Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot!

January 1st

"Yes!" I heard him respond exasperatedly to the person on the other end of the phone. "No mom. I don't know. Hmmm. Bye mother!"

I giggled as he ended the call and turned towards me, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance.

"Your mom?" He nodded.

"She's way too curious for her own sake..." He said with a sigh but I could see the small smile on his lips.

"Isn't she upset about u-um..." My voice trailed off.

"She's pretty happy about it actually... I don't think she really liked Tess... She probably went along with it for my sake." He shrugged his shoulders before tossing the phone onto the nearby bed.

"Whoa..." Denise was so kind... how could anybody not get along with her was beyond me.

"I uh..." Nick started awkwardly. I giggled at his tense posture, earning a glare from him.

"Sorry..." I apologised. "I should be more sympathetic after what happened... It's j-just..." I giggled again, happy to be able to laugh with him after so long.

"Just what Miss Miley?" He narrowed his eyes at me, playfully and I giggled again.

"Sorry..." I took a deep breath to remain serious but failed miserably. "I just couldn't picture you with someone like Tess! I'm sorry... she was just so..."

"Fake? Slutty? Vain? Ungrateful? Bratty?" Nick suggested, a smile never leaving his face. I burst out laughing at his choice of words and nodded.

"Um a little of all of that I guess..."

"A little?" He squint his eyes at me, not believing me.

"Just a tad!" I teased.

"Glad we agree!" He grinned. My bewildered expression made him laugh and he went on. "I guess I was too blind to see the real her until recently..." He admitted. I gave him an apologetic smile.

"I'm really sorry though. No one deserves to be used like that... I guess she didn't expect to fall for you along the way."

"She didn't. I told you. She just wanted the money..." He took a seat next to me on the bed.

"I saw her Nick... Maybe she was in it for the money at first but it quickly changed when she got to know you... I could tell..." I told him with a small smile.

"She's a good actress. I don't know..." He looked at me, a thoughtful expression on his handsome face.

"I know." I answered coyly.

"There we go... Miss knows it all!" He teased, making me laugh again. Silence fell upon us as we dreaded to bring up the painful topic that needed to be cleared up.

Taking a deep breath I jumped right in, head first. After all he deserved an explanation and an apology.

"I hope you know I didn't mean what I said during these past few days... I was just..."

"Hurt?" Nick suggested tactfully.

"I guess you could say that... but that didn't give me the right to say all those things... I should have known better than to accuse you of such shallowness..."

"You had every right, Mile..." He told me kindly, once again reminding me of the size of his big, soft heart.

"It was not my role to make you see you didn't love her... I hate myself for being that spiteful bitch I was to you..." He chuckled at my choice of words and replied softly.

"But it is your role, Mi. You're the only one who knows me like that... You are the only one who can read me like a book after two whole years..."

"You told me yourself... It wasn't any of my business..."

"You know I only said that because I knew you were right..." He told me with a smile.

"I'm just sorry... about everything... I should have taken responsibility for my own actions instead of blaming everything on you... You were so good to me..." I confessed with difficulty.

"I'm sorry too... I shouldn't have pressurised you into such a committed relationship at only 22 years old... I should have given you more space... I'm sorry..." He replied as he gathered me in his arms, tightly hugging me against his warm, muscular body. I closed my eyes, relaxing in the arms of the man I had been longing to hold for the past two years. When finally dared to lift my head I was met with the most loving look I had ever received in my life. How could this man love me so much knowing what a pain in the ass I was? "Why don't we freshen up and go out?" He suggested, attempting to cheer me up.

"How about we not?" I countered, a yawn escaping my lips. "I vote Chinese take out." I grinned as I got out of his embrace and put out a hand to help him up.

"Sounds good." He replied with a smile, obviously happy to see a smile replacing my saddened expression. The worry in his eyes was evident and after a long battle which consisted of me pushing him to go back to Dallas and not wait for me, I had caved in, not being able to say no to the most adorable pleading look. We had agreed to stay another two days to pack my things and fly together to Dallas.

"What are you going to do about your job?" He questioned, referring to the photo company I was currently a part of. "I thought you loved what you were doing?" I let out a sigh as I seated myself back on the double bed, one leg folded under me while the other hung loosely over the edge.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do just yet... I saved up enough money to open a new company of my own... but I'm not sure if this is the right time to do it, you know? With everything that's happened these past few days..."

"It's your dream, Miles... Don't let anything stop you from realising it. This is the perfect opportunity." He grinned mischievously as he pulled out (from his wallet) the card of a renowned photographer in Dallas that I had only dreamed of meeting. "We've become pretty close and I've told him a lot about you. He would love to meet you whenever you are ready." My bewildered expression earned a chuckle out of him. "I didn't plan this. It just so happened that he saw the amazing pictures I have in my apartment..." He grinned, referring to the many framed photos he had 'stolen' from me.

"Whoa, I dunno what to say..." I managed to mumble as I fingered the card, my eyes going back and forth from the amazing man standing in front of me and the little piece of paper that could make my career big.

"Say you'll meet him?" He coaxed me gently, aware that pressure was the last thing I needed in that moment. My whole life had been turned upside down in a matter of one week and I still didn't know whether to be sad because I was alone again or happy because the man I was in love with was back in my life, silently finding his way back into my heart (not that he had ever left it).

