"Ugh…" She stumbled forward and fell onto her knees, her books scattering around her and her papers flying everywhere. Welcome to the high life, she thought bitterly as she tried to grab a book of hers back. But someone purposely kicked it away from her, making her crawl after it. The kids around her started to laugh as she finally reached the book.

Just as she was about to grab it, someone had picked it up for her. Well, more like instead of her. Instead of handing it to her, they held it in front of her face, knowing she wouldn't grab for it anyway. Tears were already welling up in her eyes as she realized there were barely any good people left in this world. Well, barely to none, anyway.

"Aw, you want your book back? Well, guess what Poo-art, you won't get it. You can get it in the dumpster… maybe, after I shredded it." She looked down and bit her lip, trying to hide her tears. But of course, whoever the person was in front of her saw that some drops were already running down her cheeks. They laughed harder as she felt the book hit her face, nose first.

"Well, I guess you can have it anyway. Wouldn't want to disturb your nerdy-ness." Biting back on a comment about the last word not even being a word, she turned around and was about to walk away when the guy that had just smashed the book in her face pushed her forward, making her drop to her knees again. This time she kept the books in her hands, but her knees now hurt a lot.

They laughed some more until finally, everybody left the hallway. She put a hand on her nose to see if it was broken or anything. That boy did his job – her nose was bleeding. She groaned and sat back on her bum, rubbing her knees. They were bruised already anyway. After trying to calm down and not really succeeding, she tried to get up. Another hard task since her knees still hurt like hell.

After trying for about five minutes and finally realizing she was way too late for class now, she sat back and leaned against the lockers. Her knees were ruined; there was no other way to say it other than that. She sighed and closed her eyes, praying for a miracle to happen. Of course she knew it wouldn't; nothing ever went right in her life.

When she opened her eyes she saw a hand right in front of her face. Flinching back, she hit her back on the lockers. She immediately started shaking right there, not sure if they wanted to slap her, hit her or push her to the floor. But the hand wouldn't move so she slowly looked up confused. Right there in front of her was a boy. A very handsome boy. And he was just offering her his help to get her up.

He looked down at her and frowned at the sight of blood running out of her nose. She looked so helpless and vulnerable he almost couldn't believe it. Still waiting for her to grab his hand, he watched as she held onto one of her knees as well. After about two minutes he realized she either didn't want his help or she couldn't get up so he knelt down and was about to scoop her up to bring her to the nurse's when she suddenly cursed. He had barely touched her though.

"Don't touch me… I don't need your 'help' or whatever you want to call it." He looked at her shocked. Not only was he shocked about her words but also because of how soft her voice was while saying it. She sounded just as hurt and vulnerable as she looked. He sighed and shook his head slowly.

"I really just want to help you, nothing else. You got to go to the nurse." But she just shook her head.

"No, I don't want to go. Keep your hands off me and leave. I know what you all want from me. You just want to hurt me. And I don't need your 'help'. I'm perfectly fine myself." He sighed and plopped down next to her. Irritated, she slid a little further away from him, not sure what he was up to.

"The first day here and I was not only to late to class, I couldn't even find it; I wanted to help a girl out that obviously can't get up but she won't let me up and is now accusing me of wanting to hurt her; yup, a normal day of High School, right?" She glanced at him but rolled her eyes. She hated when she couldn't get up because of her knees. He sighed as he realized he wouldn't get a reaction out of her and turned his body towards her.

"My name's Nicholas, but my friend's just call me Nick." She knew he wanted her to do something so she just nodded. It's not like he really wanted to know her name anyway. He sighed once again, as he realized she wouldn't answer him more than with a nod.

"Okay, fine, don't tell me your name. I'm gonna call you Beautiful until you do." Her eyes slightly widened as he said that but she remained cool and shrugged. Whatever floats your boat, she thought sarcastically. It's not like he really meant it.

