That night, all the girls were in the one suite. Selena was rummaging through her suitcase, wearing only her bra and panties, looking for her make-up bag. Tisha and Andie were doing their make-up in the bathroom. Taylor was doing her hair. Demi was deciding which dress to wear. Miley, however, was sitting on her bed, staring at her phone.
She had about three missed calls on her phone, all from Nick. She didn't want to answer him. She was feeling more guilty than ever before, but she still missed him like crazy, even if it had only been about twenty four hours since she had seen him.
"Miley?"
Demi walked into the room, holding two dresses. "Which do you think?" she asked.
"Uh, the black one," Miley said.
"Thanks." Demi sat down beside Miley. "You okay, sweetie? You've been out of it all day. Is there something wrong?" she asked.
Miley shook her head. "I'm fine."
"Okay, if you're sure ... Well, you should get your hair and make up done. We're leaving in a few minutes, okay?" Demi said.
Miley nodded. "I'll catch up with you guys. I have to call Nick and check on the hotel back home. I'll be about ten minutes, tops. I'll see you guys down there though," she said.
Demi pressed her lips together tightly. "This is a vacation, Mi. Take a break from the hotel. You can call Nick in the morning. We're having a girls night tonight," she said in an attempt to stop Miley from calling Nick.
"It's really important. I'm sorry. I'll catch up with you, though. Promise," Miley replied.
Demi sighed. "Fine. See you down there, then," she said. She then turned on her heel and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door tightly behind her.
Miley applied some eyeliner and mascara and ran her fingers through her hair a few times before picking up her phone and pressing '1' on speed-dial for Nick.
"Hello, beautiful,"
His voice immediately brought a smile to her face. She then remembered why she was calling him. The smile soon dropped from her lips.
"You called?"
"Just thought I'd say hi."
"Oh, okay."
"Something wrong, Mi?"
His question made her pause. Obviously there was something wrong, but she was hardly going to tell him that. She was hardly able to admit that to herself.
"She says she loves you."
"I'd like to think so, seeing as she married me."
Her tone grew cold. "Is this some kind of joke to you, Nicholas? This isn't a freaking game. We're messing with people's lives now. You said it yourself, we can't give this up. It isn't funny that she loves you. Actually, it's the complete opposite of funny," she snapped.
"Okay, okay, calm down. What's wrong with you?"
She took a deep breath. "I don't know if I can do this anymore," she whispered into the phone.
He stayed silent for a moment. "Don't say that," he said back, his voice calm and gentle.
She felt a single tear slide down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand. "She's completely in love with you. She's one of my best friends. I can't do this. You're her husband. I can't go behind her back like this, Nick," she said.
"Miley, come on. Don't do this. Let's just talk about this when you get home, okay? We can talk about it calmly. We can figure something out," he said.
"Nick, I can't. Selena's one of my best friends. I can't do this with her husband. It isn't fair on anybody. You clearly love her. She loves you. I don't want to feel like your bit on the side."
"You aren't."
"Don't deny it. I am. You love your wife. End of story," she said.
More tears fell from her gentle blue eyes. She walked over to the window and looked out. "Thanks for watching over the hotel for me. I'll talk to you some time soon." She hesitated, then took a deep breath. "Goodbye, Nick."
"Miley -"
He never got the chance to finish what he was going to say. She had already hung up on him.
She looked down at her phone. She couldn't believe she had ended it. Despite her previous feelings, all she wanted to do was call him back and tell him she had made a terrible mistake and she hadn't meant it and she still wanted to be with him, but she knew she could never do that.
She turned off her phone and slipped it into the drawer in the cabinet beside the bed. She took a deep breath and touched up her make up before walking out of the bedroom and out the door.
Once she got into the club, she walked straight over to the bar. She ordered herself a cocktail and looked around the room in search for her friends.
She noticed Andie and Tisha over at the other end of the bar, but she wasn't really in the mood to talk to them. She noticed Demi dancing with Selena, but she really didn't want to talk to Selena at that moment. She looked around some more in search of Taylor, the only one she was actually willing to talk to.
Miley walked around the club, looking everywhere. She eventually found Taylor talking to some guy. Miley turned to walk away and leave the two in peace, but she heard Taylor call her name over the pumping music.
"Miley! Over here!"
Miley turned around and saw Taylor frantically waving her over. Miley walked over and smiled.
