Behind Enemy Lines.
Chapter 1.
Miley had always had the same best friends – Selena, Nick and Joe. Nick and Joe were brothers, and Selena and Miley had been best friends since they were kids. Miley, Selena and Nick were all in junior year, while Joe was a senior. When Miley turned fifteen, Joe had asked her out, and they had been going out ever since. That was over a year ago. About six months ago, Nick had asked Selena to be his girlfriend. They too had been going strong since then. But Miley had been hiding something ever since she had seen Nick with Selena. She was in love with Nick Gray. When she saw Nick and Selena together, it killed her. She didn't even know why she was still with Joe. She loved him, but in a different way to the way she loved Nick. But she couldn't tell Nick. Because telling Nick would tear apart everything in her life.
--
It was the first day of school. Miley walked into school, blending in with the hundreds of other students around her that filled the halls. She made her way to her locker and put in the combination. It opened, and she immediately put her books inside. She sighed from the relief and began to tidy them up.
"Hi!" Miley jumped and turned around to see Selena grinning at her. "Hey, Sel," Miley said. "How was your summer?" Selena asked.
The two of them hadn't seen each other all summer. Selena had spent the summer with her dad in Texas, while Miley had stayed in California with Nick, Joe and her family, attending all the parties and barbecues that had been held while Selena was gone.
"It was good. Went on dates with Joe, hung out with Joe and Nick, went to pool parties and beach parties and stuff. Yours?" Miley asked. She closed her locker after taking out the books she needed for her first few classes.
"It was alright. It was kind of awkward seeing my step-mom though. I didn't know her, and she obviously didn't like the look of me that much, seeing as I came from my dad's old marriage. But it got better when she went on a trip to Hawaii with her girlfriends, and me and my dad could hang out without her getting in the way," Selena said.
Miley nodded as they started walking towards homeroom. She understood that Selena had missed her dad, and was upset when she found out he had remarried to a woman called Gabriella without telling her. Miley had been Selena's shoulder to cry on when her mother had informed her that her dad had remarried.
"So, did anything interesting happen with you and Joe this summer?" Selena asked.
"Um, I guess so. Depends what you call interesting," Miley said. She paused, then spoke again. "He, um, he gave me his grandmother's charm bracelet."
Selena stopped and grabbed Miley's wrist. "Let me see, let me see!" she squealed. She looked at the charm bracelet dangling off Miley's wrist and looked up at her in shock. "Joe said he'd only give his grandmother's bracelet to the girl he was sure he loved."
"Um, yeah, I know," Miley said, looking away. She felt guilty when she took the bracelet from Joe. He really loved her, and was clueless to the fact that the girl he was in love with was in love with his younger brother.
"What did Nick say? I mean, it's his grandmother's bracelet too," Selena questioned, looking at Miley as they continued walking to their homeroom.
"I think he was happy for Joe," Miley lied. She didn't want to tell Nick's girlfriend something that she wasn't sure happened – that being Miley could have sworn she saw Nick's face fall when he found out about Joe giving Miley the bracelet.
Selena looked behind her and smiled. "Speaking of Joe and Nick," she said, and nodded her head behind them. Miley turned and saw Joe and Nick walking down the hall towards the girls. Selena was smiling and waving at Nick.
Joe caught Miley's eye and winked at her, and began to pick up his pace. He reached his girlfriend in moments and wrapped his arms around her waist lovingly. "Hey, babe," he whispered in her ear.
Miley faked a smile and turned in his arms to look at him. "Hey, Joe," she said, and kissed his cheek. She looked over and Nick and Selena and saw them making out up against the lockers. She felt her heart sink to her stomach and turned back to Joe.
"I haven't seen you in a few days. I tried calling your cell phone but you didn't pick up. Did you lose it or something?" Joe asked, concerned.
Miley shook her head. "No. It, um, it's out of battery, and I lost the charger. Dad's going to buy me a new charger in a couple of days," she lied. She didn't want to tell him that she had been ignoring his calls because she was constantly thinking of his brother. She turned and saw that Nick and Selena had pulled away, and had started a conversation with one of Selena's friends from the cheerleading squad.
"I missed you," Joe said, leaning in close to Miley's face.
Miley dreaded what was coming. "I, uh, I missed you too," she lied as Joe's lips came closer and closer. She saw him close his eyes, and within moments, his lips were on hers.
May as well play along, she thought. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck and began to kiss him back.
--
Nick was pretending to listen as Selena chatted away with her friend, Mischa. He looked around and saw Joe and Miley making out. He felt a sharp pain in his chest. He didn't know what the feeling was, but he ignored it and looked back at Selena and Mischa.
Miley's sure looking beautiful today ... Stop it Nick! You're dating her best friend! he thought as he continued to pretend to listen as the girls talked about their summers.