"Well, since this is gonna be a one-sided conversation, I'm gonna tell you all about me." She groaned and tried to get up again, this time actually getting halfway up until the point of where her knees wanted to give out. But lucky for her – please note the sarcasm – Nicholas was there to catch her. He pulled her up and then bent down to get her books for her. Mumbling a quiet 'thank you' she finally started limping towards her second class since she missed her first.

Nicholas was left breathless. She didn't have to talk or anything; she didn't have to do anything and he already started to feel this way. And what made him feel bad for her was the way she was scared of everything and everyone. He had seen the scene earlier. He saw how she got hit in the face with a book and how they made her stumble and fall – twice. He didn't understand.

And it made less sense that they were doing this to a girl like her. She seemed nice and beautiful to him. Though he wasn't sure if she was really nice. She didn't talk much – but that was probably because of the stuff those kids did to her. Maybe… maybe he could show her that there are nice people in this world. Yeah, he would definitely try that.

She walked into the school building, hiding her face behind a big hood. It was just two days after the incident of getting your nose almost broken and said nose had swollen which made her look more awful than ever. It didn't help that the teachers wanted her to remove the hood from her face during class. She had to look down that way so she couldn't look at the board which made it hard to write down all the stuff she had to.

As she was about to reach her locker she saw somebody already standing in front of it. She groaned and stopped walking. Should she just walk up there and try to get the person moving or should she let them be and maybe not get publicly humiliated today and go to class without books and get laughed at there? She wanted to go for the latter and had almost passed her locker but the person called her back.

"Hello Beautiful, I was wondering where you were yesterday." She had skipped the day before because her mother told her to. Her nose hurt too much to concentrate. As she heard the voice of the boy who 'wanted to help her' she sighed and turned around, not meeting his eyes; not even looking up.

He frowned and pushed himself off the locker, slowly walking towards her. She didn't move but it was obvious she didn't want him closer to her. But he ignored that and just walked up to her. As he reached her he noticed kids moving into their classrooms but he didn't care. He slowly raised a hand and started pulling the hood away from her face.

She started trembling as she got ready for the laughing and the pointing; maybe even the pushing around. As the hood was full off, Nicholas slowly pushed her face up so she'd look at him and gasped. He didn't like what he saw. The nose did look awful. Red and swollen. She quickly looked away and walked past him, to get to her locker. But the boy followed her anyway.

"Is that what happened two days ago?" She nodded, not looking at him as she got her things out. It's not like he didn't know. He sighed and leaned onto a locker next to hers. After she closed her locker she was tempted to just walk away from him but ended up staying next to him. He smiled ever so slightly before looking around. The bell hadn't rung yet but students had already left the hallway.

"I don't understand why they pick on you." His voice and the way he said it actually shocked her. He sounded so confused but at the same time – dare she think it – caring. But she just shook her head and scoffed before she proceeded to talk in a low tone.

"They don't pick on me. They abuse me – that's a whole new level of picking on someone or bullying on someone." Nicholas looked at her with sad eyes. She still wouldn't look at him, probably because of her nose. He really couldn't understand how they ruin a girl like her. He was at a loss of words at her last words though. She sounded so broken but so sure of what she said that there wasn't much he could reply.

She sighed and started walking away, still limping every now and then. But Nicholas wouldn't let her leave just yet. He wanted to just stay with her for a little longer. So he hurried after her and grabbed her books from her, deciding her would carry them for her. Of course she didn't know that so she stopped walking immediately and looked down. It's not like I didn't know it was too good to be true.

Nicholas stopped as well and looked at her confused. The way she looked down made him realize he did something wrong and she got ready for another round of bullying. He then looked down at the books in his hands and frowned for a moment until he realized what he was doing wrong.

"Oh, sorry! I just… I just thought I'd carry your books for you. I don't wanna drop them, I promise." She slowly looked up at him to see a sincere look on his face. She sighed and nodded, finally walking again. They were missing their first class again and Nicholas realized teachers would be mad since he had missed the class two days ago as well but he didn't care really.

