The alarm on my phone went off at 11 the next morning, but I was already awake with half of my closet thrown across my room. I had bitten my nails down about as far as I could, and I don't even bite my nails. I was a nervous wreck, to say the very least.

There were two knocks at my door before it swung open and Joe and Kevin walked in, Joe holding flowers. Riley and I had ran my, which was mostly her, plan by them and they both offered to help with the day. The had gotten up early to run to some stores for me while I attempted to get ready.

Kevin shook his head and started holding shirts up to my chest before repeatedly making a disgusted expression and saying, "Naww." as he threw shirts over his shoulder like he was a fashion icon.

"Well, my golly Nick!" Joe joked and put an arm around my shoulder. "You just look so swell today!"

"Shut up." I muttered, pushing his arm off of me. "You're supposed to be helping."

He stepped back looking insulted. "I got you a dozen roses, half yellow and half red. Yellow means friendship and red means love, signifying that our love and our friendship are one in the same, and you treat me like THIS!"

I looked at him, then to the roses, slightly impressed. "Is that really why you bought them?"

Joe nodded and opened his mouth to speak as Riley slipped in the door and cut him off.

"No." She started, shaking her fingers through her still wet hair from her morning shower. "They were the first, and conveniently, the cheapest ones he saw within the first three steps of the store."

Joe stuck out his tongue. "Do you always have to bite my moment?"

Riley rolled her eyes and pulled a small box out of her hoodie pocket. "I figured if the incredibly suave and unique rose line didn't work.." She looked over at Joe who mouthed a 'thank you!', while throwing up his hands. "You could give her this."

She handed the box to me and I opened it. It was a silver heart necklace that had 'Nick J' carved into it, the i dotted with a diamond. It was gorgeous, and definitely nothing I would've picked out on my own.

"How did you get this, Ri?" Kevin asked, turning it over in his hand.

"My aunt works down at the jewelry store on 140th. She gave it to me for an awesome price."

"I'll pay you back." I stated. "This is amazing."

Riley shook her head. "I don't want your money. I just hope she likes it. I figured you could give it to her at dinner tonight."

That was the icing on the cake of Riley's plan. Later on, we were all going to go to dinner together. It would be Taylor's first casual, yet formal event with us. She had gone to the album release and a few of the prom theme shows, but this was different. There were no guitars, drums, microphones or screaming crowds. Like I said, casual formal.

I set the necklace on my dresser and smiled. I glanced at my phone. It was already 11:45, and I was supposed to meet Taylor down at Starbucks at 12.

"Holy shi-"

"Don't freak." Kevin said, shaking his keys. "I'll drop you off." I quickly changed into a yellow and blue striped shirt, jeans and vans while simultaneously brushing my teeth. I gave Joe and Riley quick I love you's, before Kevin started the car. I always made sure to say 'I love you', to the people I did love, even when I was mad and it was hard. It was a habit Riley had got me into years earlier.

I waited at Starbucks for a few minutes, shifting every couple of seconds until I had a pair of soft hands over my eyes and a voice in my ears. "Guess who?"

"Hmmm." I thought for a second. "The girl of my dreams?"

She uncovered my eyes and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, I was right." I smiled and picked up the roses from beside me. "These are for you."

She pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head as her eyes got wide. "These are so beautiful! Thank you so much."

"They're half red and half yellow", I started "Because yellow means friendship and red means love. So, it sort of shows that our friendship, and what one day might be our love are equally important to me."

I could not believe I had just said that and expected it to sound any less lame than it did when I had heard it an hour earlier.

She giggled though, luckily. "Joe came up with that one, didn't he?"

I put my teeth together an inhaled softly as I shook my head. "Yeah, that obvious, huh?"

"More like that goofy!" She laughed. Her smile was incredible. She looked amazing, and it didn't look like she had put hardly any effort into it. She had on yellow flip flops with white Capri's and a yellow tank top. Her hair was down and it didn't seem like she had a trace of make up on her face. I liked simple beauty. I never understood the pounds of make up and the hours on hair, because at the end of the day, that's not what you are. That's not what you come down to.

We ordered our Starbucks and walked around the corner to the boardwalk. She took a sip of her Passion Iced Tea Lemonade and slid her sunglasses back down over her eyes. "So, what's the plan for today?"

I casually grabbed her free hand and began swinging it slowly between us. "Well, I was thinking we could just go hang out on the beach for awhile, and then you could accompany me to dinner tonight, at around 6. Along with my older brothers and Riley."

