"You
Said You Loved Me"
- A Niley fic,
chapter seven, "Wrong Invitation"
My eyes slowly opened as the sound of faint, loud music played. I could feel my floors vibrating, and my bed rattling. Whoever was having a party sure went all out. But just then, I remembered. It was Nick's "Welcome Home" party. I shot out of bed and looked out my window. It was dark out. It was night already? How long had I been asleep? I slipped on my plain black flip flops, and slowly walked to my front door, located in the kitchen. I looked around my house, in search of my mom, but she wasn't there. The TV in the living room was on MTV, and my Yorkies seemed to be sleeping.
"Mom?" I yelled, waiting for a response. Nothing. "Mom, are you hear?" I then noticed a yellow post-it note on the counter, and I went over and picked it up. The letters were hard to make out. She'd probably written them in a rush.
Have to work double shifts again. Didn't want to wake you. I'll be back before you know it. I sighed and re-stuck the note back on the counter, as my fingers tapped it slowly. Great. She had to work extra hard for another night. And the whole, "back before you know it" part? Please. With the stress and evilness of her boss, she probably wouldn't be back until noon the next day. Not to mention that her job at the G Hotel was about three hours away. I took a deep breath, as my mind went back to the music playing next door. Someone was having fun. Nick had invited me... he invited me to a party that was supposed to welcome him and his family only. Curiousity swept my mind as I stepped out my front door. His house had decoration all over it, there were teenagers outside his house chatting, dancing, some were even kissing.
More people came up to the house and rang the doorbell. I saw Kevin open it, and greet them, nodding at the girls and fist bumping the guys. Something told me their parents weren't home. I was tempted to go over there, but my heart was telling me that wasn't such a good idea. Might as well get it over with. Maybe if you show your face, you can leave afterwards. I sighed, and slowly walked over. I did look kind of party ready. I was wearing dark jeans and a light blue tank top. Of course, my black bra straps were showing, but, that was the style. The flip flops of course didn't match, but no one seemed to be matching here. More people were ahead of me, so I let them go first. I caught the eye of a dark haired girl, who was eying me deeply. I took my attention off of her, and it was finally my turn to ring the door bell. I hestitated before pressing the small, pale button.
The door opened, and there was Kevin. "Miley? What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice excited and astonished. I was guessing Nick didn't tell him about the invite.
"Uhm—"
"Doesn't matter," he cut me off, pulling me into a tight hug. I saw a couple of people looking at us weirdly but I hugged back anyway. He pulled back, and stepped aside, making room for me to come in.
"Thanks," I said, slowly entering. Wow. This place looked huge. I had never knew it was as big as it was. Everything was set up perfectly. No one would have thought they'd just moved in. Huge "Welcome" posters covered the ceilings, and stairways. I had to bite down on my mouth from opening my mouth in awe. I was so unfocused of where I was walking, that I bumped straight into someone. "Sorry," I said, not bothering to look at the person.
"Miley?" the person as, the voice heavily familiar. I turned to look at the person I'd bumped into, and my heart froze.
"Nick," I said, not sure how or what to say.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed together. I mocked his expression, confused. The music started playing even louder, and we both winced, covering our ears slightly.
"Didn't you invite me here?" I yelled over the music.
"No," he said, his voice low. "But... I'm glad you're—" I turned the opposite direction, shuffling my way through the crowd. I couldn't believe this. So he hadn't invited me. I felt extremely ignorant. Ignorant. I wanted to slap myself repeatedly. I knew I shouldn't have come. "Miley, wait!" I heard him scream over the music and the loud talking. But I was already on the other side of the house. I walked over to an area where hardly no one was, and placed my hand on the wall, breathing in and out. Suddenly, a hand fell on mine and I jumped up in surprise. I looked beside me, and found Joe staring down at me, a small smile rising on his lips.
"Joe, you scared me," I breathed out.
"Sorry," he mumbled, still smiling. "I'm so glad you came." Suddenly, realization came around, and smacked me right in the face. Joe had sent me that invite?
"You invited me here?" I asked him. His smile faltered a little, and his face became concerned.
"Is that... wrong?" he asked. I couldn't help but feel my heart being tore, again. It wasn't Nick who wanted me here, it was Joe. Nice one, Miley. You just made an even bigger fool of yourself. I looked down.
"No, that was nice of you. At least someone cares," I muttered.
"You need to talk to someone, don't you?" I looked up at him, surprised at his acusation.
"What?" I asked.
"I know that Nick hurt you. I know that you'll feel extremely better if you talk it out... I'm here," he said, offering. My heart warmed a little. Joe was actually willing to listen to my problems. He was nineteen. He could have been doing so much other things. Like enjoying his party with his brothers and friends. But instead, here he was, talking to me. Boring, pathetic old me.
"Thanks, but... I should be going home," I said, giving him a small, thankful smile. As soon as I turned, I felt his hand grab my wrist, and I slowly turned back around.
"Well, we can just catch up on old times... come on, Miley. I really miss talking to you," he said, his voice desperate. I knew he'd gone through a break up recently. He sure looked like he needed a conversation. I nodded, and he took it as an okay and pulled me aside. He then led me upstairs, his hand never departing from my wrist. Once we made it to the upstairs hallway, the music wasn't as loud, and no one was up there. He opened the door, which I assumed was his room, and we sat down on his bed, mere inches apart.
"So how have you been?" he asked me, his face serious.
"Good," I lied.
"Seriously."
I sighed. "I've had better days."
"Nick really damaged you, huh?"
"Pretty much. But, I'm sure I'll... get over him," I said, not even recognizing my own voice.
"I hope so," Joe said, his voice low. "He wasn't good for you... I mean... at first, maybe he seemed like a good guy, but—"
"He is a good guy," I corrected, cutting him off. Joe — as well as I, was surprised at the blunt stand-up for Nick. But what did Joe know? When me and Nick were dating, it was love. The kind of love that'd make you want to jump in the pool in December. Joe had been in love once. I'm sure he wouldn't be so judgemental if I had said Taylor wasn't a great person. But I decided to keep my thoughts to myself.
"Miley—"
"No, I knew I should have left. If you're just going to try to get me to... think of Nick as a bad guy, good luck," I said, getting off his bed, headed for the door. I turned the knob, only to find it locked. I fumbled with the lock, but it didn't work. "Let me out." I heard Joe rise off the bed.
"He left you for some other girl, and you still think he's a good person?" I turned and glared at Joe, who was glaring back. "I don't see how you can forgive someone like that."
"I never said I forgave him, Joe. Quit jumping to conclusions," I yelled, my voice cracking. No. No. No. You're not breaking me down, Joe.
"Well you're sure quick to defend him! The person who broke your heart," he said, looking at me in disappointment. My heart stung, and I felt the strong tears well up in the back of my eyes. I scoffed, and placed my back on the door.
"What are you trying to do, Joe?" I asked. "You're trying to hurt me even more, aren't you?" My voice was breaking, and salty liquid was running down my cheeks. Oh yeah, I was definitely crying. So much for not letting him get to me. His once angry demeanor changed once he saw that I was obviously hurt. He slowly walked up to me, and tried to touch me, but I pushed him away.
"Congratulations!" I yelled so loud that he winced. "It worked."
"Miley, I'm sorry—"
"Have fun at your little party," I whimpered, opening the door, slamming it behind me, and racing down the stairs, out the door without as much as a look at anyone. Welcome home.
A/N: Didn't expect it to be Joe who sent her the invitation, did ya? Haha. Please review.