"Hey, Taylor," she said.
"Miley, this is Jeff. Jeff, this is my friend, Miley," Taylor said, introducing them.
Jeff smiled at Miley. "Hello," he said. Miley smiled slightly in return.
"The hotel okay?" Taylor asked.
Miley nodded.
"Well, I better head off and find Andie and Tisha. You two talk. Have some fun," Taylor said. She turned away from Jeff and winked at Miley before quickly running off into the crowd of people in the club.
Jeff chuckled. "I think we've been set up," he said.
Miley giggled. "Yeah, I think so," she replied.
"You met Taylor before?" he asked.
"No, not personally before this trip. She's a friend of a friend though. What about you?" she asked.
He nodded. "Tay was a friend of mine back in middle school. We lost touch and bumped into each other at the bar. She was my first kiss and all that," he said. He looked over his shoulder then back at Miley. "A friend of mine has a VIP booth. He invited me over. Would you like to join us?" he asked.
Miley bit her lip. It wasn't like she was cheating on Nick. She had just ended it. And Jeff seemed like a nice guy so far. What harm could it do?
"Sure," she replied, smiling up at him.
He smiled back and took her hand. He led her through the crowd until he reached a VIP booth. There was a group of about four or five other people there. They all smiled up at Jeff but looked up at Miley confused.
"Who's this, Jeff?" one girl asked.
"This is Miley. She's a friend of a friend. I thought she might like to join us. You guys don't mind, right?" he asked.
"No, it's fine," one guy said.
"Miley, these are my friends."
Miley waved awkwardly at them and sat down beside Jeff. One guy reached over and stretched out his hand for her to shake. She shook it gently and looked at him.
"My name's Andrew," he said, smiling.
She smiled back. "Nice to meet you," she said.
"You from Vegas?"
"No, I'm from California. What about you guys?"
"Nah, we're from New York City. Carmen over there works for some big event planner and had some party to do this weekend here in Vegas. Tonight's her night off so she asked us to come with her and we could have some fun out of the city," Andrew explained.
Miley smiled and nodded. "I'd love to go to New York."
"You've never been?" Jeff asked.
Miley shook her head. "No, never. I really want to though. It sounds amazing. My best friend went there one summer for an internship. She said it was unbelievable," she said.
"It's pretty awesome," Andrew said, smiling.
Jeff looked at Miley and smiled. "Do you want to dance?" he asked.
Miley smiled back. "Sure," she replied.
Jeff took her hand and helped her up from the low seat. They pushed through the crowd to the dancefloor, soon reaching their destination. Jeff pushed through into the middle of the crowd.
Miley slipped her arms around his neck and started swaying her hips to the beat of the music. Jeff put his hands on her hips and started dancing with her.
Miley couldn't deny it – she was having fun. Jeff and Andrew were super nice guys. Who wouldn't like them? They were both extremely hot and both really sweet. They were amazing men. Her only problem was that she couldn't get Nick off her mind. The only thing running through her mind was their conversation over an hour ago. She couldn't believe she had ended something as amazing as what they had. But she knew it was the right thing to do for everybody involved.
After a while, she removed her arms from Jeff's neck and smiled. She leaned up and said into his ear, "I have to go and find my friends."
"Can I get your number?" he asked.
Miley nodded. Jeff handed her his phone and she put in her number. She smiled at him again and kissed his cheek.
"I had fun. Call me if you're ever in California. We'll see if you're anywhere near me," she said.
Jeff nodded and watched her as she disappeared into the crowd. Instead of going to find her friends, she left and went back to their room. She was going home.
About an hour later, Miley had changed into some sweatpants and a t-shirt and flip flops. Her bags were packed and she was ready to go. Her phone was sitting on the bed. She had about twenty missed calls from Nick. She didn't know whether to take it or just leave it in Vegas.
A tear streamed down her cheek as she thought back to their conversation for what felt like the millionth time that night. She picked up her phone and switched it off before slipping it into her pocket. She grabbed the notepad and pen off the desk and wrote a quick note to Selena and Demi.
Something's come up. I've gone back to California. I'll talk to you when you all get back. See you soon. Love Miley x
She put the note down on the coffee table and walked out of the room before she could stop herself.