"She goes with you just about everywhere, doesn't she?" She sounded slightly annoyed but the worry free look on her face reassured me. Every girl I had ever crushed on, liked, dated casually or dated seriously had a problem with Riley. Not a personal one, though. Riley was the easiest person in the world to get along with, but no one could ever seem to handle the fact that my right hand man, was actually a very pretty girl.

I nodded. I had always vowed to be open and honest about Riley and I's friendship with the girls I liked as an attempt to ease their minds. I sat down in the sand and buried my feet in it. "It's almost a comfort thing." I looked up to see Taylor giving me her undivided attention. She wasn't gawking at me or anything, but you could tell she was listening and not just hearing what I was saying. "She's always been there. Even when Joe and Kevin started straightening their hair, and wearing tight pants, they came back to a friend who didn't make one comment about any of it, because she knew they were happy. She's just like.." I tried to think of how to describe it.

"A little piece of consistency in an insanely inconsistent world?" Taylor asked, letting sand run through her fingers.

"That's...actually exactly it."

She nodded. "It's got to be hard with how busy you are..with WHO you are, to ever find someone who really cares about you for you, not the boy on Disney."

"Well, what do you like about me? I mean, you were a fan."

"I AM a fan." She smiled. "You make incredible music, that I can relate to and for me to deny the fact that I dance around to your voice coming from my ipod would be a lie." She moved close to me and put her head on my shoulder. "But, I've gotten the chance to get to know an entirely different side than what I read in articles or hear at shows. I got to experience toe sensitivity and the romance. The humor and the sincerity. Nick J from the Jonas Brothers is awesome..." She sat up and looked my dead in the eyes. "Just Nick Jonas is amazing, though."

She looked down at her phone before smiling at me. "It's already 3, and I've got to take some to go get ready before our big outing. I'll be to your house by 5:30." She stood up and wiped off her Capri's before turning around and walking away. I watched her until she was out of side before flopping onto my back and brushing off my shoulders and smirking to myself.

"Nick J, you are the man."

-----------------------------------------

It was 5:35, and Kevin, Joe, Riley and I were all in the living room. Joe was flipping through the radio stations trying to find one that wasn't on commercial. We were all pretty dressed up, black suits with purple, white and light blue ties, and Riley in a white and black polka dotted tube top dress. It didn't stop us from jumping around to Lifehouse like we were ten, though.

My mom shook her head as she walked through us. "You all look amazing", she said, straightening Kevin's tie and shifting Riley's dress. "But I could swear you all were half crazy."

"Only half?" Joe asked, jumping up and down like a human pogo stick. "I'm straight insane, momma. I'M DJ DANGAAA!"

I stopped jumping as the doorbell rang, and nervously walked to answer it as someone turned up the volume from the living room and the lyrics came pumping at me, like I was writing them in my own head as the scene was unfolding.

Looking at you, holding my breath..
For once in my life I'm scared to death.
I'm taking a chance, letting you inside.

I opened the door slowly, and when I did, I didn't even know how to react. I know I'm talking about how pretty she is every time I get the chance to see her, but it was on a whole new level. She wasn't just pretty, or the beautiful cute she usually is. She was straight sophisticated, classic...perfection. Her hair was half up, the bottomed spiraled in a way I could never comprehend. Her dark green dress brought out her eyes that had a little bit of glitter on them like I had never seen. Not just on her, but on any girl.

The song kept playing, and definitely kept describing what I had forgotten how to say as I stood there with my hand on the door, and what I'm sure was a flattering look on my face.

I'm feeling alive all over again
As deep as the sky under my skin
Like being in love, she said, for the first time.
Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right
where I belong with you tonight
Like being in love to feel for the first time.

I managed to pick my jaw up off the floor and swallow loudly. My voice came out a lot softer than I had expected. "You…look fantastic."

She smiled and her lip gloss shimmered. "You look stunning yourself, hon."

As if on cue, the amazing tripod came running for the door like a herd of angry cattle, completely butchering any romance that was in the moment at all. Kevin grabbed his suit jacket from the wall while Joe skipped out the door singing "We're late, we're late, for a very important date. No time for your games of kissy face, we're late, we're late, we're late!"

Riley grabbed me by the collar of my shirt on the run while shouting a "Dang girl, you look GOOD!" to Taylor on the way out the door.

