"A Christmas party?" Miley inquired as she set down her stuff in her office. Lilly walked in behind her with a smile.
"Yeah, from JONAS. Didn't you get an invitation in your mail?" asked the blonde, confused as she held up a card. "If I got one, you should too, right?"
"Oh...I-I didn't get one." Trying to cover up the slight disapointment in her voice, Miley quickly put on a smile. Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed through Lilly as her best friend began to walk away. She didn't get an invitation? Why? Weren't JONAS closer to her than to Lilly? Then, being the great friend that she is, Lilly grinned and hopped over to her best bud.
"We should have a Christmas party ourselves!!!" The blonde screamed happily, but Miley was unmoved.
"It's alright Lilly, I'm busy anyway, you should go. I know you want to." She whispered, absentmindedly wiping her camera lens. Sure it hurt her, but she wasn't gonna be a total jerk about it and freak out over a party, right? "I still have tons of picture to send out, so you go enjoy yourself."
"Miley-"
"Lilly, it's okay! Really." Miley smiled genuinely at her friend's concern when Lilly finally relented.
"Hey guys!" Lilly grinned as she approached the brothers with a cup, swaying to the beat of the music.
"Hey Lilly!" As always, Joe greeted her with a warm embrace, being the sweet person that he is. Then, as soon as he pulled away, he tiptoed to look behind the blonde.
"Who're you lookin' for?" Asked Lilly while taking a sip of her cider. Joe narrowed his eyes at her.
"What? Miley of course. She's here right?" He inquired, suddenly feeling uneasy as he shuffled his feet. Behind him, Demi's eyes sparkled.
"EH? Miley's not here? How can she blow you off? That's so rude!" Demi remarked loudly as the other brothers shrugged. Without understanding why, Joe involuntarily shot her a glare. However, that didn't go unnoticed by Lilly.
"What?! Miley didn't get an invitation, what are you saying?" Lilly huffed, defending her friend. You can insult her, fine, but nobody insults her best friend.
"What are YOU saying?" Joe shot back. "Of course we invited her! I even had Demi personally deliver it! Right Dems?"
"Yeah, of course!" The brunette shrugged, walking away to get a drink as she disappeared in the midst of the crowd. Although no one thought more of it, a sudden wave of suspicion began to arouse in the pit of Joe's stomach.
"Miley, hey, it's me Joe...you know, from the other day..." the answering machine to the Stewart residence beeped and of course, Miley wasn't there to pick up, and neither was Robbie Ray. "Mile, you there? C'mon, it's Christmas eve, you can't possibly be at work! ...Miley! I know you're listening~ You know, you really enjoy yourself once in a while -beep- Ah my phone is running low, I'll talk to ya later!"
Suddenly, there was a beat of silence before a soft murmur echoed through the machine. "Merry Christmas Miles." and the line went dead.
Miley groaned as she sat at her desk, desperately trying to focus on her work. However, something about a special boy kept boggling her mind as she screamed in frustration. How can she possibly get anything done if she kept thinking of him!? Suddenly, she remembered her donut, her other best friend.
"Hey Ollie, whatcha doing tonight?"
"Huh, weird that you'd want to hang out with me on Christmas eve. I guess I'm just way to cute." Oliver laughed as he swung an arm over her shoulder while Miley giggled and nudged his ribs before snuggling to his side.
"I guess you donut. I kinda miss this, you know, our best friend time." She whispered, looking up at him with sparkling eyes as they wandered through Sunset Blvd, taking in the Christmas spirit while they shop around.
"I guess so, I missed you too Smiley, with me being so busy and you doing photography and all...but hey, wanna go to that new restaurant that just opened? It's called like... Vis-a-Vis...or something French. You like French food right?"
It was past just a little before midnight when Miley got home. The house was silent, like usual, as she got out of Oliver's car.
"Bye Ollie, it was fun, take me out sometime soon ok?" Miley grinned as Oliver pulled her in a warm embrace.
"Promise, now go in before you catch a cold." He smiled as Miley turned to her porch. Once the light turned on, she gasped at the sight before her.
"Hey, you took a while."
"W-What are you doing here?!" Miley cried in surprise, stunned and ...stunned at the same time. "It's 12!"
"I know, and you weren't picking up your phone, no one knew where you were, I thought something happened!"
"Joe..." Miley looked him in the eye, smiling as she took a step towards him. However, that smile vanished when he took a step back, emotionless. "Joe, what's wrong?"
"N-Nothing, good to see you're okay." He sighed before brushing past her with a look of...disappointment?