He also had no clue where they were going. He just followed her. He should've asked, probably but the way she didn't say anything at all he knew he wouldn't hear an answer either way. She walked aimlessly. She had no idea where she wanted to go. Her original plan was far away from Nicholas but that didn't seem to happen. After about two hallways she had enough of him though.

"Can you please stop walking after me? I don't need you – and I certainly don't want you creeping after me…" She grabbed her books from him and stalked away angrily. He watched her, once again shocked by her still soft voice. How did she manage to sound angry but nice at the same time? He sighed and walked in another direction, looking for his second class. He was still determined to change her mind about him and the rest of the world.

She stormed into the girl's toilet and right into a stall. After standing there for about five minutes she took a deep breath and walked out of the cubicle again. She washed her hands because she thought touching handles on a door in a bathroom like that would get her sick in no time. After she was done she looked up into the mirror to see two girls standing there, arms crossed and mean smirks on their faces.

She looked at her face and watched it crumble; knowing what was about to happen wasn't anything good. The girls – she didn't know who either of them was; it seemed to be common thing to hurt her – walked up to her slowly and pushed her books into the sink, letting water run all over it. Completely 'forgetting' the books under the water, they grabbed onto her hair and pushed her to the ground.

She only groaned but didn't do much more. They started kicking her stomach. Even though both weren't the strongest girls she's ever known, their kicks hurt just as much seeing first of all, her stomach was bruised as it was and secondly, both were wearing heels. But she didn't dare make one sound. After some time they seemed to get bored because the last thing they did was throw the wet books at her and then leave the bathroom quickly, fixing their hair on their way out.

They left her lying there, groaning to herself and asking her at the same time why they would go to the toilets the losers went to. There were the nice ones; the ones that get cleaned every day. And there were the ones that get cleaned every year. But she would never get an answer – not out of them at least. It was then the first time in her life that she regretted having her guard up with someone who wasn't related to her. The guard she help up in front of Nicholas – the one that offered to safe her and the one she had denied while asking so.

She didn't come to school for a week. Her mother had to bring her to the hospital because the heels seemed to have damaged some stuff in her stomach. They kept her there for a week. But despite her mother offering her – more like almost forcing her – to stay home and get homeschooled, she went back to school. She wasn't quite sure what it was though she had a slight guess.

Maybe she went back because there was this one guy that wanted to help her. Or maybe it was her pride talking. Getting homeschooled meant giving up and letting them win. She didn't want to let that happen. Her mother eventually let her go – after hours of having a rather heated discussion. Her father ended up convincing the woman to let her daughter go back to that place they called school.

That's how she ended up at her locker, scared to death once again. She only now cursed herself for much as wanting to go back. Actually going back was even dumber than thinking about it. It was two hours into the school day and she hadn't talked to anybody. She would even be thankful for it but it somehow worried her as well.

First of all, if nobody had done anything to her they were planning something bigger. Of course that worried her. And then there was Nicholas. The boy had been bugging her even though she only saw him two days. He would always walk up to her whenever he saw her which of course started to annoy her to bits. But on the day she actually got back from the hospital and maybe even wanted him to follow her around he suddenly wasn't there.

She sighed as she slowly closed her locker. People were either glaring or staring at her. It didn't make her feel good about herself at all. She started to walk away from her locker when suddenly, two guys built themselves up in front of her and stared down at her, making her feel the size of a mouse instead of a normal human being.

Just as one was about to say something, a totally different and yet familiar voice was heard from behind her. A voice that not only shocked everybody but also made everybody gasp and turn their full attention on the person with said voice. She just closed her eyes and prayed that it was a negative shock for them and a positive one for her.

"Leave her alone!" She bit her lip to stop herself from any sign of emotion as everybody was still gawking at whoever was behind her though she was now sure who it was. The guys in front of her scoffed and crossed their arms in front of their chests simultaneously as if they had planned it. She watched as one slowly raised one hand and showed the person behind her the middle finger.

