around on a segway, doing anything and everything to get in his zone. After the shows he was always goofy as hell. Beforehand he was trying his best to just prepare, mentally hit every dance step and note before he got onto the stage. Plus, this show made him more nervous than any show he had done before. It meant a lot to him that Tori had come so willingly. In fact, he had only seen that type of attitude once. He subconsciously looked over his shoulder, spotting Ryan with Madeline and smiled faintly at the way he acted around her. True love couldn’t be stopped. He spotted Tori, and though he made eye contact with her he looked away. He licked his lips as he looked down , closing his eyes as he turned his neck from side to side .All of those stories about how guys acted strange right before they popped the question.. completely true. He couldn’t look at her without feeling like he was about to puke. It had to be confusing to her. Hey come with me to Africa. Come to my show…. Wait, don’t talk to me. Joel took in a deep breath as he let them set him up for his entrance. Shake it off, Foster. Joel licked his lips once more, nodding his head along to the music almost lethargically as he rose onto the stage by the elevating stage prop, planting his feet firmly as the spotlight came on him.

An hour later, he was dripping sweat, standing near the edge of the stage, looking out at the lights and listening as the crowd screamed at him. He smiled almost slowly as possible, letting it all sink in as he tried to catch his breath. It was crazy how the moment seemed to stop time, yet he could feel just how quickly it was going by with each heartbeat in his throat. He ran his tongue across his lips, slowly as he stepped away from the center of the stage. “ I wanna bring someone out for the next song,” he said , walking towards the edge of the stage as he gave Justin a nod of his head. “ Now usually… I serenade a girl to ‘ One Less Lonely Girl’. I’ve grown up a little bit.. I can be a gentleman, anything you want..” he said, smiling devilishly at Tori, his eyes lighting as his smirk stayed playfully across his lips. He reached his hand out to her, pulling her out on stage. “ A lot of you know who this is,” he said, talking to the crowd, though he didn’t move his eyes away from her. Joel moved the microphone away from his lips, leaning in close to Tori where he placed his hand on her lower back and kissed her, holding onto her gently by placing his other hand into the side of her hair. Joel held her close, nibbling against her bottom lip to get a better taste of her before his lips spread into a smile against hers. Joel loosened his arm that was wrapped around her waist, though he moved his hand that was in her hair down to the side of her neck before he placed another soft kiss against her lips. After a moment he pulled away and lowered his hand to hers. Joel moved behind her, moving the microphone so that it was back by his lips. As the music started, he snaked behind her, wrapping his arm protectively over her hips as he stood behind her. He sang into the microphone, mirroring his actions for the music video as he drew his lips close to Tori’s neck and ear as the lyrics spilled from his lips.

Quickly a stool was brought up and Joel gently placed Tori against it, giving her a quick kiss before he jumped ahead with the ‘dancers’ behind him. The choreography for this song was a lot ‘lazier’ compared to his other routines. It involved a lot more hip movement though, and he assumed that was its way of supposing to be sexy. He’d gotten pretty damn good at moving those things with the dance lessons he’d had from Logan over the past year. There were a few reasons Joel was choosing to propose like this. One, even if he did it in private.. this, this was more of who Joel was. He was more himself on stage than he was anywhere else. This was home, no matter what city it was in. If she was going to say yes to him, she needed to accept this part of him too because it was the passion he had in life. He reached up, grabbing the bill of his baseball hat before he spun it around so it was backwards before the flowing movement traveled down his body, jerking each of his muscles as his body waved while turning his hips. Joel brought his hands down, clapping them together once and held them tightly before he shifted his shoulders from side to side, followed by his head as he fell into the choreography easily. As the song started to finish up , he made his way closer and closer back to Tori. He smiled as he approached her, feeling it again, his heart coming up into his throat. He leaned back down towards her, tracing his fingertips over her jawline and let his lips hover over hers just inches away. Just when it seemed like he was about to kiss her, he reached into his pocket, taking out the ring decisively as bent down on one knee, holding it up to her. Joel licked his lips, pulling the microphone away from his mouth as he looked up into her eyes. He could hear the screaming, how it was more powerful than it had been the entire show but all he could lock his attention onto was Tori. “ Marry me,” he screamed as loudly as he could, doing his best to yell over the screams of the arena. He reached up, placing his hand over Tori’s and intertwined his fingers to hers. As much as he craved this life, needed it, needed to perform, needed the lights and the screaming. What did any of it mean if he didn’t have anyone to share it with at the end of the day? Yeah, he was young. Seventeen and proposing? He knew what he wanted. Since when had he not. “ It’s not going to be easy,” he yelled again as he watched her, looking into her eyes and wishing he knew what her answer would be, “ Share my life with me.. take anything you want,” he said earnestly, bringing her hand to his mouth where he kissed the inside of her wrist and held onto it, almost afraid that if he let her go she would say no.