He looked over at Joe and Miley, and saw Miley had pulled away. He watched as Joe kissed her cheek and walked to class. Miley walked over and stood beside to Selena, joining the conversation with the other two girls. He watched her as she smiled every so often, and giggled whenever Mischa told a story about her younger brother's summer antics.
Nick was watching Miley the whole time, unnoticed by Selena and Mischa. After a while, Miley felt someone's eyes on her, and turned to see Nick staring at her. She looked into his eyes for a few moments, then turned back to the girls.
Nick sighed and kissed Selena's temple. "See you later, babe," he said, and walked down the hallway, thinking about the feelings he had just experienced. A summer without Selena had led to a summer spending more time with Miley and Joe. Was it possible that he liked Miley now as well as Selena?
--
At lunch, Miley and Selena walked into the cafeteria together, talking about their favourite store having a sale. They walked over to Nick and Joe and smiled. "Hey, Nicky," Selena said, and leaned down to give Nick a kiss on the lips, but Nick turned his head slightly, and Selena got his cheek. She frowned slightly but sat down.
Miley tried to hold back a smile. She sat down beside Joe, who wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "How was your morning, babe?" he asked, placing a kiss on her cheek.
Miley shrugged. "It was alright. We have some new Spanish teacher. She loves Sel," she said, and grinned at Selena. Selena grinned back and took a drink of water.
"How was your day, Nicky?" Selena asked, hugging his arm.
Nick didn't want to tell her that he had been thinking about what he felt towards Miley the whole morning. He didn't exactly want to tell his girlfriend that he thought he liked her best friend. He shrugged and said, "It was okay, I guess."
Selena's smile faltered at his brief answer, but perked up again when Joe went into a story about how he was already planning his graduation party for the end of the year. Miley wasn't paying attention. She was playing with the food sitting on the tray in front of her. She felt a pair of eyes on her, and looked up to see Nick watching her again.
She quickly turned to Selena and Joe and joined the conversation. "So, a guy in my English class said that the baseball team is headed to New York next week for two weeks," she said, looking at Joe with raised eyebrows.
"Ah, yes. You see, babe, I was going to tell you about that. The coach called my dad a couple of days ago. He said that the school team is doing some baseball tour in New York," Joe said nervously.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Miley asked.
"I didn't know how you'd react," Joe replied.
Miley sighed. "I'd have been happy for you. You know that. This is a great opportunity for you," she said softly as Joe slipped his hand into hers.
"I know. I'm sorry, Miles," he said. He leaned over and kissed Miley's cheek. Miley put on a smile and looked over at Nick, who was talking to Selena. She sighed and said to Joe, "I hope you have an amazing time."
"I'll try. But I'll probably be missing you too much, babe," Joe said with a wink. Miley put on another smile and began to eat her food.
--
"I'm so glad you're not on the baseball team, baby. I couldn't handle two weeks without you," Selena said, stroking Nick's arm. He took a sip of Diet Coke and faked a smile.
"Same here, Sel," he lied. In all truthfulness, right now, he wished more than anything he was on the baseball team. He could think of his feelings for Miley without Selena getting in the way, and it would have been some time to spend alone with his brother.
Nick was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't snap out of it until he felt Selena's hand rubbing his knee as she kissed his neck. Nick moved away from her slightly. Selena fell forward, but quickly gained her composure and sat up.
"Baby, what's wrong?" she asked, caressing his cheek with her thumb. Nick glanced over at Miley and saw her eating her food while Joe talked away to her about his plans for his graduation party.
"Nothing, Sel. Nothing," he said. Nick stood up and picked up his tray, and began to walk away. He dumped his food into the trash and sat his tray on top. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Selena.
"Nicky, something's obviously wrong. Just tell me!" she pleaded desperately, grasping onto his arm. Nick shook his arm free and shook his head, looking at her.
"I just want to be alone right now, Sel. Okay?! Stop suffocating me! I can't get a moment alone anymore!" he snapped, and stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving Selena watching after him with tears in her eyes.
She turned back and walked back to the table as a tear slipped down her cheek. She took a seat beside Miley and buried her face in her hands. She felt an arm slip around her shoulders and looked up to see Miley rubbing her back.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Miley asked softly. She glanced at Joe, who nodded and got up and left. She then looked back at Selena.
"Something's wrong with him, Mi. And he won't open up to me. He's pushing me away more and more today. He's barely had a full conversation with me. He just gives me short sentences. I don't know what to do," Selena sobbed. She buried her face into Miley's shoulder as the tears began to come faster. Miley rubbed her back and hugged her.