The other one rolled his eyes and pushed the hand of his friend, maybe even brother since they looked alike, down and shook his head. It looked as if they were communicating silently just by looking at each other. The person that had started to defend her was now behind her but she still wouldn't turn around. She didn't need to – she knew who it was; who he was.

"Now, Nick, why would we do that?" She had no idea why they knew his name but the fact that they did made her assume he was somewhat popular. But she could care less about that right now. She just wanted to know why he would defend her. Her out of all the people he could defend.

"Well, maybe because there's no reason for you to hurt her at all?" He made it sound like a question but it was a confident statement. And there really was no reason for them to torment her like that. The boys kept quiet for a few second before one burst out laughing while the other snorted. The one that snorted looked her up and down and then back at Nicholas.

"Did you even look at her? That's reason enough to 'hurt' her, as you put it." She looked down and let one tear drop which thankfully went unnoticed by everyone else. Nicholas glared at the two people he thought were nice before. In the week she had been gone he became friends with a few people; the two in front of him were two of them. He was obviously wrong about them.

"Besides the fact that you must be blind to say that, you can't seriously tell me that you would hurt her because she wasn't 'beautiful' enough or didn't wear expensive clothes. People like you disgust me." A few around them gasped while a few others nodded in agreement. Nobody had ever had the guts to stand up to people like those boys like Nicholas just did. But the boys seemed unimpressed.

"We disgust you? Well, I'm sorry, why doesn't she then? I mean, seriously, you should take a good look at the girl. She's got a blown up nose, a swollen eyes and the bluest hands I've ever seen. How could even say that looking at her is… well, not repulsing?" Nicholas shook his head and chuckled in a sarcastic way.

"Do you even realize that maybe she looks like that because of you hitting her? I saw how one of you almost broke her nose, I heard about her getting beaten up in the toilets for no apparent reason except just being there and I saw her getting pushed over because she walked away. I don't need to know more to be sure that all of the marks on her body were caused by all of you people around here." He directed that last sentence to everybody listening.

Meanwhile, she couldn't stop the tears anymore. She let them drop one by one as Nicholas ranted on about it not being her fault that she looked the way she did; all cut up and bruised. He was right but nobody ever saw that. They only saw the ugly girl in her; not the girl that got beaten every day. It's not like they weren't right.

"Oh please, brother, stop with your speeches and take a look at her. By the way, do you even know her name? I mean, since you're defending her so much you got to know her better right?" Nicholas glanced at her but she wouldn't look up. That is when he saw the silent tears drooping onto the floor beneath her.

"To know a person, you don't need to know their name or where they were born. I know her by what I saw. I saw that she stood back and let you do things to her that nobody should let anybody else do to them. She never said anything mean about any of you and when I wanted to help her she told me she didn't want or need my help. And she came back after obviously having the choice of staying home and getting homeschooled. She came back because she isn't weak. All of you are. You beat up people that don't deserve it." Some stared at Nicholas as he finished. A few even looked away embarrassed about themselves.

He turned to her and grabbed her hand gently, the one that wasn't holding her books and pulled her along with him. He knew she wanted to get away from there. They'd just skip another class – or maybe the whole day. At that point, he'd do pretty much everything for her. She trailed along, having no other option but to do so. She didn't know why he knew about being homeschooled but she didn't care either.

They arrived in the most abandoned corridor she had ever seen. Really, it couldn't be much more abandoned. Spider webs everywhere, dust on the floor so high you could actually see your footprints when you looked behind you. It was a creepy corridor, yet she felt somewhat… safe. Being alone didn't exactly mean being afraid. She wasn't alone anyway.

Nicholas stopped walking suddenly and started pushing the dust away with his shoes until there was a spot to sit down. It was against the wall as well, so they could lean on it. She slid down and leaned against it immediately, burying her face in her hands. Nicholas wasn't sure what to do so he just sat down next to her and watched her cry for some time. He thought maybe she needed it.

