This was supposed to be up Tuesday, but it wasn't even finished until tonight. I remembered that school work has to come first…school work that I had been neglecting for a week. ANYWAY, here's the chapter. I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Disney or anybody or anything affiliated with it. Plus, this is legal because no last names are used.
"No."
"Miley, come on. It's one night."
"No," I shook my head, "There is no way I'm going to be a part of this."
"It's only going to be him and Joe coming over. And he really wants to see you Miles. Please just put on a happy face for me."
Demi was looking at me with such a pleading face that I knew I had no choice but to say yes. She had done so much for me over the years that the least I could do was do whatever she needed me to do. She wanted a happy face? Fine, she would get a happy face. But I wouldn't be happy about it.
She already could tell that she had convinced me, that much was obvious. You could tell by the relieved look on her face. "Thanks Miley, I owe you big time."
"No, this is me beginning to repay you for everything you have done for me over the years."
"Hey girly," she wrapped an arm around me, "You know that I would do anything for you. We'll be together through thick and thin, remember?"
"That doesn't mean I can't be grateful for everything."
Before she could answer, Demi's phone started ringing again. She glanced at it curiously, "It's Joe…again."
She made no move to answer it. I looked at her weirdly, I mean her boyfriend was calling her and she wasn't even considering answering her phone. It stopped ringing, so she happily continued to chatter on about the two of us. Then the same ringtone blasted through our conversation. Again, Demi made no move to get it.
"Uh…Dem? Aren't you going to answer?"
"Nah. Joe probably just wants me to pick something up for him for dinner. I feel like hanging out with you instead."
"Okay…?" I said confused. Only Demi, and possibly Joe, would understand what goes on inside her head all the time. I only have the slightest idea about sixty percent of the time.
'Cause if you liked it you should have put a ring on it, if you liked it you shoulda put a ring on it. Don't be mad once you see he want it, if you liked it you shoulda put a ring on it.'
And that was my ringtone for Joe. Why is he calling me?
"Joe?"
"Miley! I finally got a hold of you guys. Can you ask Demi if we can have that really good pasta stuff tonight? She'll know what it is if you ask her."
I shrugged because what harm could asking Demi do? "Joe wants to know if you can make that really good pasta for dinner tonight."
She rolled her eyes, "Tell him that if he wants the pasta, he can make it himself. It takes way too much energy to make the entire thing."
I put the phone back up to my ear, "She says that if you want it, you can make it yourself."
"But…I don't know how to make it." He said it so innocently that I almost laughed. He is one of the sweetest guys I know, and the good thing is that he doesn't ever fake it. He doesn't need to. It just comes naturally to him. He's just…Joe.
I heard another voice in the background, "Come on Joe, I really want to try that pasta. I'm tired of you saying how awesome it is. I want to know how good it is."
"Is that Nick?" I said loudly into the phone.
"Yeah, why?"
"Tell him that if he wants that pasta so badly, he can make the damn thing himself." Then I angrily hung up and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I looked up to see Demi staring at me with raised eyebrows. She seemed a little concerned.
"Um Miles? What was all that about? You just hung up on my fiancée."
"Nick was just ticking me off, that's all."
"For what? Asking me to make the pasta?"
"It was….it was the way…the way he said it!" I stuttered. Okay so maybe hanging up on Joe because I didn't want to hear Nick's voice was a little harsh. Or very harsh, however you want to look at it. I just didn't want to have to deal with my ex-boyfriend until the dinner tonight. Why I even agreed to the dinner in the first place is a mystery to me. Everyone knew it was going to end very badly. I mean, me and Nick in the same room together? Forget about the 2012 that never came, this was going to be bigger than that.
Demi looked really worried now, "Just…play nice tonight okay? Please? I just want us to be like before. When we were all happy, but I need the two of you to get along. I know that Nick is all for it. And you know that too. So now it's up to you. Please Miley?"
"Demi…it is so different from before. Before is just a memory, one that I either have to hold on with all my strength or I have to let go of it. And maybe by letting go I can start over with him, but I'm too afraid to do that quite yet. I'm scared that if I do let go, I won't be able to get him back. So for right now, I'd rather have the Nick that I can yell at and hate, than no Nick at all."
I could see the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. She wiped away the ones that had escaped quickly, and wrapped me in a tight hug. She did exactly what I needed my best friend to do. She just held me as I cried, really cried, for the first time in a long time.
"Shhh…it's okay Miley. Everything's going to be okay."
I had cried in Demi's arms for a good half hour before the tears had finally stopped coming. They just…stopped. I felt like I would never be able to cry again after that. But I knew I would. Whether it was in one week, one month, or one year, I would cry again. I always did.
I was now grabbing my first glass of wine from the counter; I guessed it would be the first of many. Demi was fluttering about the house, setting up. She had called Joe back after I had gone to clean up after my cry-fest. Apparently she had just told him that I was having a rough day and that maybe bringing Nick over wasn't such a good idea. But in order to not disappoint Nick, they agreed on a compromise. He would come over right when dinner was ready to avoid the pre-dinner awkwardness.