Ring

[Victoria Jean Taylor]

Tori hung up the phone with her mom, telling her she was fine, and Joel's dad was becoming more fine, and South Africa was fine, everything was fine. Moms. All they did was worry. But it was because she cared. Tori supposed she would be the same way. Sort of the way she worried about Joel when he was away. There was the typical questions that always got asked at some point during a phone or skype conversation, the concerned ones. But Joel was used to it. The traveling, the living on a bus. He could manage the lifestyle. Finding the balance between living that crazy life and still getting enough rest, eating well. He had to, his job needed him healthy. He didn't slack off in any area of his life, she was finding. Including staying healthy. Sick Joel equaled no tour. And Joel didn't want that. The hard part was balancing his career with having a girlfriend so far away all the time, but Tori was finding he was good at that too when he wanted be. If he was home, she was somehow somewhat of a priority. And the funny thing was she understood that even when he was home, he wasn't off duty, that he needed to take care of other stuff. He always had time for her though. It made her think he really cared about her more than he let on, or than she thought. Music was his life, and if he was squeezing her into it, she must mean something to him. Yeah it was hard. She missed him when he was gone. She frowned at his groupies, and frowned at his haters. Phone conversations never seemed to be long enough. But there was something there that reassured her that he was worth sticking around. The distance and the scheduling and all the craziness was worth whenever they were together. He was always the same guy she'd met on New Year's Eve. Funny and confident, kind of full of himself, but charming in a way only Joel could really pull off. People kept asking her if there was a different Joel, a Joel she was dating that was different than Joel Foster. She always thought, no. There wasn't a Joel Foster, unattainable, untouchable celebrity, there was just Joel. She didn't see celebrity anymore when she looked at him, he was the same goofy kid who drove his segway into a pool the night they met. And when he was on stage, if anything, he was even more himself. He was always just Joel. Joel off stage, Joel who lit up on stage.

Watching him perform, it was easy to see that performing was his passion. He was the most himself. Hints of all his personality set on fire, just bigger than himself. Bigger smile, bigger energy. In a way he was a different person on stage, but at the same time, Tori really only saw one person there. Her boyfriend who just so happened to run a stage every night, but at the end of the day, its who he was, and he wasn't different once he stepped out of the spotlight. What you saw was what you got. Joel made things easy, she never spent much time guessing. Things just were what they were. Maybe that was why at age seventeen, she knew she must love him. He'd only ever been upfront with her, told her how he felt, and that things wouldn't be easy. But if they both wanted it, it could work. She hadn't told him, but she felt like love was the only real thing to describe it. Love kept them together when they were apart. It helped them work through the road blocks, reminded her that he was worth whatever fame was coming her way. She didn't love being in the spotlight, that was Joel's thing. She was content to be behind the scenes, back stage, be whatever he needed. But if in the spotlight was where he was, there wasn't anywhere else she wanted to be. She'd sort of just accepted that being with Joel was an entirely different ball game. He had female fans, and paparazzi, and everyone wanting to know his business. All his friends were famous. She just sort of took it all in stride. Absorbed it, accepted it, reminded herself that none of it mattered. What mattered was that she loved him, and he loved her and that whatever got thrown their way they would just figure it out like they had been since this thing started. It was a one day at a time thing. Maybe she was naive, and maybe people would tell her she was too young to feel like this, but taking things one day at a time seemed fine as long as there was always another day to follow. As long as she had him. She'd grown more attached to him than she had anticipated, fallen quickly. It'd been seven months, some of which he'd spent in a coma, and how could people so young fall so fast like this? She didn't even care. All she knew was he was this amazing person she didn't want to lose and he was her whole world right now.