"Joe! What's going on?" The brunette muttered to herself as she turned to the door where another surprise awaited her. She gasped as she knelt down to pickup a single red rose. And on that letter attached, it read....
Merry Christmas,
Love, Joe
Miley woke up the next morning with guilt filling her stomach. Why? She didn't know. There was simply no explanation until she turned to her nightstand, where the red rose stood proudly facing the rising sun. Seeing that suddenly lit a smile on her face as she ran downstairs with overflowing joy.
"Mornin' Daddy! Merry Christmas!" She grinned, jumping on her father as he tried to force back a smile-- failed.
"Mornin' Darlin', a mail came for you." Robbie Ray laughed, handing it to his beloved daughter as he got dressed.
"This early on Christmas morning?" Miley inquired as she opened the letter and gasped once again.
"It was in the trash actually, I don't know who tossed it there but..." He sighed, gathering a bouquet of flowers and a gift. "I'm gonna go visit your mom."
"Tell her I said hi..." She mumbled softly when she felt the moisture in her eyes. And of course, the invitation in her hand read
Dear Miley,
We're having a XMas party tomorrow night, please please come!!! We love you!
JONAS
PS. I, Joe, think that you're a mean photographer -_- but I love you anyway!
Sighing, she placed it on the island in the kitchen, knowing Joe must've seen that for him to react that way. What she didn't know was that that was only half of it...and that a certain someone deliberately placed it on top of the trash.
"Lilly, I'm 17, why are we here." Miley mumbled as she got on the horse. "I have too much work to do!" Yup, they were currently spinning around in...wait for it...DISNEYLAND!!!
"Because!" The blonde whined as she looked around, and Miley instantly knew what was up as she flashed an evil smirk.
"Ahhh~ Inviting your boyfriend here for Christmas huh? How clever~ Oliver must be stoked!" She squealed. Lilly shot her a look and glared. However, when her glare broke into a huge grin, Miley quickly turned to greet four figures, and almost fell off her horse-- okay, she fell off her horse. "AHHHH!!!!!"
"Woah there!" A voice said as a pair of arms steadied her. Miley recognized that voice anywhere, but what she didn't recognize was that intense glare in the back of her head. Whipping around, she was met with nothing but air. So, where did that feeling come from? Suddenly, a soft voice brought her back to reality. "Miley, you alright?"
Shooting her head up to meet her savior, her body quickly heated up. 'Damn, I was right.' Miley thought as he set her back on her horse. "I-I'm fine Joe..."
"Clumsy woman..." He sighed mockingly, getting on a horse next to her with Demi next to him. As the horses begin to turn, Lilly, Kevin, and Nick chatted away when Joe turned to Miley, who had a troubled look upon her face.
"Joe look! Ferris Wheel! We should totally go there next!!!" Demi yelled loudly as she took of hold of his jacket, pointing and trying to grab his attention. Joe, of course, turned with a grin. "Ne, please please please please!?!!?"
"Sure Demzy." He laughed at her antics before freeing her grip on him and turned back to Miley. He could hear Demi huffing softly, but at that moment, he just didn't care. "Miley, are you trying to fall off?"
"W-What!? NO!" She shot back, blushing as the horse descended fast, leaving her unbalanced. "Woah!"
"I told you!" Joe laughed, grabbing her arm and setting her in place. "My gosh you're so dumb."
"AM NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
And then they continued to scream at each other...
"Hey Miles, we're going on!" Lilly waved as she dashed in line for California Screaming, grabbing Kevin and Nick along as excitement overfilled her eyes. "You sure you don't wanna come?! IT'S SO FUN!!!!"
"I'm okay!" Miley laughed at her friend's antics as she saw her off and turned to the dark haired girl. "Hey Demi, you're not going on? I thought you like roller coasters."
"Oh but I won't have anyone to sit with." Demi pouted cutely, giving Joe huge and begging eyes. Miley shot her a weak grin before turning to Joe.
"Well go on! Have fun with Demi!" She ordered playfully, slapping his arm. "You don't have to say behind with me."
"Nah, I don't like rollercoasters that much anyway." Joe said, leaning against the rail overlooking the water as he threw bread crumbs at the ducks.
"What Joe! You freakin' dragged me on 'til I puked last time!" Demi pushed, linking arms with him and trying the pull him away. "Let's gooo!"
"No Demi! I'm not in the mood!" He scowled, yanking his arm back as Demi flinched in surprise. For as long as she could remember, she cannot recall one time where Joe had ever talked to her with that tone. Demi sniffled softly and turned to give Miley an accusing look before sitting down angrily on a bench. "What are you, five, Demi?"