And she did. She wouldn't ever really cry in school. Yeah, she'd share a few tears but then she'd just get to walk away and wipe them off her face as well. She only cried at home in her room so her parents wouldn't see how week she was already. She would definitely go back to this corridor a few more times than once.

After about ten minutes Nicholas finally put an arm around her which made her jump away from him immediately. He regretted his move instantly but soon realized that it was only because she was just scared of everything around her right now. He sighed and slowly slid closer to her. She looked at him with big eyes and shook her head. But he was a stubborn boy sometimes.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Beautiful." She flinched as he gently touched her cheek but soon sort of relaxed as well. Nicholas smiled slightly and rubbed his thumb across the wet and ret cheek to wipe away the last tears that were trickling out of her eyes. She looked down and shrugged. It only had hit her how bad it was in school when Nicholas listed the things he witnessed in the one week of his being here.

"I'm sorry I had to say all this stuff about you being… hurt but they just don't see what they do to you." She shrugged lightly though he was sure that was one of the reasons she was crying. He wasn't sure if she cried because he did say it or because she only now realized the situation she was in. Either or, he knew she was upset about it.

"And I still don't understand guys like Adrian and Kyle. If it would go the way they wanted it to, everyone who doesn't reach their so called 'standards' would be either sent to prison or die. Just bad that not even those two reach those standards." He just wanted to make her laugh. The only thing he got from her though was a weak smile.

But that was enough for now. She had moved her lips upwards because of something he said which was sort of his goal. He smiled too and pulled his hand back and away from her cheek. And no matter how cheesy it sounded, after he did pull his hand back, her cheek felt cold. She frowned again, momentarily hating herself for feeling this way.

"Well…" He was at a loss of words at that moment, not sure what to say next. You could never know with her. She might jump up and leave any second to run away from him. Little did he know that she didn't necessarily run away from him but from what she felt towards him. It irked her to think that she might be growing some feelings that she didn't need. But she didn't even know herself for sure if she felt like she thought she did for him.

The silence was getting more awkward as the seconds ticked by so she thought she might as well say something. All she had said to him up until this day were things like, she didn't need his help nor did she want it. But she actually did – both things. She just wasn't sure if she really liked that she did.

"Do you come here often? This hallway, I mean." Nicholas jumped at her voice. It was even softer than when she last spoke to him. He looked at her and smile a little.

"Sometimes… when I get fed up with all the others… which happens to be a lot and recently actually all the time, I go here and look around and appreciate the silence. Sometimes being alone isn't so bad." She would've smiled if he had stopped after the first sentence. But she knew for a fact that sometimes being alone can get you to where she was right now.

Nicholas chuckled at the irony of his words; she was alone all the time and… he quickly looked at her, seeing another tear roll down her cheek. He quickly wiped it away, feeling bad again. He didn't mean to upset her. She looked at him with sad eyes and he sighed, just watching her. She was more than perfectly broken. She was perfectly ruined.

"I'm sorry I just said that. Of course, being alone is horrible…" But she just shook her head and shot him a sad smile.

"No, you're right. Sometimes, being alone is good most of the time. When I'm really alone, like in my room or like you, here, then you don't feel bad about feeling alone. But when you're in a room full of people and nobody does as much as look at you and you literally feel like you're alone even though tons of people are around you… that's when it starts to get bad."

She just wanted to joke a bit but of course, neither of them chuckled. Nicholas cursed himself quietly, regretting even saying such a thing. But he couldn't redo it now. He couldn't redo anything; the damage was already done. He's heard many people tell him that sometimes it was better to leave broken stuff be because you might end up getting hurt.

But he didn't want to leave her broken, even if it did mean getting hurt along the way. He would never be nearly as hurt as she was. Though sometimes, heartache was almost as much as hurtful as physical pain. He looked at her and saw her look around the corridor, probably wondering how he had found it. He smiled slightly.