Tori slid her phone into her pocket, wanting to get back to watching Joel and whatever else was going on. She was glad that he'd asked her to come with him all the was out here. And glad she had agreed. But what else would she have said anyways? It put into perspective just how much she cared about him. Agreeing to hop on a plane with him had been the easiest decision of her life. Dad in the hospital, want me to go with you? Sure. Absolutely. She'd just pulled herself out of bed, gotten dressed and packed. Told her mom where she was going. And her mom may have been skeptical but like she told her, if it was any other boy, I might have to catch a cab to go to the hospital with him. Things with Joel are on a much bigger scale. It includes planes, and living in the fast lane. She'd told her mom things might happen fast, and be crazy, but Joel wasn't a normal boy from down the block. And basically that her mom should start to get used to the idea. It didn't stop her mom from calling every day, but Tori thought just maybe her mom was becoming more accepting of Tori's new boyfriend and the lifestyle she was becoming involved in. Tori was torn from her thoughts when Justin came over and grabbed her, dragging her toward the stage. Tori saw the grin on his face, up to something, and she turned away, laughing as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp but he was much stronger, walking her toward the stage and past the curtain. Joel took her hand, taking her to the center of the stage. The lights felt brighter than they looked from off stage, the screams much more deafening. But if Joel did this every day, couldn't she tonight? She smiled as he kissed her, she had not been expecting it. And in front of all these people... this was going to be all over tabloids and blogs. She knew what she was signing up for. This was something she could have expected, and something that wouldn't be the last. The spotlight was a funny thing. People craved it and wanted out of it all at once. She was just living in his world. She could be embarrassed. She could be bashful. But there was a point when she could step up to plate and stand beside him instead of behind him. And that's why instead of becoming embarrassed, she kissed him back, and genuinely enjoyed the moment watching as she sat on that stool, smiling. And why when he came over, seemingly to kiss her again, and she smiled at him, she knew that him pulling out that ring meant he was thinking the same thing. On the same page somehow. She froze when Joel moved his mic, yelling to her over the crowd. Marry him? "Are you serious?" she yelled back. How was it possible that they would both feel like this was it. Tori didn't feel like she would ever meet anyone that she wanted to be with more than she wanted to be with more than Joel. They were living fast it seemed, and neither of them wanted to waste time looking for someone who was right in front of them. She just had that gut feeling. Tori nodded, he was right. It wasn't going to be easy. Tori watched as he kissed her hand, holding onto it. "Joel," she said over the screaming, placing her hands on either side of his face, "I feel like... we found each other, this is it. You're it. Do you feel like that?" She asked, her heart beating so fast she thought it was going to burst. She blinked, "I feel like that..." Tori kept her eyes locked on his. This was quite possibly the dumbest thing either of them might do. Getting engaged at seventeen. Him asking, her accepting. But life was too short, and too unpredictable, and too fast, and she just thought, you know what? Dive in. Whatever they had was undeniable. There was no way in hell anyone else was going to make her feel like this, like everyday was a holiday. Or like she had butterflies living in her stomach constantly. People like her parents, wasting their time in a relationship neither of them wanted anymore, that was what Tori promised herself she wouldn't do to herself. Tori wanted to find someone she was crazy about, and not waste another second her her life with out him. She found him. He was right here. Tori leaned down and kissed him, soft and sweet. She pulled away, just barely but she knew he could hear her, "Yes. I say yes." She kissed him again and looked down at the ring for the first time since he'd asked, her mouth dropping open slightly, "Joel...." Tori was kind of in awe of everything at the moment. Him. The idea of spending her life with him. The ring, which was the prettiest thing she had ever seen. Him in general. Tori let him put the ring on her finger and she stared at it, speechless for a moment. This felt surreal, but if she was dreaming it at least felt right. Tori stood up, pulling Joel to his feet, "I love you," she yelled over the noise, so scared and kind of surprised at herself for saying it. But she did. Love him that is. She was partially scared he wouldn't say it back, but he'd just asked her to marry him though, right? Surely he felt it too...?