"Thanks." I mumbled as I climbed into his arms for the second time that evening. "I dunno what I would do without you..." I admitted sheepishly, a twinkle reappearing in my big blue eyes. He had not only restored my heart but also the twinkle in my eye, I realised as I faced the mirror in the corner of the room. It was in that moment that I knew, that was convinced that we would eventually find our way back to each other and go back to being Nick and Miley – the teenagers who had never fallen out of love. But for now, we were good as we were and the rest of the evening was spent like old friends - or flames, should I say? – sharing stories and laughing at old memories of the younger versions of us. God knows how much we had changed over the years as maturity had settled in our bodies and minds and yet, our feelings had not faltered nor had the comfort felt when being around each other. We still got along like the best of friends, laughing at the most random comments we could make without realising that we shared a bond that few had the chance of finding in a whole lifetime.

I attempted to wipe the sleep from my eyes as I felt a strong pair of arms lifting me off the couch - ? – I assumed.

"Nick?" I whispered into the dark of the night, my eyelids feeling too heavy for me to open.

"Shhh, go back to sleep, Mi. I'm just taking you to your bed..." His velvety voice made me melt, leaving me helpless, as if I was missing something, missing a part of me. I wanted nothing more than to call him mine again and ask him to sleep next to me without being afraid of him turning me away.

"Night baby girl..." I heard him murmur into the quietness, my senses becoming completely alert at the loving nickname rolling off the tip of his tongue. My shoulders slumped as I realised he had only said that out of habit and not because he wanted me back... Why was everything so confusing? I fought with myself, scolding myself for not being more upset about Liam cheating on me and moving on this quickly... but again... it's not like I had ever moved on in the first place!

His recent actions and the way he acted around me screamed that we were on the same page. We had obviously not forgotten each other after two whole years and wanted nothing but to start off where we had left off... But the hurt, the doubts... everything was still there. What if I had been nothing but over thinking his friendly ways?

January 2nd

"Hey!" His bright smile lightened my subdued mood the next morning when I walked in to the kitchen to find him pouring us two cups of coffee.

"Hey." I responded with a friendly smile. The confusion from last night was still intact in my mind and I had no idea how to act without making a fool of myself. I did not want to seem too forward if he had different ideas in mind... keeping a distance was always better, right? Well... it was killing me but I stood my ground.

"Sleep well?" His concern was too much for my fragile heart. I nodded before giving my undivided attention to preparing breakfast. Avoiding his gaze seemed like the easiest solution for the time being. The silence had become awkward as he watched me, pulling out needed ingredients ever now and then. But mainly, his eyes were on me, noticing my tensed shoulders and my wandering eyes.

"Why are you so tensed?" He whispered in my ear as his hands gently grabbed hold of my thin shoulders, his fingers working a miracle on the tensed muscles. I instantly relaxed under his touch and threw my head back against his own shoulder, feeling myself give in to him as my body moulded against his own. I lost complete control over my body in that second when I turned around and latched my arms around his neck, wanting to feel close and secure.

"How are you feeling?" His concern tone alerted me, reminding of the previous day's events. Shrugging my shoulders carelessly, I responded with a weak smile:

"I guess it hurts to think that you've been living a lie for two years..."

"I thought you were only with him for a year?" Nick's brows furrowed as confusion appeared on his thoughtful face.

"But it's been two years since we took different paths..." I whispered softly, my voice barely echoing in the dimly lit penthouse. I lifted my gaze to see his eyes filled with... could it be regret? My first reaction was to smile apologetically.

"What do you mean by you've been a living a lie for two whole years?" He asked curiously.

"I was so convinced that pushing you away would keep us from breaking up during my last year in school... But instead I- I just pushed you over the edge and drove you away... I guess I never realised what it would be like to lose you until I really did." I admitted with difficulty, my eyes focussing on my ripped jeans as my hand clenched around the neck of the glass I was holding, nervousness evident in my demeanour. "And when I did realise you were not coming back I thought it was too late... I was scared to come find you only to find out you had moved on... In an attempt to protect my heart I hurt us a lot more..."

"I was so hurt... I thought that maybe you were just trying to find a way to break up with me... it all made perfect sense in my head... But now I see that it was too soon... like I said before, I pressurised you into getting engaged when I should have taken our age difference into account." The sincerity in his eyes brought tears to my eyes and it was all I could do not to jump into his arms and tell him I loved him right then... Tell him that all I wanted was to be with him again and move past the hurt we had put each other through, or rather, the hurt I had put him through.

"But I-"

"Stop blaming all of this on you, okay?" He told me sternly, his eyes piercing through my soul. I sighed and nodded my head, admitting defeat. Everybody knew how stubborn he was and I knew that he wouldn't let me take all the blame for our fall out. That was Nick for you, always a gentleman and ready to admit his faults even if it deeply wounded his pride.

Hmmm... what to say? I'm having mixed feeling about this five shot... I wrote this a while back and now I'm posting I just feel like it's missing something. Oh well... The next chapter is already written so all you have to do is REVIEW!!! ;)

xoxo