Miley could feel the tension building up as Nick was engulfed in silence. It was a couple of seconds before a small smile started to appear on his face.
"You're not mad?" Miley asked nervously, rubbing her arm for comfort. She looked at him hesitantly as he shook his head.
"No, I don't care whose daughter you are," Nick answered with certainty. He held his gaze as Miley tried to find any sign of doubt in his chocolate orbs. "I mean it," he placed his hands over hers and leaned in. They were about to seal the deal when they were once again rudely interrupted by another round of flashes.
"Dammit," Miley muttered under her breath. She looked at Nick apologetically and then stood up to place her hands on her hips. She looked at the paparazzi that was camped out in the cart next to them and pursed her lips, sending out a threatening glare. "One more shot and I'll sue your ass until you don't even have a penny on your name." The man shrunk back into his seat and started to toy with his camera, leaving the two in complete privacy. "God," Miley grumbled as she snuggled back into Nick. She laced her fingers with his and sighed peacefully, leaving all thoughts of their interruption behind. "Now, where were we?"
"I think we were around here," Nick grinned as he dipped his head a little lower to capture Miley's lips. He tugged on her bottom lip as she leaned further into him. His hands found their way around her waist as the two began to enjoy their first kiss. Miley took the courage to swipe her tongue across his lips; He granted her instant access and their tongues collided at full speed, displaying the hunger the two had for each other.
Demi began to pour her milk into the pastel blue bowl she had retrieved from the kitchen cabinet. She was too busy staring at her cereal to notice a messy looking Miley dragging her feet into the kitchen.
"Good morning," Miley yawned as she untangled her hair from the messy bun. "Sleep well?" Miley asked, prancing towards her sister.
"Yeah, how was the date?" Demi grinned from ear to ear, turning towards her best friend. She could see the red rise in Miley's cheeks before her sister turned around to sit at the dining table. "That good, huh?"
"Shut up," the embarrassed girl mumbled as she attempted to hide her face. The failed attempt caused a fit of giggles to arise from both of the girls.
"So tell me more about this dream guy." Demi set her bowl of cereal down and started to dig in as Miley bounced up and down in her chair to tell her the story from last night. She watched her little sister babble about the date until she heard a detail that perked her interest. "Wait, so he knows we're famous now?"
"Yeah," Miley shrugged. "He doesn't care though. He was really chill about it." Demi nodded absentmindedly as her brain started turning gears. "What?" Miley asked, noticing Demi's "thinking face."
"You should ask dad…never mind," Demi got up from her seat and went towards the sink to empty out the contents of her bowl.
"No, go on." Curiosity was getting the best of Miley.
"Ask him to listen to Nick's band. I mean dad's been scouting for someone to be his protégée or whatever for awhile now." Miley bit her lip, unsure of Demi's suggestion. "Oh, come on. He's a good guy and his music was awesome from that night at the bar. Are you going to keep him undiscovered just because he's dating you?" she raised her eyebrows at her sister and Miley giggled.
"Fine. You always know how to guilt me," Miley chuckled. "Nick would never go for this," she added as an afterthought.
"Then don't tell him. And just because dad listens to his band doesn't mean he's going to like the music. You'll give him a shot, but he needs to prove himself. So it won't totally be all you."
"Yeah, but I've only known him for a week."
"Yeah…and your point is? He's talented. Whether or not you've known him for a week," Demi placed her hands on her hips to emphasize her point. Miley rolled her eyes and finally slumped her shoulders down in defeat.
"Fine."
Miley was currently pacing in front of her dad's office. It had been a long time since she came to his door, but she still hadn't gotten up the nerve to even touch to knob. To her surprise, the door opened by itself. She jumped back in shock only to recover after seeing her dad's face pop out.
"Hey, there bud," he smiled. Good. He was sober. She smiled innocently as she took a step into his office. He was easy to deal with when he didn't have any alcohol in his system. "What do you need?" he asked. Miley rolled her eyes. This was the first time she had talked to him in days and this was the first question he asked her.