"I'm sure he doesn't mean to upset you, Sel. I'm sure he doesn't mean to push you away. Maybe he just needs some time. He's probably just trying to get back into the school routine," Miley guessed. She truthfully didn't know what was wrong with Nick, but giving suggestions might help Selena.
Selena shook her head. "He means to do it."
Miley sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Sel. I don't want to tell you something that could be completely wrong."
Selena sighed and wiped her tears. She sat up and said softly, "I think there's someone else, Mi."
--
Joe walked into the hallways and saw Nick looking for something in his locker. He walked over. "Hey, bro. What happened in there? Sel's pretty upset," he said.
Nick shrugged and closed his locker. "She's suffocating me. I guess I'm just not as into her as I thought I was. This summer ... when she was gone ... it just showed me that I don't need her as much as I did before," he said.
"Come on, Nick. You were calling her and texting her all summer and you say you're not as into her as you thought? If you weren't into her, then you wouldn't have run up the phone bill," Joe said.
Nick sighed. "I don't know, dude. I just don't think I can take this much longer. She doesn't give me my space. She said she couldn't handle it if I was on the baseball team and if I was leaving for two weeks. Something about that just makes me feel suffocated," he said.
"But Nick, she is in love with you and you're in love with her. How can you feel suffocated by the one you love?" Joe asked, confused.
"Who said I was in love with her?" Nick snapped, then sighed. "I'm sorry. I just don't think me and Sel are good together anymore," he said.
"So you're going to break up with her?" Joe asked.
Nick sighed. "I don't know. I don't feel the way I used to, but I don't want to hurt her. She was my best friend before she was my girlfriend. I don't like it when my best friends are hurting. That includes her. I don't want her to be heartbroken," he said.
"And what about you? You deserve to be happy too," Joe said softly.
"The girl I want to be happy with is dating you," Nick muttered to himself, knowing Joe couldn't hear him.
"What?" Joe asked.
"Nothing," Nick said, and started walking down the hallway. Joe rushed after him.
"So are you going to end things or stay with Sel? I think you owe it to yourself to do what you want to do, and not worry about what anyone else will think. Do what's best for you. I want you to keep that in mind before you make your decision," Joe said.
Nick sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that lunchtime. "I have a lot of things to keep in mind. If I hurt her best friend, Miley will hate me too. Selena won't be my best friend anymore. Neither will Miley. I'll only have you. No offence or anything, bro, but having your older brother as your only friend looks kind of pathetic, don't you think? And I have to do 'what's best for me', as you said. There's a lot to keep in mind when I'm making this decision, Joe," he said.
"Miley won't hate you. You're her best friend. She's always said she'll never hate her best friend. And same goes for Selena. She won't hate you. If you just explain to her how you're feeling, I'm sure she'd be fine with it," Joe said.
"She may act as though she isn't hurt, but I can read her like a book. She'll lie so that I won't feel bad. I know Selena, and she won't want me to feel guilty for breaking up with her," Nick replied.
Joe sighed. "I don't know what else to tell you, little bro. Just do what you think is best for you, and it'll all work out the way it's supposed to," he said as they turned a corner and walked into the gym. "Why are we in the gym?"
"I want to get my mind off things," Nick said, picking up a basketball from the trolley and throwing it up at the hoop. The ball went in and fell to the ground, bouncing upon impact. Nick picked it up and started bouncing it on the ground.
"Nick, I'm going to ask you something and you have to tell me the honest truth. Is there someone else? Is that why you and Selena are drifting apart?" Joe asked, sitting down on the bleachers and watching as Nick threw the ball up into the hoop again.
"Um, no," Nick lied. He closed his eyes while his back was facing Joe and bit his lip, hoping and praying that Joe wouldn't pry further.
"Then what is it?" Joe asked.
Damnit, Nick thought. "There's nothing wrong. I just don't see Selena the same way as I used to," he replied.
"I just don't get it, though. You were smitten by her before summer. Then she went to go see her dad and you texted and called her all the time. Then you saw her again today and you've gone off her? I don't get it, Nick," Joe said.
"There's nothing to get, Joe! I don't like her anymore! End of!" Nick snapped, and angrily threw the ball up into the hoop, watching as it hit the rim of the hoop, bounced off, and fell to the ground.
Joe shook his head and stood up, walking towards the gym doors. "You know what, Nick? I don't know what's wrong with you today, but you better clean up your act or else Selena will break up with you before you have the chance to make up your mind about her," he snapped, and stormed out.
Nick angrily threw the ball again and sank to the ground on his knees. He buried his face in his hands and whispered, "I can't like her. She's my best friend. He loves her more than I can."
He was trying to convince himself that it was wrong. But inside, he was wondering how something so 'wrong' can feel so right.
--
Hi. I'm Anna. I'm kinda new to this whole thing. Review??? That is, if anyone's actually reading this.