Yeah, because Nick coming over an hour later than he was supposed to was going to fix everything. Fat chance of that happening. It would just mean that I would be drinking more.
I heard the doorbell ring and Demi shouted to me from wherever in the house she was, "Can you get the door?"
"Do I have to?" I yelled back.
"Miley Ray, get the damn door."
I groaned, "Fine."
Walking over to the front door I took a deep breath, pasted a smile on my face, and opened the door quickly, "Hey guys! Glad you could make it!"
The two boys were obviously baffled by my enthusiastic response (it was no secret to them how I felt about this night), so they hesitated before Joe spoke, "Um…Miles?"
"Come in, come in! There's no time to waste. Demi almost has dinner on the table." I pulled them both in (okay well I pulled in Joe and left Nick to find his own way in, but really what was the difference?). Joe continued to look at me like I had just boarded a one way trip to Crazyland, but I ignored him. The more I talked, the less I felt. The less I felt, the more I could breathe. Or at least pretend that I was breathing.
Demi popped out from the kitchen and I watched her smile grow as it always did when she saw her two favorite guys. Well, mostly one guy in particular. I bet you could never guess who it was.
"Hey baby," Joe grinned and engulfed her in a passionate kiss. I looked away disgusted (who really needed to see that?). I even took a chance and glanced at Nick. I saw that he had the same look on his face. Strangely, he looked up at me and our eyes connected. I smiled and made a gagging sound, which he silently laughed at.
It was weird how normal the entire thing was, we were laughing about the fact that Joe and Demi had no problem showing PDA. No problem at all. It was strange actually. But anyway, it was just like a few years ago. It was almost awkward.
Okay, a lot awkward. And as soon as we both realized that we quickly looked away.
"Um…guys?" I said interrupting the couple, "Can you guys please, you know…stop?"
They pulled away after a minute and Demi giggled, "Sorry. Why don't you guys sit down and I'll get dinner on the table."
She was off again leaving the three of us to sit down at the dining table. I sat down first and then Joe sat down across from me, forcing Nick to take a seat next to mine. I unconsciously moved my chair a little farther away from him. I felt bad as soon as I did, but unfortunately he noticed, so it wasn't like I could just move my chair back. He tried holding back his frown, but I could still see it on his face.
To break up this uncomfortable situation, Joe of course came to the rescue, "So Miley, why did you hang up on me this morning? That wasn't very nice."
He had this twinkle in his eye that made me want to slap him. I swear he was almost worse than Demi. This was something that I did not want to talk about. At all. We all knew why I hung up, it was kind of obvious. But of course he had to go and bring it up right as my ex-boyfriend was sitting next to me, adding to all of the tension that was already piled on top of this night.
"Yeah, why did you hang up? Joe was pretty offended," Nick chuckled as I glared at him. Not him too. This was a very sensitive subject for me and I didn't need the two of them making fun of it. Especially Nick, he should know better than to mess with me when it came to my relationship with him.
Luckily Demi walked in immediately after Nick posed his question and she could feel the tension right away. "What's going on?" she asked unsurely.
"Nothing Dem. We're just talking about how good the food is going to be, that's all," I attempted to add a smile to my lie, but it came out half-heartedly. Of course my best friend, who was able to read me like a book, noticed.
"Boys?" she asked turning to the other people in the room, "What were you guys talking about?"
"We were just asking Miley why she hung up on me earlier, that's all."
I watched as her eyes went wide and she sent me a quick apologetic look, which I just waved off. Then she turned back to Joe and sent him an angry stare, "Joe, stop. Now."
"Demi-"
But she cut him off and turned to Nick, "And you, leave her alone. You wanted tonight to happen so Joe and I made it happen. Do not make me regret doing this. The both of you will stop talking about this right now. This dinner was supposed to be about us coming together again as best friends. Sit down and shut up."
"We're already sitting Demi…" Nick said trying to lighten the room up, but unfortunately that just earned him another glare from her.
A couple minutes later, all of the food was served and we were all eating quietly. All that could be heard was the sound of the utensils hitting the plates. I was getting sick of it. Sure, this night isn't what I wanted, but it didn't have to be awkward. We weren't teenagers anymore. We shouldn't be doing this, we shouldn't be like this.
"Did you guys know that I hate bananas now?" I said randomly.
The entire table started giggling at first, but then they broke out into full-out laughter. The kind that makes you grasp your side for a breath because you can't breathe. The kind of laughter that is infectious and carries on, it doesn't just stop after a couple of minutes. The kind that brings tears to your eyes, like it was doing to me now.
When Joe was finally able to speak, he looked at me, "Where in the world did that come from?"
I shrugged, "I don't know. I just realized this second that I don't like bananas anymore. I used to love them, but now…I don't know, I just don't."
"I'm glad that you don't like bananas anymore," Nick smiled.