[Joel Carter Foster]

Joel widened his eyes excitedly, almost in disbelief as she said yes. “ You say yes?” he yelled over the music and the fans before he jumped up and wrapped his arms around her. Part of him had to believe that she was going to say yes otherwise what sense would it have made for him to ask her. You didn’t ask unless you had a suspicion. And since when had Joel ever done anything he didn’t think he already had in the bag? But that was the thing. Tori was the one thing he hadn’t planned, anticipated and yet here she was taking center stage in his life. Literally. “ Oh my god,” he said with his arms still wrapped around her shoulders tightly after he had slid the ring on her finger. “ I love you too, baby” he said, obviously. You didn’t ask someone to marry you unless you loved them. Unless it was an arranged marriage. Or unless you were Madeline and Patrick. Joel leaned away, placing her cheeks in his hands as he kissed her again, his fiancé. Both of their worlds were about to change, completely. They needed to get ahold of their family and friends that weren’t there. Tori needed to call her mom. This would be news before they got off the stage. Which is one of the reasons why Logan was one of the four people that Joel had told he was going to do this. Ryan, Logan, Lance, Jake. He couldn’t keep the stupid grin off of his face that was plastered on him as he finally took a step away, lowering his hand to hers where he brought her left hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it.
Joel turned towards the crowd, who surely had figured out what was going on by now. “ She said yes,” he said happily, still smiling like he had a Frisbee stuck in his mouth. It seemed like after that things started happening so quickly, Dani was out on stage giving Tori a hug before turning her arms to Joel and hugging him, taking the microphone from him before she started singing ‘Hit The Lights’. Ryan was making his way out on stage where Madeline was hugging Tori and probably welcoming her to the family. Joel screamed excitedly as he semi tackled/hugged Ryan, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and clung to him tightly. “ Bro you gotta be my best man” he yelled over Dani’s singing. But he didn’t have much time to get a response from him before Dani was making her way over to Ryan, claiming him for her own in what appeared to be her attempt to make him sing along to Hit The Lights with her. Joel licked his lips, happy to share the stage with people he cared about before he turned on his heels and looked back at Tori, making his way over to her as Madeline was saying her goodbyes. Joel pulled his jeans up at the side, sliding his arms around her lower back before he leaned down to whisper to her. “ I’m going to give you the world,” he promised, giving her a slight nod before he leaned down and placed a kiss against her forehead.

[Victoria Jean Taylor]

Tori laughed when Joel yelled back, asking if that was yes. "Yeah!" And of course he was like, oh i love you too, baby. Of course he did. He wouldn't have asked if he didn't. But it didn't stop her heart from flipping over excitedly when he said it. Joel kissed her again and thought Tori knew the show wasn't over, but she wished it was. She just wanted to kiss him enough because right now? She couldn't get enough of that. Tori laughed showing the ring when Joel told the crowd she'd said yes, but then pulled it back against her chest, wrapping her other fingers around her hand, as if it might just disappear on her and all of this not reality. Tori turned to see Dani coming towards her and smiled, unable to wipe the smile off of her face, "Dani, Oh my goddd," she laughed, hugging her tightly. Even Dani, who not that long ago had been a stranger, seemed like one of her friends so quickly. Dani had ended up being such a life saver, whether it was talking about clothes, or moms, or Joel even. One of those people that was genuine, someone Tori was actually relieved to have met. Some celebrities she got introduced to were still a little intimidating, but Dani wasn't like that. Which was good. Dani had grabbed the mic and was singing one of her new songs. Tori saw Madeline too, hugging her also. So weird. Tori had always wanted a sister, especially during the time she was an only child. Then her mom had gotten pregnant again and Tori ended up with a brother. Not that she didn't love the little shit, but now she was getting a sister. Couldn't ask for a better one, that was for sure. After Joel had come back over, Tori smiled as he kissed her forehead, "I know." Tori made a face suddenly, pulling her pone out of her pocket and pointing to it, yelling over the music, "I have to call my mom before she gets a google alert or something." She laughed, shrugging, kissing him on the cheek.