"I was looking for my second class a week ago but I couldn't find it and suddenly I was here. I liked the peace so I tried to remember the way so I could go back here as often as I wanted." She nodded, slightly impressed that he knew what she wanted to know from him – what she wanted to ask. He chuckled and got up, reaching out for her.

"What do you say, let's ditch this place." It wasn't much of a question, rather a statement – still not a demand but he sounded like he knew she would come with him anyway. She stared at his hand for a few moments before softly grabbing it and letting him pull her up. She shot him a very small smile as he squeezed her hand gently.

He never let go of that hand. After a few minutes, he even intertwined their fingers and for the first time in her life, she felt wanted. They didn't walk to Nicholas' car like she expected them to. Nicholas actually led them to somewhere else. Somewhere she's never been to before. It honestly surprised her that he knew this place even though he lived her for about a week better than she did. And she's lived here her whole life.

He pulled her through a forest and along a river she never even knew was there. While Nicholas just walked his way, she had time to admire the things around her. The sun made it all seem so peaceful. A small tear escaped her eye but only because it all looked so beautiful. Nicholas turned towards her and shot her a smile before he walked towards a tree with leaves hanging to the ground.

He pushed them apart like a door and let her walk through the little space first. She slipped through and turned back to Nicholas who nodded to something behind her. She was confused but slowly turned around to see a beautiful small lake with big oak trees all around it. Birds were chirping and the sun was shining right on it, making the scene all the more beautiful.

Her eyes watered as she looked around astonished by the scene. She had never seen anything more beautiful in her life. She turned to Nicholas who was smiling at her softly; happy to make her this happy, though he wasn't sure if she was happy or just shocked. He prayed she was happy though and when he saw a small smile cross her face he knew she was.

He walked towards a tree that looked somewhat comfortable to lean on and sat down there, pulling her down with him. She smiled a little and looked around at the perfect grass and… just the perfect scenery. She then slowly turned to him and smiled a little more, because she saw him watch her that intently with those admiring brown eyes.

"I have never seen anything more beautiful than that." Nicholas chuckled, taking the opportunity to compliment her since she threw it out there like that.

"I have. I see it every day in school." The way he looked at her let her know he was talking about her. She blushed delicately and turned away from him, to admire the scene once again. He chuckled and looked around himself, enjoying being able to share this with her. After five minutes she turned to him with a curious look.

"Why did you show me this?" Nicholas smiled at her and took her hand again, looking into her eyes. Frankly, she felt sort of uncomfortable to have him look at her like that but then again, she enjoyed it too. She especially enjoyed the warmth that came from his hand.

"Because I wanted to show you that there are good things in this world. There might be a lot of bad things, but there's always that one place or that one person you can go back to and enjoy stuff like that. Not everything has to be bad because we see it that way. Even death can have its good things. People that suffer at the end of their life are always relieved when they can go back home." She shrugged slightly and looked down.

"But I suffer at the beginning of my life… wouldn't death be good now too?" Nicholas shook his head shocked at her revelation. He had never thought she had thoughts like that but then again, who wouldn't if they were in her position.

"No, it wouldn't be good. Because there would be people that miss you. Your mom, your dad, your grandparents… me. Especially me…" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, wanting him to continue.

"I know I barely know you for longer than a week but… I feel like I do. And as much as I don't want to admit this – I feel protective of you. Not because I know that something is gonna happen to you every day but because… you amaze me so much. You're so brave and strong. I've never met a girl like you before. So beautiful without trying but so humble about it.

You honestly inspire me, Beautiful, and the funny part in this; I don't even know your name. I'm not sure how old you are and I don't know where you live. But I feel like I know you. I really like you and I want to show you that there are people that don't want what's worst for you; people that might be worthy of your presence, not like those pricks in school."