"Me too. I guess a lot really has changed…"
Now I knew that we all knew that Nick and I were no longer talking about bananas. We were songwriters, we liked metaphors. Sue us. And if you don't know who I was talking about…well you should. In fact I really doubt that you don't know, but just in case you don't, it's about a certain guy that some people compare to a monkey.
Get it now?
Yeah, I thought you would. I really hope that Nick isn't too sensitive about that subject because if he is, I just made this dinner go up to the highest spot on the awkward scale.
"So what are you going to do Miles?" Joe asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Like…I don't know, what are you going to do? Are you going to go back into the Hollywood industry or are you going to try something new?"
"I haven't really decided yet. I mean, if I got some kind of offer I might consider it, but I'm not ready to jump right back into the thick of things right now. I've liked the break," I smiled.
Nick nudged my shoulder playfully and I could feel the tingles shoot through my nerves, "What did you do while you were gone? For some reason I pictured you as a tour guide in Africa. You know, 'And here we have the lions. Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle or you will be eaten.'"
My mouth dropped open, out of all of the professions in the world that is one he saw me as doing? I smacked him across the chest while everyone else was still laughing. I really tried my best to keep the glare on my face, but I just ended up breaking down into a fit of giggles instead.
"I was serious! Well, kind of…what did you do for all these years?" he asked, while his laughter finally calmed down.
"I was or still am…I haven't quite figured that part out yet but anyway, a writer. And I love it. It's not the same as songwriting, but it's still pretty amazing."
"That's great! I can see you as a writer."
"She really is amazing at it," Demi chimed in, "You should read some of her articles. I have every one she has ever written in my closet."
"Stalker…" I said teasingly.
"You bet, babe," she said as she stuck her tongue out in my direction. Demi was…I guess you could say immature. But in a good way. The way that makes you smile whenever you are in a room with her.
"Wait…can I read these articles of yours?" Nick asked.
"Not a chance Nicky."
I was surprised at how easy that rolled off my lips. My old nickname for him. He always told me that he hated it, but I knew that he secretly loved when I called him that. I watched him carefully right after I said the word that could possibly be considered as taboo. He went silent for a minute, it almost seemed like he stopped breathing (now that scared me a little bit), but then I saw the tiniest smile come onto his face.
It was small, but it was there.
I could tell that he was trying his best to hide it to make it less awkward, but I was glad that I was able to see it. It gave me a warm feeling inside of my stomach. Like this was the start of something good, of something new.
The rest of the dinner went smoothly…for the most part. It basically went like this:
We talked about me for a little bit and then Demi and Joe fought about something completely pointless while Nick and I watched laughing. Next, Nick and I got into a little argument about something that I can't even remember and then we all started laughing and remembering the old times. Then, Joe said something to tick off Nick and he ended up being chased around the house by him and finally we all ended up sitting in the living room all talking about random things until we couldn't talk through our laughter.
So, yeah…it was a smooth night.
Demi slowly got up from the couch and (fake) stretched, while (fake) yawning, "Well, look how late it is. I think Joe is just going to stay here for tonight, I don't want him driving home this late. Goodnight guys."
"Yeah, goodnight brother, goodnight sister," Joe smirked and followed a squealing Demi back to their bedroom.
I just shook my head and smiled at Nick, "Do you think those kids will ever grow up?"
"Nah…they're too happy being who they are."
"Can you imagine them being parents? I have this feeling that they would be the best at it."
"Of course they would. They're Demi and Joe," he grinned. Reluctantly, he looked at his watch, "It's 11:30 already?"
"Wow…I guess it is. You should probably get going."
"Yeah…" We walked slowly to the front door and I was already dreading closing it behind him. Things were so good tonight; I just didn't want this feeling of contentment to go away. I knew it eventually would though; it always did.
As Nick started to walk out, he suddenly turned around and looked me in the eye. His stare was so intense, but I couldn't look away no matter how hard I tried.
"Miley…" But he didn't continue after that. I knew that if I leaned forward right now that he would kiss me. I wanted to lean forward and I even started to. I could feel his breath, but then it hit me.
We weren't 'us' anymore. There was no 'us'. And I couldn't do this to him or to Selena. Neither of them deserved it. When I came back here, I didn't want to mess anything up. All I wanted was to be Demi's maid of honor and to not mess up whatever life all my friends have made for themselves over the years.
But I was doing the exact opposite. Fabulous.
I turned my head before anything happened and then I cleared my throat, "Be ready tomorrow morning. We're going to go for a killer run."
Nick was still dazed from our almost-kiss, but he was coherent enough to answer, "You hate running."
"A lot of things have changed Nick. A lot of things."
~xoxo~
DUN…DUN…DUN. An almost-kiss? What did you guys think of that? They're getting closer…
Review and tell me what you think? It would be a whole lot. :) Here are some questions that you can answer:
Favorite character? Favorite part? What do you think is going to happen on Miley and Nick's run? Do you think that the almost-kiss will affect their relationship? Do you think the characters are believable?
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