A/N: Hello again! I know that the last chapter of this story was extremely bipolar, but I wanted to establish right away the time frame of the story. Well, that, and what better way to keep people reading than to pique their interest right away, right? Anyways, I don't think this story will be very long, as the plot that I have in mind is very simple, but that may be subject to change if an idea suddenly strikes me. However, I am still having trouble with the next couple of chapters, so updates may take longer still. Again, I'd like to say that I would be purposely messing up the timelines of real events all for the sake of the plot, and this is, really, an outlet of what I wish really happened, haha. I would appreciate comments and suggestions after you're done reading, because this is really out of my territory.
DISCLAIMER: This is nothing but the mindless babbling of person with frustration issues. Needless to say, this is entirely FICTIONAL. I am in no way affiliated with Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, the Disney Channel or their show, Hannah Montana. Please, give it a shot.
The Other Side
CHAPTER TWO
: Disney Studios, 'Hannah Montana' Set :
Nothing could be heard from the inside of the small bathroom but the splashing of the water against the marble of the sink and the heavy breathing of Miley Cyrus. Filming for the past eight hours, not to mention her sleepless nights, were taking a toll on her, and she was beginning to feel light-headed, but was unwilling to worry her friends, not to mention her dad, about something so trivial. Spotting the opportunity to escape while her co-stars were filming some of their scenes without her, she ran into the nearest bathroom, praying that it would be a while before somebody came to get her.
'No such luck,' she thought, as she heard somebody knock softly against the door.
"Just a minute," she said while gripping either edge of the cool surface and looking at herself in the mirror. She took a couple more calming breaths before moving to step out of the confined space. She was taken aback when, upon opening the door, she saw the face of none other than Joe Jonas gazing earnestly at her.
"Hey, Miley. Are you okay? I mean, I saw you duck in here pretty fast. I don't think your director even got the chance to call 'Cut'," he said, with a smile masking the concern that could still be seen in his eyes.
"Enough about that, what are you doing here, Joe?" She was able to get out before wrapping her arms around him in a huge hug.
"What? You don't want me here?" He said, pretending to be hurt, but unable to keep the smile off of his face and from returning her hug. "Well, we're actually doing some filming right now, and I decided to do some exploring. Who would've thought that our studios would actually be right next to each other, huh?"
At the mention of 'We', Miley immediately looked over his shoulder, nervously searching for his two brothers that she was sure could not be far behind.
As if he could read her mind, Joe broke out of their hug and settled on placing his arms around Miley's shoulders, and said, "Relax. They're still doing a scene, and I'm pretty sure I heard Kevin challenge Nick to Guitar Hero right after, seeing as he thinks I'm not enough of a challenge for him."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Joe," she said with a laugh that was not as carefree as she had wanted it to be. "I think you can definitely kick his ass in Guitar Hero."
"Well, obviously. Just because I choose not to play any instruments, and instead devote myself to entertaining the masses with my voice, doesn't mean tha- whoa, Miley, seriously, are you okay?" Joe grabbed his companion's elbow as her knees buckled beneath her.
Attempting to stand up straight, Miley replied "Yeah, just lost my footing there for a second. It's these new shoes; they're kind of hard to walk in." She gave Joe a reassuring smile, hoping that he would accept that answer. 'Good thing Joe was here. I wouldn't want to make a scene of collapsing in front of everybody.' The fatigue she was experiencing, combined with the panic she had felt earlier were catching up with her. She just really needed to sit down and fast, but didn't want to alert her guest any further.
Joe scrutinized her for a minute, deciding whether to believe her explanation or not. After a moment though, despite seeing through the fact that she's worn shoes more uncomfortable than those for her Hannah role and dance in them to boot, he gave a small nod, choosing to let it go for now.
"Hey, mind accompanying me to my dressing room? I have to go and change into something else." The brunette girl asked, seeing the perfect excuse, and if only to break up the awkward silence that had settled between them.
"Yeah, sure, why not? After all, I have nothing better to do than entertain you with my sparkling personality." Joe said with a wink.
"Suurrre, Joe. Whatever you say," Miley said as she led the way to her dressing room at the other side of the building. "Won't people come looking for you, though? I mean, you are supposed to be taping, if I remember correctly."
"Nah. They know I have my phone with me. If they really needed me, they could just call. It's not like I'm going to Antarctica or anything."
They shared a look before laughing and making their way into Miley's onset quarters.
: Disney Studios, Inside Miley's Dressing Room :
The two had generally been having a good time, with Miley changing into some more comfortable clothes in the bathroom while Joe was poking fun at all of Miley's Hannah stuff, as evidenced by the fact that the Jonas was now wearing her long blonde wig.
"Joe! Give that back! Come on! You have no idea how hard it is to comb the tangles out of that thing." She was weakly trying to reach above her head, where Joe was mercilessly dangling the aforementioned wig. She was reluctant to move around as much, fearing a repeat of what happened before.
"Fine, ruin my fun," he said, before finally taking pity on her and giving it back. You know I have a thing for long blonde hair." Joe said grumpily, taking a seat with his arms crossed ever his chest like a petulant child.
"Well, if you really want blonde extensions, I have the number of this great stylist you can go to, but personally, I like your hair like this." She said, reaching out to ruffle his immaculately styled brunette locks, but failing to do so before Joe moved out of her reach. She was too sluggish to keep up with his fast movements.
"Haha, Miley. Yeah, I can totally see the fans going for my new do."
"Well," the young girl said, suggestively wiggling her eyebrows. "If you like blondes, I thought I heard Emily say that she thinks you're the cutest Jonas she knows, with the exception of Frankie, of course."
