Breaking Down

"And in the moment she broke down, right in front of my eyes, all was forgotten, because when it comes down to it, nothing in the world could keep me from being there." -NiLEY-

Nick

"We're over." She dark-haired beauty announced, her bottom lip trembling oh so slightly you had to squint to notice.

I sighed, not even bothering to move, sprawled lazily across my bed. I should've seen this coming. "Miley, would you ever knock?"

"I know I'm not welcome here." She began, fiddling with the hem of her plain white t-shirt. "But Liam and I, we're over."

"I told you he was a mistake." I tried not to let the smugness leak into my voice, but it did anyway. "Let me guess, he-"

"Don't even try to guess." She cut in sharply, her eyes narrowed towards me, her voice more cold than I've ever heard. "Because I know you'll say something crazy like he cheated on me or something."

I lifted my eyebrows. "He didn't?" I have to admit, I am quite surprised there. "Didn't see that one coming."

"I told you Nick, he's not a bad guy." Her voice softened, and once again, her bottom lip was trembling.

"Well he's not a good guy either." I remarked, ever so slightly shifting my position.

"How are you so positive he did something wrong?" She frowned, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You can come in Miley." I said, noticing she was still standing in my doorway.

She stepped forward about, two three steps, without breaking eye contact with me.

"Sit down." I nodded towards the empty couch, littered with pillows of all sorts that my mum just keeps dumping in here.

"I don't want to." She said firmly, her head held high with that damn pride she just won't let go. "And answer my question."

"Well obviously he did something wrong, hence you being here." I stated the obvious, rolling my eyes yet again.

"He didn't do anything wrong, okay?" She snapped. "He was a much better boyfriend than you've ever been."

"Oh, you did not just go there." I chuckled to myself, and I'm not sure how much bitterness was contained in that laugh, but I can assure myself that it was a lot.

"You lost me Nick, and it's about time you get over that." She declared confidently, not a hint of remorse adorning those blue eyes.

"And what ever did I do to mess things up with the great Miley Cyrus yet again?" I asked, sitting myself up, finally.

She laughed humourlessly. "Don't even make me start with that." She shook her head, in what, disappointment? "You made me feel like shit Nick, all the time I'd just be sitting at home, crying to myself, thinking what was wrong with me, shunning myself, putting myself down, and it took my a long time, but I finally realized that I don't have to put up with it any more."

"I didn't make you feel like that, stop trying to pin everything on me." I said, crossing my arms in disbelief. "Can't you ever blame yourself?"

"That's just one of the damn reasons, and you know that." She yelled, before stopping herself, taking a deep breath. "Nick, please, don't do this to me, not right now." She closed her eyes, pain adorning that beautiful face I'll just never get tired of.

Strangely enough, I did as she said. There was something in her voice, and I can't label it, but it touched something inside of me.

"Why are you here Miley?" I asked softly.

She slowly opened up her eyes. "Because."

"We're not friends." I reminded her. "I hate you, you hate me, and that's all it will ever be."

She didn't reply. Not that I expected her to or anything.

"So what happened with Liam?" I grinned, getting ready to get back at her for months of heartbreak. I'd been waiting forever to do this, and now the time came, I was wasting it? God Nick, get a grip. "He realized you were too sexy for him, or too slutty? Or not slutty enough?"

"I-." That one syllable tumbled out of her mouth, and nothing else. "I don't know."

And in the moment she broke down, right in front of my eyes, all was forgotten, because when it comes down to it, nothing in the world could keep me from being there.

"Miley." I said her name, ever so softly, jumping up onto my seats and straight to her. She was here because she needed me, it finally dawned on me.

"Nick." She cried, fat tears rolling messily down her rosy cheeks, her bottom lip trembling once again, eyes red and bloodshot. "I don't care if you hate me, just one night, because, oh, I loved him and it's all over." She wailed, crumpling into my arms like a broken doll.

The words didn't hurt. Realizing that she loved him didn't hurt. Seeing her cry hurt, more than anything in the world, because I can't stand the sight of her breaking down.

B r e a k i n g D o w n

Hey guys! I'm sorry for the delay on updating TPC. I have half of the chapter written, but I'm having slight writer's block. The Nick+Miley scene came so easily to me, but the Joe+Miley scene is really hard, I just can't think of anything to write. But no worries, I'll definitely update before this Tuesday. Please review, I worked really hard on this. It just came to me, as I was listening to Scars. Beautiful song. How even if Miley and Nick don't end up together, they'll always have this connection, they'll always be in each others lives somehow. Do any of you guys have tumblr?Review please, and I'll send you a preview to CH. 19 of TPC :}