"Uh, I was wondering. I have this friend who's a musician at a local bar. And he's really good…" she trailed, unsure of what to exactly say. She didn't want her dad to think she was just recommending someone because she was dating the guy.
"Tell him to meet me at the studio," Billy said, taking a good look at his watch."Six next Friday. I'm busy until then," he smiled back at the brunette. He seemed to understand what his daughter was trying to propose.
"Thanks, dad," Miley said, knowing well enough what kind of opportunity he was giving Nick. She breathed out a sigh of relief as she turned her heal and walked towards Demi's room.
Miley opened the door as Demi trailed behind her. The door slammed shut as the two girls left a world of flashing lights behind them.
"Why can't we ever get rid of them?" Demi grumbled as she trudged towards the bar where Joe was shaking his head at the ladies.
"Just can't stay away, huh?" Joe joked as Demi and Miley pulled the stools away from the counter.
"Yes, Joe. We just couldn't stay away from your manly must," Demi swiped her hand in the air, pretending as though Joe stunk. She giggled as Joe stuck out his tongue and proceeded to pour the girls a drink. "Where's Nicky Poo," she glanced around. For the past week, Demi and Miley had been hanging out at the bar and they had become extremely close to the brothers.
"Yeah, we're going to be late," Miley looked at her watch nervously. She told Nick's band where the studio was, but it was all still a surprise to Nick and Joe. If they knew, they would have backed out and not let the girls help them. Demi tugged on Miley's coat to calm her down a little bit.
"He should be out in a little bit. He's just finishing up a song he's been working on," Joe nodded towards the back door where Nick kept all his stage equipment. "So where are we going again?" Joe asked.
"It's a surprise, Joe," Demi rolled her eyes. She motioned for another glass and Joe huffed at her response, but poured her another beer anyways.
"What's this surprise anyways? How do you know both Nick and I will like it?" Joe's question was directed more towards Miley than Demi, but that didn't stop the raven haired diva.
"Um, why don't you just wait and see," Demi playfully tilted her head and jumped off the stool. She made her way towards the back of the bar, clearly getting impatient from waiting for Nick. She pounded on the door. "Nick, we're going to be late," she yelled, hoping her voice would make it through the thick walls. She was in luck as the door swung open, revealing Nick in a blue collared shirt, complete with jeans and converse.
"Missy, you need to learn patience," Nick playfully scolded Demi. His eyes trailed towards the bar to see Miley giggling from their antics. "There is my lady," Nick grinned as he made his way over to her. "Hello there," Nick softly kissed Miley's forehead, earning a groan from Joe.
"Can you keep the PDA to a complete minimum?" Joe complained, ducking under the counter to magically appear by Nick's eyes. "I think you're scarring people's eyes."
"Agreed," Demi laughed, placing her finished glass on the bar. "We should get going. This surprise does have a time limit you know. And my car is too beautiful to just lay idle next to some shitty bar."
"Hey, this is the coolest place in town," Joe defended. He was the first to start heading towards the door with Demi hot on his heels.
"You wish," she muttered, leaving Nick and Miley behind, alone.
"So what is this surprise?" Nick asked as his arm snaked around her waist and his mouth nibbling the skin on her neck. He was hoping that if he completely charmed her, she would spill the secret.
"Not working, mister," Miley giggled, deciding to run towards Demi's car in full speed. Nick laughed as he started behind her. The two tumbled into the car in a fit of giggles, earning confused looks from Joe and Demi, who were in the front seats.
"Weirdoes," Demi muttered under her breath as she sped away from the bar.
"Whoa, crazy driver, huh?" Joe joked. She shook her head and laughed.
