Chapter Two.

Miley.
She didn't care anymore. Nick's staying with her while she was in the hospital didn't effect her like it used to considering he was too late to fix anything now, and Demi's constant check-ups only annoyed her. They were both so worried, and for what? It wasn't like she'd actually succeeded in killing herself. She was still fucking stuck her. So she blocked them out. She knew it hurt them, but obviously she'd been blocking them out for awhile if none of them saw this coming. She knew that at least one of them had to have seen this coming. And maybe this wasn't fair to them, especially Demi, but what wasn't fair was how her fucking parents were getting a fucking divorce all because of fucking her. She didn't mean to tear them apart.

They all continuously told her that it wasn't her fault. That it wasn't anyone's fault. That they simply... didn't love each other anymore. But Miley knew that all of that was bullshit. It was her fault, because if it wasn't they'd be at least fighting for custody. That one time she heard the words spoken in rage was all she needed to hear to know that it was her fault. She didn't mean to, but she had. She had torn her parents apart, and nothing anyone said could convince her otherwise. She'd only tear her entire family apart next.

Her little brother was taking it pretty hard, but Noah was taking it the hardest. When she found out she didn't understand. That first night of knowing that their parents would probably never be sleeping in the same house again she spent hours crying in Miley's arms until she fell asleep. And all the older girl could think of was that it was all her fault that she was like this. She should have known this would happen. She should have seen a sign. She should have put her family first.

She was beginning to think that that's what she was best at, tearing people apart, ruining good things. She tore apart her and Nick, she tore apart Selena and Nick, she even managed to tear about Demi and Selena, and now? She'd torn apart her parents. She didn't mean for it to all get this far. She wouldn't have become famous if she knew that she'd have to give up this much.

That's why she was really there on that bed. Not because of the haters, or the feuds, or the fame, but because she was a screw up. Everything she touched she ruined. She ruined her and Nick, she ruined her and Mandy, she ruined her reputation, and now, as if all of that wasn't good enough, she was going to ruin her family.

They were releasing her today, but her mom already explained how she wouldn't be back home for long. Maybe two days max. And to be honest, that was absolutely fine with that. The last place that she wanted to be was the house that had the mocking title of home. That house was not her home anymore. They'd decided to let her go with only Nick to New Jersey. She wanted to criticize that decision, the town, the person she was going with, but she kept her mouth shut, still refusing to talk. She didn't want to hear what they all had to say. She didn't want them to think that she wasn't okay.

Liam arrived yesterday. Him and Nick had never been in the same room, and Miley didn't like the feeling she got when they were standing so close to each other. A part of her felt guilty, the other part felt the need to piss Nick off and make out with her boyfriend, and the other part wanted to kick them both out. No, rephrase that, the majority of her wanted to kick them both out.

Miley told him about the news of her living with Nick for awhile, and needless to say, he didn't react well. He didn't make a scene because he wasn't that type of person, but he definitely wasn't too thrilled about it either. Actually, the first words out of his mouth was the bright idea that she could move to Austalia with him instead. That'd be even farther, after all. Or that he'd move in with Nick and her.

Her mom said that the suggestion was nice, but it wasn't necessary. It was sugarcoating the truth but she shouldn't have bothered, because all three of them knew what the real meaning behind those words were. She'd rather her go with Nick. She trusted Nick more, and despite how good Liam has treated her, she knew that he didn't have a clue how to handle a situation like this. There was so much a past there, that her mom knew it wasn't Liam who should be going. Or, maybe that was Miley's thoughts. Regardless, Liam hadn't said much since that conversation.

"I just scheduled your flight. You're gonna leave the day after tomorrow, jet leaves at ten."

Miley didn't say anything, continuing to stare ahead in her own world, pretending not to hear the words her mom just said. She still hadn't spoken a word. Too much was done now, she was over the news of where she was going or with who. As long as it was away from here, she didn't care. Not even if it was with Nick and even it would be awkward, it was finally true. She was finally numb. She didn't care anymore.

Nick.
She was scaring him. At first, he thought it was just the shock of what she'd done that she had to get over, but as time went on, as the days passed, he was beginning to think this wasn't shock. He was beginning to think that she wasn't going back to the way she was before all of this. He was beginning to think that she was done pretending.

And that broke his heart.

Miley wasn't a drama queen. Yeah, she liked sending out subtle messages and testing her limits, but for the most part, Miley was the one person he knew who could wear that smile through everything. She didn't talk about her problems, she didn't even show them, but when those blue eyes sunk a little it was in those seconds that Nick knew something was bugging her.

Well, right now her entire face sunk and Nick had never been more scared in his life. Ever since he met her, all he wanted was for her to show her feelings and put that brave face away when she was with him, but now that she finally did just that, he wanted the brave face again. This version of her was terrifying and he was scared to think he'd need to live with her for the next few months. For the first time, he wasn't so sure that he could fix her.

If anyone knows what to do, it's you.

That's what they all kept saying. All of them, repeating the exact same words and every single time he wanted to scream back that that wasn't true. He hardly knew her anymore. She was quiet and distant and just so angry with the world that even he could barely recognize her. And he used to be in love with her.

"Ready?" his mom asked, popping into his room. They'd decided that she could go with the two of them. It was unnecessary, but if anything happened again, someone would need to be there. If she went that extra millimeter too deep with the blade that was being kept out of her reach again Nick knew that he wouldn't be able to do it.

He grabbed his suitcases, nodding a little towards his mom.

"How was she when you left a few days ago?" his mom asked.

Nick shook his head, looking down, ignoring whatever seemed to be blurring his vision, making the house unclear. "She was terrible."

"That bad?"

Bad was an understatement. "Terrible," he emphasized, walking out of the room and downstairs to where Tish was outside waiting for the two of them. She'd be dropping them all off at the airport.

"Hey, Miley," Nick greeted as happily as he could considering the conditions. She looked at him briefly before turning, looking back out the window.

Nick looked to her mom who appeared just as scared as he felt and knew that what he was hoping didn't happen. She was shutting down, blocking everyone out, almost the same way she did in 2008. But even 2008 was better than this, at least she talked then. She hadn't said a single word since she'd woken up, but if she really thought that would work she was sadly mistaken. He didn't plan on leaving her. Not this time, he'd already made the mistake once. He'd talk to her until she got so annoyed that she had to talk.

She was wearing a sweatshirt in weather that was far too hot to even attempt to pull off that look. He wanted to go swimming, not sledding. It wasn't chilly at all, but he knew why she was wearing it. She was hiding her mistakes, and out of everything that changed, a part of him was relieved to see that one thing hadn't.

He looked ahead of him, not knowing what to expect in the next few months, but knowing that he shouldn't get his hopes up. Because this wasn't the same girl that he fell in love with and knew like the back of his hand. This girl was different. She was hiding something behind that numb act. She wasn't happy anymore. She was broken.

In 2006, she had such a spark in her eye that he thought one day she'd outshine the sun. She was finally big, finally living her dream, and now it seemed like she'd hand the dream over in a second. Somewhere along the way, the way she glowed every time onstage and seemed to have never-ending confidence all slowly disappeared. She wasn't that girl anymore. Her eyes were almost lifeless, he could hardly recognize this girl that was sitting across from him. The girl who was his best-friend, his first love.

He knew she'd been acting different to the media, but he always considered it standing up for herself. Now he saw that he was all wrong. She didn't stand up to them, but she stood up to life and gave it a hostile front. And now that she changed, now that he didn't know her, she was doing something he never thought she would be able to do. She was scaring him.

hm. i know this is short, but its sorta setting up for next chapter where the plot begins. hope you enjoyed it :)

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