Back in California, Nick was sitting in his apartment with his head in his hands. Miley hadn't picked up any of his calls. He couldn't just let it end the way it had. It meant too much to him. He was in too deep. He didn't know what to do.
He heard the door open and looked up to see Joe. Joe was staring at him with raised eyebrows. He then slowly walked over to Nick and sat down on the couch beside his brother.
"You okay, Nick?" he asked softly.
"I'm fine," grunted Nick.
"Don't lie to me, kid," Joe warned.
Nick took a deep breath and buried his face in his hands again. "I can't do this anymore. I can't stay married to Sel. All I'm doing is lying to her," he whispered.
"What's going on, Nick?"
Nick shook his hand, staying silent.
Joe furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't know how to help. "Nick, come on. Tell me. What's the matter? You're scaring me."
Nick wiped a single tear away and looked up. "If I tell you, it stays between us."
"Okay, okay."
"Miley and I have been ... seeing each other."
"Like hell you have."
"I'm not kidding, Joe."
Joe's jaw dropped in shock. "But you always said you didn't feel that way about her." He shook his head. "You said she was like your sister." Joe stood up in anger. "You married Selena yet you felt this way about Miley?"
Nick closed his eyes. "It isn't like that."
"What the hell is it then?"
"Miley went on a date with Jake from high school. He said something to her about how we have chemistry so we decided to try it out. Neither of us could stop thinking about it. So we kind of saw each other."
"And you hid this from me?"
"What was the point in making it public knowledge? It wasn't going to do anybody any good."
"And why are you so upset?"
Nick took a deep breath. "She just called me from Vegas and ended it," Nick replied.
"Why?"
"She said something about talking to Selena and Selena loving me."
"And do you love Miley?"
"Of course I do."
"No, Nick, I don't think you understand me. I don't mean do you love her. I mean, are you in love with her?"
Nick stayed silent. He didn't know how to answer that. He loved Miley with everything in him. She was and always would be his best friend. The past few weeks had meant everything to him. It just wasn't the right time and chances were it probably never would be for them.
"I don't know," Nick replied finally.
"I think that you need to sit down and think about who you want to be with – Miley or Selena. If you don't, it will never end well," Joe advised. He patted his brother on the back. "You need to decide what is best for you right now. Forget what Miley and Selena think or want. For once in your life, put yourself before anybody else," he said.
Nick paused. "I want Miley."
"Then go get her."
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?"
Joe smiled. "You tell me, Mr Romantic." Joe then stood up and ruffled Nick's curls playfully. "I have to go and meet a friend from work. Call me tomorrow. I'll see you at Miley's opening, okay?"
Nick nodded and watched his brother as he walked out of the apartment and out into the hallway. The door slammed behind him. The slam was followed by an empty silence, reminding Nick that he was all alone.
It was soon the night of Miley's hotel opening. Miley had piled on the work to take her mind off of Nick. Nick had completely pulled himself away from everyone else and had spent most of his time in his apartment, and no one knew what he was doing except for Joe.
Miley was in her office, ready for the party, when there was a knock on the door. She looked up and saw Demi there, smiling at her.
"Hey, Miles. How are you?"
Miley hugged her. "I'm good, thanks. You?" she replied.
"I'm good." Demi hesitated. "Mi, sweetie, I have some bad news, I'm afraid."
Miley sighed. It seemed as though all anybody ever had for her was bad news.
"Go ahead."
"The band's cancelled."
Miley closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She had a feeling that something would go wrong, but the band cancelling on her was beyond wrong. The whole party had revolved around the band. What was she supposed to do now?
"Joe's trying to sort out where to move the stage to. You know, there's no point in it being there if there's no band," Demi said.
"No, leave it," Miley said.
"Why?"
"I have an idea." Miley switched off the lamp on her desk and headed towards the door. "Are there many people here yet?" she asked.
"About thirty or so," Demi replied.
"Okay. Do you mind telling Joe to just leave the stage where it is? I'll handle it. I'll find somebody," Miley said, leading Demi out of the office and into the lobby.
"No problem."
Demi then rushed off into the corner of the room where the temporary stage had been set up for the band to tell Joe to stop what he was doing.
Miley took a deep breath and looked around the room from behind the check in desk. Her parents had arrived, as well as Selena and some people Miley knew from around the city. She nodded. Her employees were serving champagne as she had asked them to. The piano player she had hired to play until the band was supposed to come on was playing perfectly. All seemed well.