"This is nowhere near crazy, Hun," she looked up to see her rearview mirror. "Looks like we've got company," Demi tilted her head to the right to get a better view of the cars that were following them. One car switched into the right lane and sped up; the people in the car held their cameras out and opened their windows, getting a good shot of Demi in the front seat. "God, why can't we have just a moment of damn privacy," she starting shifting gears and swerved right, trying to shake her tail. "That's got to do it," she exclaimed as she swerved the car into an ally and made her way through the back streets of LA.
"Years of practice my friend," Miley explained to Joe's shocked face. He was gripping his seat tightly and looking around to see if the cars were still around.
"How the hell do you guys deal with that?" Joe shot his hands through his head. He wasn't over the excitement just yet.
"You get used to it," Demi grumbled as she pulled over to a gray building. "We're here," she pulled her keys out of the ignition and slipped on her sunglasses. "You guys are going to love this." Nick and Joe followed her out with confused faces. Miley took a deep breath before she exited the car. She caught up with the trio and linked her arms with Nick.
"Promise me you won't kill me after this?" she whispered into his ear before nuzzling into his chest.
"I thought you said I would like this?" Nick replied back. He held her close as they walked into the building.
"You will," Miley promised, tilting her head to get a better view of Nick. "At least I think so," she giggled nervously. They were already in the lobby of the studio, making Nick and Joe realize exactly where they were.
"Wait, is this HWR Records?" Joe asked as his eyes scanned over the big blue letters that were plastered above the receptionist's desk. Both Miley and Demi ignored his question as they made their way into the elevator. It was a silent ride as Joe and Nick were trying to sum up what was exactly happening. The elevator chimed and the four stepped out heading towards the studio. "So, um, is this an actual studio?" Joe asked, trying to break the silence.
"Joe?" Demi asked innocently as she opened the studio door. He raised his eyebrows in interest and Demi smirked. "Shut up and enjoy the moment," she walked inside, revealing Nick's band in the recording space and Billy Ray at the controls.
"Wow," Joe breathed as he looked at the whole set up. He turned towards Nick who was currently trying to process everything.
"Alrighty, don't waste another minute," Demi ushered Nick into the recording space and closed the door. She turned the speaker on and looked at her dad. "Good Ol' Billy back in the studio," she joked. Miley could sense the bitterness in Demi's voice, but everyone else in the studio was clueless to it. "Start to magic," she took a step back as she watched her dad give directions to the band. Nick and his band huddled together to decide what song to record. It took a moment to decide until they got back to their places. Miley could see the nervous glint in his eyes as he started to sing. Her eyes wandered to each band member until she finally settled back on Nick and got lost as she watched him perform; he gave it his all and to her it was truly magical. She could see the emotion written all over his face and she began to tune out everyone and everything around her. She hadn't realized they finished the takes until Demi tapped on her shoulder.
"They were amazing," Demi whispered into her ear and Miley nodded in agreement. They deserved a record deal and hopefully her dad noticed that. Billy switched a couple of the controls and spoke into the mic.
"You guys can come out now," he announced. Nick slung his guitar off his shoulders and came into the room with his hands dug into his pocket. "Son, you were great," he patted Nick's back in encouragement. "I think we can start signing the papers and everything if that's okay with y'all," Billy nodded towards the band. They all nodded in excitement and started to talk amongst themselves as Nick walked over towards Miley. She grasped Demi's hand as the curly haired boy stopped in front of her.
"You guys did great," Demi nodded as she left the pair alone. Nick looked at Miley and an awkward silence settled between the two.
"In my defense, I told you not to be mad at me before," Miley shot out really quickly before Nick could get a word out. She shifted uncomfortably as Nick opened his mouth and closed it again. For the second time since he had known the girl, he was speechless. And for the second time since Miley had known Nick, she had no idea what his reaction was going to be.
A/N The story is going to move a little fast in the beginning till I get to around the fifth chapter where the actual conflict is set up. Then it starts to slow down and things actually get interesting. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter even thought its kind of a filler. I promise you will love the next chapter. Especially since its rated M, haha. Thanks for the support, I hope you like the story so far!!!!