"Okay," Joe said laughingly. "While I know you've been planning on getting me and Emily together even before we actually taped for your show, and although I know that a lot of people think it would be perfect, I actually would like to get to know her more first."
"That's all I was going to suggest, I swear," she replied, holding both of her hands up in a gesture of surrender.
"If you say so," Joe smirked at her.
"You know, Jonas, you're a lot smarter than people give you credit for."
"About time you noticed, Cyrus." The pair shared a laugh at this before falling into a comfortable silence.
All of a sudden, 'S. O. S.' could be heard coming from Joe's phone. He picked it up while Miley listened to his end of the conversation.
"I'm okay. I just went out to get some fresh air." There was a brief pause wherein the caller spoke to Joe. "Okay. You guys can go ahead. I can catch up with you later. I'm kind of busy with a friend." He narrowed his eyes for a moment before replying, "No, not that kind of friend. Whatever, you guys. Go on without me." He put down the phone soon after that and turned to face Miley once again, but was met with her anxious face.
"Are you sure I'm not keeping you from anything, Joe? I mean, we can hang out some other time. Like you said, our studios are right next to each other, you can come and visit us here whenever."
Joe laughed out loud at her worried expression before replying "It's okay, Miles. I mean, I see those guys everyday for crying out loud. Besides, I'm having fun here. Unless you don't want me to hang around here anymore."
Miley smiled at him. Despite her deep desire to sleep, seeing Joe made her really happy, and somehow she was able to forget all the drama that was happening to her lately.
Taking her dazed silence to mean a polite affirmative, Joe made to stand from the couch where he and Miley were currently sitting and was almost to the door before she snapped to her senses.
"No!" She stood up quickly, and almost immediately fell back onto the couch as her knees finally gave way beneath her as a protest to her sudden movements.
In a flash, Joe was at her side, helping her to sit up properly, hovering in front of her to make sure she was still conscious. "Miley? Are you okay? Wait here, I'm going to get some help."
With an unusually strong grip, she grasped Joe's hand and held him back before he could move from where he was standing in front of her. "Don't, Joe. Please. I'm okay. I just lost my balance for a bit there."
"No you didn't Miley, and unless you tell me what's going on, I have to get your dad, or somebody, to help."
Not wanting to get her father involved after their little talk, she admitted "It's really nothing, I promise. I'm just a little tired from shooting all day." Joe remained skeptical. Seeing that he wasn't going to accept just that, Miley continued "and I wasn't really able to get a lot to eat this morning before taping began." As Joe still did not appear to be budging, she quietly added, "and maybe I haven't been getting any sleep lately."
Joe was taking all of it in, his concern growing with every statement. Taking a good look at Miley without any make-up on, he was able to see that indeed there were bags around her eyes and they only made her eyes look more sunken and her entire face more haggard looking. "Are you sure that's it?" He said while handing her a bottle of water he had grabbed from her mini-fridge.
"I swear."
"And you're not making yourself sick?" He asked her bluntly. "'Cause I've been reading all these things about these girls that do these to themselves, and now I see you looking like this and going all woozy on me. I can't help but worry, you know?"
"I promise, I'm not. It's just everything's been crazy lately, and I have to keep practicing with the singing and the dancing, it's just been hard to remember to eat and breathe every once in a while." She said, putting a reassuring hand on his arm. He propped some pillows behind her and made sure she was comfortable against the couch before sitting down beside her.
"You have to take care of yourself, Miles. I hear that this kind of thing has been happening to you often. I mean, I read on the news that you're sick during shows but you keep pushing yourself to perform anyway, like during the CMT's and the KCA's. I don't want to find out that you've been doing stuff like that to yourself too."
"It wouldn't exactly be the worst thing that they could say about me." She said, quietly, but Joe had noticed that bitter look that had flashed across her face.
"Hey. We've talked about this before. You're so much better than that. If all this practicing and dieting you're doing is just to please everybody, you should see that you're killing yourself, 'cause I can be the one to tell you that it's not going to happen, but it's not because you're not talented, but because not everybody can see what we can: a bright and gifted young girl."
Not having any more words to say, Miley just threw her arms around Joe and let a couple of tears fall from her eyes.
"You should probably get some rest, Miles. I'll try to talk to your dad about you going home early on my way out. I'll be checking up on you, you hear? So you'd better take care of yourself."
"You're always taking care of me, Joey."
"Somebody has to." Joe stood up and quietly closed the door behind him after seeing Miley's eyes flutter close.
END CHAPTER TWO
A/N: I had originally intended to make this chapter longer, but I actually wanted to end with that nice little MOE moment. I seem to be going for equal parts fluff. I know it may seem like a filler chapter, but I really just wanted to show how the negativity has been affecting Miley. That and how Miley did have a relationship with the Jonas Brothers apart from just Nick, so expect a Miley/Kevin sister-brother scene in the future, although it may be a little far off.
Anyways, I'm still a bit unsure of how it'll all end, but I think I have a rough idea, so bear with me a little bit. I'm going to use the events I had originally intended for this chapter to start the next one, so hopefully it'll help me update faster. I can definitely say that there will be more Jonas Brothers coming, and maybe some Nick/Miley drama to further shed light on what really happened. As always, please review, because in all honesty, the reason I'm putting this up although technically it was still 'unfinished', was because I wanted to please you guys.
mayniac, forevermiley11, miixao, xoxoAnnaxoxo, ttran59: Thank you very much. You honor my babbling with your comments and I hope you keep reading because you all inspire me to keep writing.