[Joel Carter Foster]

Joel watched as Tori took her phone out to call her mom, assuming she would go off the stage since it was so loud up here. Surely his fans were having mini seizures right now. Joel laughed as he looked over at Ryan, pretty overwhelmed with a ray of emotions right now. It’s like he had about eighty different things going on right now. He still had a show to do. Joel cleared his throat, pushing his shoulders back as he took off his jacket and threw it to the side, letting a stage tech adjust his microphone. The music had already started and Dani was making her to the side of the stage and was lifting her arms in the air, bouncing her knees and dancing along to the music. He was already late into the song so he ran to the front of his dancers, belting out lyrics as he snapped instantly into the dance moves, “ You’re my one love, my one heart. My one life for sure, let me tell you one time that I love you I love you..” he sang out hoarsely, already feeling the tears forming in the back of his throat. All he wanted in his life was to be successful. That was it. He slowed down, walking around the edge of the stage, holding his hand against his heart, “ Shorty right there she’s got everything I need.. I’mma tell her one time.. she makes me happy.. I know where I’ll be right by your side.. cause she is the one for me,” Success. He had it, right? It was going to keep going. He wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. Not with the team he had behind him. But there was more to success than seeing your name in shining lights. Joel looked down at the stage, shaking his head. He’d made it this far, at seventeen. Even with the roadblocks that were thrown at him. Success.. he’d finally reached what David had preached to him it was about. Finding someone to share your spoils with. Maintaining this lifestyle wasn’t just about what he wanted anymore, it was about being able to give Tori everything in the entire world. He brought his hand up in the shape of a fist, tapping it against his chest and his heart before kissing it and doing a small fist up to the sky. Not a single person in the sea of fans would know what the hell that meant. But he’d made it. David could be proud.

It was overwhelming really, to reach this point in his life and the one person who had taught him what it all meant wasn’t here. He took in a deep breath, clearing his throat as he looked up at the fans screaming at him, adjusting his fingers through his belt loops as he pulled his pants up at the side. He looked over his shoulder at Dani and smiled, unable to stop the tears that came from his eyes. She shook her head at him, smiling herself as she walked over and wrapped her small arms around him tightly in a hug. Joel wrapped his arms around the entirety of her body, bringing his hands up to push the tears away from his face. The first ones for David that didn’t come from a place of complete sadness. He hadn’t been singing for the last few verses, letting his back up dancers finish up the song choreography wise. The first time Joel hadn’t thrown himself completely into a performance, immersed himself in it. “ I think my friend O’Neil might help me out for a second,” he said, trying to cough with a smile on his face, the tears still catching themselves in the back of his throat. He looked over at his band. “ You guys know the shit for ‘Everything I Ask For, right? Madeline get out here and help him,” he said, letting go of Dani before he made his way to find Tori again. He ripped his microphone off, throwing it into the rising hand of Ryan as he passed him, slapping him on the back before he ran off stage to find Tori again. He smiled as he saw her on the phone and it literally felt like everything in his life had led him to this point, like he was exactly right where he was supposed to be. He waited for her to drop the phone from her ear before he made his way over to her, “ I love you,” he said, shaking his head, pushing the last of his joyous tears away from the corner of his eye before he finally closed the distance between them and took a final step, leaning down to kiss her. There was so much he wanted to show her, give her. But didn’t she realize she had already given him so much more? Anyone could get a moonman on their shelf, a collection of number one hits, sell out stadiums. But he was the only man that would ever get her, have her. That meant so much more to him than any single he could put out. Which was a strange feeling, because the way he felt about her really only made him want to work even harder, provide more for her, do better, be the best. Joel leaned away from her, singing along quietly to Ryan’s lyrics, “ I don’t know what she sees in me, but I’m happy she’s happy. She’s happy now.. she’s with me, and I’m freaking out because I’m just so lucky,”