Selena then rushed over to Miley when she saw her and hugged her tightly.
"MILEY! Where did you go last weekend? We had no idea where you went. We were so worried! What happened?"
"Something just came up at the hotel that Nick couldn't handle," Miley lied.
"Okay ..."
"Nick's coming, I think."
"I know. I called him. He says we need to talk tonight after the party," Selena said, grinning.
Miley felt her heart sink at the thought of Nick and Selena talking. He probably wants her back, she thought.
"Oh right. Well, uh, hopefully it all goes well," Miley said.
"Oh, Miles, I really hope he's come to his senses. Like, I really don't understand what his problem was in the first place. A baby's a baby. He would have had nine months to get ready for it," Selena said.
Miley rolled her eyes slightly without Selena realising, then smiled.
"Maybe he's come around," she said.
"Hopefully. I'm away to the ladies room. I'll talk to you later, though," Selena said. She gave Miley another quick hug before walking quickly off into the growing crowd.
In the time Miley and Selena had been talking, about thirty or forty more people had come into the room.
Miley looked around once again before freezing. She saw Nick walk through the French doors and look around. She swallowed and looked him up and down. He looked hot. He was wearing a pair of black dress pants with a white shirt.
He turned his head and their eyes met. His lips turned up into a smile. He then raised his hand slightly and waved at her. Miley waved back slightly. She then looked away to stop her heart from beating any faster at the sight of him. She slipped off into the crowd and starting talking to some of the guests.
About half an hour later, she bumped into Nick. Their eyes met. They stared at each other.
"Miley," he breathed.
"Nick," she said.
"How have you been?"
"Good."
"Glad to hear it."
"Mm ..." she trailed off. "I know this is kind of awkward, but I need a favour," she said gently.
"What?"
"My band cancelled. I need somebody to perform. I remember you used to write songs in high school. I was wondering if maybe you could perform something for the crowd," she asked.
"I haven't performed since high school."
"Please, Nick. You're my only hope."
He smiled slightly. He quite liked that she was asking him. "Okay, I'll do it. You got a guitar?"
"In the office."
"I'll go on now if you want," he said.
Miley nodded. "You go warm up, okay?"
Nick slipped off into the crowd towards the office. Miley took a deep breath and took to the stage. The crowd went silent and looked up at her.
"Hey, everybody. Thank you all so much for coming out and supporting me in the opening of my new hotel. It means the world to me," she said. She smiled. "Some of you may know this, but the band cancelled tonight. Luckily, we have a musician in the building this evening. I'd like you all to welcome my friend to the stage, Mr Nick Gray!" she called.
She looked out towards the office and saw Nick walk out with the guitar from her office. She smiled down at him and watched as he made his way through the clapping crowd to the stage. When he got there, he hugged her and sat down on the stool. She quickly stepped down from the stage and stood beside Joe and Demi.
Nick started strumming his guitar.
"Easy come, easy go, that's just how you live, Oh, take, take, take it all but you never give. Should've known you was trouble from the first kiss, Had your eyes wide open, why were they open?"
Nick's voice was soft and sweet. Miley smiled slightly. That is, until she realised he was looking directly at her as he sang.
"Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash, You tossed it in the trash, you did. To give me all your love is all I ever asked, 'Cause what you don't understand is I'd catch a grenade for you, Throw my head on a blade for you, I'd jump in front of a train for you, You know I'd do anything for you."
Tears came to Miley's eyes. She had never realised that the guilt she had been feeling when she had been with Nick was probably twice as bad for him.
"I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain, Yes, I would die for you, baby, But you won't do the same, No, no, no, no."
Nick smiled slightly to himself as he strummed the guitar in his hands. He felt as thought all his feelings and emotions over the previous week were being released.
"Black, black, black and blue, beat me 'til I'm numb, Tell the devil I said, hey, when you get back to where you're from. Mad women, bad women, that's just what you are, yeah, You'll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car. Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash, You tossed it in the trash, yes, you did. To give me all your love is all I ever asked, 'Cause what you don't understand is
I'd catch a grenade for you, Throw my head on a blade for you, I'd jump in front of a train for you, You know I'd do anything for you. I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain, Yes, I would die for you, baby, But you won't do the same."