A tear slipped out of her eye and she bit her lip, trying to keep the smile in. He did so much to get her attention; to get her to like him. He had no idea how good this was working for him. Nicholas saw the tear and without thinking pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her and letting her head softly hit his shoulder. She slid closer to him and took the moment of being secure in someone's arms in.

She hadn't felt this way ever. She wasn't sure if it was the feeling of security or something completely else she just didn't want to admit. Maybe both. After a few minutes for comfortable silence, she looked up at him and saw him watch her with a small smile. She smiled up at him and then looked down again. She was now ready to trust someone; finally.

Nicholas enjoyed holding her. He didn't care that he most likely just spilled his heart out to her. She knew and she still held onto him like that. It was good to know that she felt comfortable around him. He used to think she didn't – but it seemed like she now finally wanted his help; finally. Just as he was about to say something, she cut him off with a word that confused him.

"Miley…" Nicholas looked down at her confused. She looked at him and chuckled ever so slightly. She sat up a little, letting his arm still around her and turned to look at him.

"What?" She smiled and sighed what sounded like a happy sigh.

"Miley… that's my name. I'm 17 but I'll be 18 in two weeks. I live in Charleston Street 32 and one pair of my grandparents is dead, but that's okay because they both suffered cancer. At the end, when I saw how broken and sad they were, I honestly wished they would die; no matter how bad that makes me sound. I got a pet rabbit because I just love those and I originally named him Rabbit too.

I used to have a dog but she died four weeks ago. She was hit by a car and I later found out that it was Kyle that did it so it wasn't an accident. I hate leaving the house at all times of the day because no matter where I go, there's always someone from school there that will harass me until I run back home crying. I hate going to school but if I don't go I'll feel week and like I let them win which can't happen. I'm stronger than they will ever be; I know that. But I'm not sure how long I'll be stronger anymore…"

She finished and looked at Nicholas who looked at her, shocked but somewhat happy that she suddenly let him in on so much. The immediate anger he felt towards Kyle for killing an innocent dog vanished after she finished. She looked sad again but he wouldn't have that anymore. He leant forward and kissed her hair softly, making Miley's eyes widen in surprise. She definitely didn't aim for that to happen.

He smiled at her and rubbed her arm gently, making her feel all warm inside. Though she barely knew him as well, she started to accept that she liked him more than she first thought she ever would like somebody. She smiled slightly and leaned her head on his shoulder, as he whispered words into her ear she won't ever forget.

"You won't have to be scared anymore. You won't have to be stronger than them alone anymore. I'm here and I won't leave… ever. I'm not going anywhere." She smiled and slowly leaned up. He wasn't sure what she was doing so he just let her. She ended up kissing his cheek softly, her lips lingering there for a little longer than it would've been needed.

Two months later

"Look who we have here – little Miss Poo-art, crying for help again. Well, you won't get any help. Your precious Nicholas is… occupied, let's call it that." Adrian moved to the side to show her Nicholas making out with Chelsea the Queen-Bee of their school. Miley's heart broke and she started crying more.

But then, Nicholas pulled back and started shouting her name and suddenly, someone shook her. She started groaning and moving around before she realized it was dark and it all had been a dream. She slowly opened her eyes and wiped them, noticing the tears in them. She looked around confused only to find a pair of worried and confused chocolate brown eyes staring at her.

"Miles? Are you okay, should I get someone? Wait, what a question, I can't leave you like this…" She slowly sat up and hugged Nicholas without saying anything else. Over the two months she spent with him, she learned that she grew feelings for him she never knew about; she's never felt before. But she realized he was worth it. He was very well worth her attention.

He became her best friend the day he showed her that little paradise and he had never left her side since, only over night even though sometimes their parents let them stay at each other's house as well. He even introduced her to his sister and they became somewhat friends. He made all this effort just for her; it was like she was ought to start having those feelings towards him.

Sometimes she didn't like feeling like this because she was scared of losing him as a friend. It wasn't that she didn't know he liked her like that too – it was more the fear of him suddenly getting fed up with her and leaving her alone and heartbroken. She felt like that a lot, especially in school when Chelsea would try and get him to ditch her.