Dinner went really well. We laughed the whole time, and Taylor was really clicking with everyone. She had some great stories to tell, kept up great in all of our conversations and even gave Joe a run for his money in wit. Taylor didn't even seem phased that Riley had sat on the opposite side of me, and didn't roll her eyes once when I turned to my best friend to have several one on one side conversations. Riley only tripped in her heels once, Kevin only spilled his water twice, and Joe only attempted to get our waitress' number...at least a dozen.

He threw a sugar packet down on the counter on his way out the door. "Excuse me miss," He started, pointing down at it like she was oblivious to the fact that he had just tossed it in front of her. "But, I believe you dropped your name tag."

After that line failed too, he pouted his way out of the restaurant, complaining to Kevin. "I don't get it, dude. My hair looks amazing today."

"That's because I did it, Joe." He slapped his hand on Joe's shoulder. "It's okay, you'll get her next time."

My phone vibrated, and I excused my hand from Taylor's as I looked down to see a message from Riley. I looked up at her and gave her a confused expression. She mouthed 'Just read it.', so I did. If there was one thing Riley and I had mastered over the years, it was reading lips.

Where's the necklace, Casanova? Love, Riley

Probably the hugest part of the entire night, and I had totally spaced it out. I responded Keep Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum busy in the car for a few?

She read the text and stuck her phone into her purse before sliding in between them and locking her arms with theirs. I heard her say something about going for a moonlit stroll with her best friends before turning the corner out of sight. I thought they had pulled it off, until Joe came running back around the wall to give me an over exaggerated thumbs up and a smile before Riley stomped up to him and pulled him away by his ear.

The restaurant we ate at was called Charlie's by the Sea, and it doesn't take rocket science to figure out why. You walked out the doors and onto the board walk, and the sun had just gone down. Taylor shivered at the ocean breeze and I took off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders without a second thought.

She smiled thankfully and gazed out into the ocean, leaning up against the railing. "I think California is wonderful, but, New Jersey is just…beautiful." She sighed. "I'm really going to miss you when you're gone."

I turned her chin with my index finger. "You are beautiful, Taylor Moore." I opened the box with my free hand in the space between our bodies. I took a step back and lifted it to eye level. "And that's why I want you to have this." She clapped a hand to her mouth as I watched her eyes roll over the name that was engraved on the heart. "I might not be able to handle a girlfriend right now, but I want you to know that where ever in the world I am, you have my heart." I smiled. "And when I know I can give you everything you deserve, I hope you'll take me."

Taylor's hand was still cemented to her mouth as I walked around her to latch the necklace. When I had, she spun around and wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my shoulder. "If you mean it, I'll wait as long as you need me to."

I grabbed her hand and began walking. "Trust me, I mean it." She held my hand tightly the whole way home.

After dropping Taylor off, we were back on the familiar cul-de-sac, and I don't think I had stopped to take more than two breaths while I explained every detail that happened while no one was around. They all congratulated me, and Riley repeatedly patted herself on the back for picking out such an incredible gift. Kevin killed the engine and him and Joe both gave Riley a kiss on the cheek before wandering into the house. It was my unspoken duty to always make sure Riley got home safe, and I opted to walk her tonight.

"Can we plan our party tomorrow?" She asked, fishing for her keys under her porch light. "It's Sunday. You leave Saturday night."

"So, we'll have it Friday."
"Good.", she spoke, finally rattling her keys in her hands. "I already wrote out the invitations too, and I made sure to say that we weren't sharing presents. I'll come over tomorrow at noon and you can help me put stamps on them."

I nodded and gave her a hug. The night had been so amazing, I wasn't even going to protest at least an hour of stamp licking. "I love you, Ri."

"Love you, too." She closed the door behind her and I started across her yard into mine.

I kicked off my shoes once I was in my room and sat down on my bed, almost in awe. I was totally and completely convinced that nothing could wipe the stupid grin I was wearing off my face.

My phone vibrated.

I was thinking, while I was watching you and Riley through dinner. Nick…you're a big boy now, and it's time you start doing things without her. You're at the point in your life where the girl you're serious about comes before the girl next door. Your life is cluttered, I think you and I can agree that there isn't room for the both of us. When you decide, let me know. -Taylor

Choose between her and Riley? Was she serious? I looked out my window, into the one next to mine where Riley sat with a bunch of paper, markers and glue sticks concentrating like she was saving the world. She always had her whole heart behind everything.

I responded anyways. You're right. I took a deep breath before I continued, hardly believing what I was typing out. It's time to move on from the childhood friend.

I've never slept worse in my entire life

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Okay : )

Now the fun begins.