Miley took a deep breath and wiped away a stray tear. She looked around, looking for a way out. She couldn't just stand there and listen to him basically say how bad a person she was to him.
"If my body was on fire, Ooh, you'd watch me burn down in flames. You said you loved me, you're a liar, 'Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby."
Miley was filled with anger. How dare he think she never felt anything for him? Her feelings for him were undeniable, even if she had been the one to end it.
"But darling, I'd still catch a grenade for you, Throw my head on a blade for you, I'd jump in front of a train for you, You know I'd do anything for you. I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain, Yes, I would die for you, baby, But you won't do the same. No, you won't do the same, You wouldn't do the same, Ooh, you never do the same, No, no, no, no."
Nick ended his last note and looked down at Miley. Silent tears were pouring down her cheeks. She shook her head up at him. He smiled at her and held up a finger to tell her to wait. He then immediately started into a new song.
"You warned me that you were gonna leave, I never thought that you would really go. I was blind but baby now I see, Broke your heart but now I know, That I was being such a fool, And I didn't deserve you."
Miley felt a hand being placed on her back. She turned to see Joe smiling down at her. Joe leaned down to her ear and whispered, "I hope you realise he loves you. More than you can even imagine." Joe put an arm around her.
"I don't wanna fall asleep, 'Cause I don't know if I'll get up. And I don't wanna cause a scene, But I'm dying without your love. Begging to hear your voice, Tell me you love me too. 'Cause I'd rather just be alone, If I know that I can't have you."
Miley looked up at Nick. His eyes were filled with tears as he stared out into crowd, strumming on the guitar. Anybody could tell that the song meant everything to him and that it was exactly how he was feeling.
"Looking at the letter that you left, Wondering if I'll ever get you back. Dreaming about when I'll see you next, Knowing that I never will forget, That I was being such a fool, And I still don't deserve you."
Nick looked down at Miley and let out a small smile.
"I don't wanna fall asleep, 'Cause I don't know if I'll get up. And I don't wanna cause a scene, 'Cause I'm dying without your love, yeah. Begging to hear your voice, Tell me you love me too.
'Cause I'd rather just be alone, If I know that I can't have you."
Nick stood up and let a small tear fall from his eye as closed his eyes and focused in on the music and putting his all into it.
"So tell me what we're fighting for, 'Cause we know that the truth means so much more, 'Cause you would if you could, don't lie. 'Cause I'll give everything that I've got left, To show you I mean what I have said, I know I was such a fool but I can't live without you."
He opened his eyes and looked around the room. Everyone was watching him in admiration. Chances were that half the people in the room had never seen a grown man showing so much love and emotion in front of so many people.
"I don't wanna fall asleep, Don't know if I'll get up. I don't wanna cause a scene, But I'm dying without your love. I'm begging to hear your voice, Tell me you love me too. 'Cause I'd rather just be alone, If I know that I can't have you, yeah."
He looked down at the guitar, focusing on the strings and the notes he was supposed to play.
"Don't wanna fall asleep, 'Cause I don't know if I'll get up. I don't wanna cause a scene, 'Cause I'm dying without your love, yeah. I'm begging to hear your voice, Tell me you love me too. 'Cause I'd rather just be alone, If I know that I can't have you."
He finished the song and looked down at Miley with pure love in his eyes. He gave her a small smile and glanced in the direction of the office, telling her to go and meet him there. She nodded and watched as he walked off the stage.
Joe leaned down and placed a platonic kiss on Miley's forehead. "He chooses you," Joe whispered.
Miley looked up at Joe in shock. She was certain she was hearing things. There was no way Nick had chosen her. She looked up at Joe, unable to believe what he was saying. Joe smiled and nodded. Miley grinned and rushed off through the crowd and towards her office.
When she reached the office, she pushed the door open with a huge grin on her face. She then froze in the doorway. What she saw wasn't what she had been expecting at all.
Selena and Nick were kissing on her desk.
HELLO :) Lovely long chapter here :) Opinions? Sorry for any mistakes, I was rushing to get it out. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are nice. Hopefully post some time this weekend or next week? Put 'duck' in your review if you read my author's notes, btw ;)
I know the party was a bit rushed, but I'm trying to get onto part of the more dramatic bits. The only like really important thing about the party was the end of it whenever Nick was singing, then again when Nick and Selena were kissing in Miley's office.