But he's always stayed with her. There wasn't a day when he wouldn't defend her. He even made her go out with him – to the arcade, to a circus and just for a walk around the town. He even went shopping with her, letting her buy everything she wanted. She didn't buy much though. She only bought a necklace. But that necklace meant a lot to her.

It was a two piece – a heart, actually. It was in two halves and Nicholas had the other one dangling on a necklace of his own. He never took it off in those months. He had pointed it out to her, telling her he'd wear the other half. What she didn't know was that at the other side of it were words engraved – just for her. He had planned it, actually. He just let her think that she chose it even though he did a few days before.

Miley had fallen asleep at the lake. They went there every Sunday – only if it wasn't raining, of course. And she had her head in his lap while he was stroking her hair, watching her sleep. It was one of his favorite things to do, honestly. But then she had a nightmare. He hugged her back surprised, after she had flung herself into his arms.

He rubbed her back and rocked them back and forth but of course it didn't really help anything. She cried some more until he kissed her forehead. She calmed down and looked into his eyes, hers still full of tears and pain. He wiped her cheeks gently and looked at her questioningly. She sighed and looked down.

"I had this dream that… they were bullying me again and… you were making out with Chelsea and didn't help me." Nicholas frowned and hugged her again, letting her slide in his lap. He kissed the side of her head and shook his head slightly.

"Silly girl… That will never happen, you hear me? Never. I love you too much to do that… wait…" She pulled back with big and shocked eyes which were still red from all the crying. Nicholas looked at her just as shocked as she was. He never told her that he felt something more than friendship towards her so of course, this slip up could've cost him their friendship.

She kept on staring at him, waiting for him to take it back or continue with 'as a friend'. But he didn't. He actually waited for her to say something. His feelings were out. And you can't just say you love somebody and take it back right after. So he just waited, his heart beating like there was no tomorrow if she wouldn't say something positive back.

"You… you mean that?" Nicholas watched her hopeful expression and suddenly smiled confidently. He pulled her a little closer and nodded.

"Yes, I mean that. I've wanted to tell you for a longer time now. I told you once I really liked you. You gave me a chance as your best friend. I just… even though I'm honored you want me to be your best friend… it feels like that's not enough anymore… I meant what I said… I really do love you, Beautiful…" She smiled and blushed at his nickname for her.

He used to call her Beautiful all the time and it seemed like a habit to call her that now. Of course it wasn't a bad one. She bit her lip and took some time to answer him, letting him hand by a thread subconsciously. After a few moments she looked up into his eyes and smiled again.

"I never really believed in beautiful things. I never thought there was enough peace in this world. I never believed in true love – especially not at my age. My parents love each other, but I feel like it's not really true love, you know what I mean? They met and got together and married. That was that. But with you… I feel like this is… I feel like this is true love and I'm scared of it but at the same time, I can't believe I got lucky enough to experience it. And you're just perfect… I guess what I'm saying is, I love you too."

Nicholas smiled widely and kissed her cheek. He went for her cheek anyway but she turned her head so their lips met. Nicholas' eyes widened at first but soon dropped close as he kissed her a little more passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss before pulling back and smiling at him. He pecked her lips softly before completely pulling back and just looking at her.

"You're beautiful…" She giggled lightly and rolled her eyes. That was the moment when he started fixing her. It would take a long time until she was completely fixed but she wasn't anywhere near as perfectly ruined as before. All thanks to a brave young man that thought it was time for a change. Like an angel sent from heaven; that's what he was to her and she would forever be thankful for him and never take him for granted.

That's that :) I don't have a lot to say other than sorry for not updating all my stories :P My laptop broke and I don't know when I'll get it back. Until then, I'll write oneshots, kay? Now how about you let me know if you liked this via review and I'll write a new oneshot quickly? Sound good? Okay then ;) Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it and enjoyed it :D