"Just go on with her Joe, it's not a big deal. The ride is only so long." Miley nudged, turning to glance at the upset girl guiltily. If Joe and Demi had something, she didn't know about it, and besides, she knew him longer, and there was no way that Joe would give up that friendship. "I'm fine for 5 minutes on my own, I'm a big girl."
"I know that, Mi. But that's not the problem." Joe muttered, staring into the distance. When Demi sobbed loudly, Miley sighed and took Joe's hand firmly, causing his face to heat up by 30 degrees. Then, forcefully, he was dragged over to the bench where Miley grabbed Demi's hand as pulled them both to the coaster.
"Holy shiz I'mma die I'mma die I'mma die!!!!" Miley trembled as the security locked her seatbelt in place and began the countdown. Yup, Miley Ray Stewart just went on THE rollercoaster, and boy was she dying.
"Miley, chill, you're not gonna die!" Joe laughed as he settled in comfortably between the girls.
"Yeah Miley, it'll be over before you know it." Demi added with a chuckle. "No need to be a baby."
"Joe Joe Joe oh my god Joe if I don't die please by me a new pair of pants when we get off!" Miley begged as she blurted her last words before the rollercoaster took off in the speed of 180 mph. Oh yeahhhh~
It climbed, and it climbed, and it climbed. Joe suddenly gasped when he felt a shap pain in the palm of his hand as instantly looked down to find nothing but intertwined fingers. Miley's nails dug into his flesh as he winced softly but dare not pull away, and even to his own surprise, he held on even tighter.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! IT'S OVER!!!! $)*!$*!!!!"
---
"Miley, breathe, that's right, just breathe." Joe chuckled as he threw an arm around the shaking girl, pulling her into a tight embrace. After they got off -with someone ready to faint- Joe, with an arm firmly around Miley's waist, pulled her in the midst of the crowd and disappeared before Demi's very eyes. Not that he was trying to ditch her, just that he would never be affectionate with Miley with anyone else around.
"O-Oh my god t-that w-was the most h-horrible t-thing ever!" Miley stuttered, adding a violent cough in the end to support her statement.
"Dammit Miley, are you really okay!?" Joe tensed, leaning over her hunched body with unmasked worry.
"Did I ever say I was okay?!" She shot back wittily before her coughing fit took over once again, attracting attention from a few bystanders. "Where's Demi?"
Joe simply shrugged and pulled her close once again, letting her bury her face in his shoulder when that wave of dizziness came rushing back to her head. "Why did you agree to go on?"
"Oh my god I'm gonna throw up." She groaned then answered, "You wouldn't go with Demi if I didn't now would you? Exactly."
"Miley, she's not a kid, she can handle not going on a ride." Miley glared pointedly, pulling away.
"So you're saying that I'M a kid? That I can't handle GOING on a ride?" She retorted, forcing back the fact that the world was spinning around her.
"Okay now you're just being ridiculous, I never said that." He glared back, crossing him arms as Miley did hers. "And an adult wouldn't leave an invitation out in the trash for me to see and then lie about never getting one! A kid would've done that then go out with her boyfriend instead of telling me that you simply don't want to go!"
"What?! Who's being ridiculous now?! I didn't get it 'til the morning after when dad found it in the trash bin! And I don't have a boyfriend!" Miley scowled with a finger on his chest angrily.
"Liar liar pants on fire! And I'm not getting you another pair so HA! Then who's 'Ollie' if you don't have a boyfriend!?" Joe demanded, grabbing onto the wrist she used to point her finger with a snarl. Upon hearing the tone in his voice, Miley raised a brow and began cracking up in his face.
"H-Hahahaha! Y-You thought-Ahaha!" She choked as she drowned herself in laughter, leaving Joe with a confused face.
"What?!"
"Oliver is my best friend and Lilly's boyfriend you doofus!" Miley guffawed, falling into Joe's arms as she fell into hysterics, kicking her legs around. "Dude! Are you jealous?!"
"WHAT NO! Why would I be jealous!? It's not like I like you or anything!" Joe shot back and instantly regretted it. As soon as those words left his mouth, Miley's sweet laughter died into silence.
"Oh." She murmured as she got off him quickly.
"Miley-"
"GUYS! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN YOU DITCHERS!?" Demi screamed from across the road as she hurried over to jump on Joe. "I was worried sick! Aw Joey! Don't you ever do that to me again!"
"Demi!" Joe cried, pushing against her in vain to set them apart. As Demi continued to smother him, he poked his head up to see Miley walk to Lilly's side with a weak smile. And he could also see Miley grab Lilly, dragging her towards the exit of the parc. Great, he just ruined her Christmas.