A/N: Okay, so I was reading through some things on the Anti-Nilly Community and got really inspired. I would really like to thank the people who read and reviewed the last chapter. The support and encouragement was really overwhelming, so this chapter is for you, most especially kmart153 and ttran59. I'm still really conflicted with the end pairing for this story though, mainly because I'm scared of disappointing anyone, whether it be the Moe or Niley supporters. However, I really am working on it, so stick around, okay?

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of FICTION from which I am getting no profit. I don't know or own anything connected with Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, their families or the Disney Channel. Seriously, so please don't sue.

The Other Side

CHAPTER EIGHT

The first thing that caught Nick Jonas' eye as he opened his eyes was the glaring red of his alarm clock informing him that it was well past two o' clock in the morning. It took him a couple of minutes further of squinting before he finally registered the muffled ringing of his phone from underneath his sheets. 'Who could be calling me at this hour?' He thought almost grumpily, mentally running down that indeed all of his brothers were safely in bed. He took a moment to strain his ears to hear Frankie snoring in the other room.

Despite now being fully awake and being aware of what was happening around him, as the Jonas boy looked at his phone's screen, he was almost convinced that he was still dreaming. The name 'Miley' was blinking at him, the light harsh against his dark room. He fumbled with the device a bit, realizing that he had been looking at it for a while instead of answering it, and quickly pressed the talk button.

"Hello?" He said unsurely, and afterwards waited with bated breath for a response.

"Nick?" At the sound of her voice, all sorts of feelings rushed through Nick: relief that she was speaking to him again, worry at the sound of tears in her voice and a great desire to make it all better.

"Mi, what's wrong?" He heard her breath hitch at the pet name, and instantly regretted it, afraid that she would put down the phone. To his relief and dismay, however, the only thing he heard was her quiet sobbing.

FLASHBACK

Miley was lying down on her bunk on the bus, quietly trying to get herself under control. One minute she was laughing with Nick, Joe and Kevin over the new web videos they had posted, and the next, she found herself crying over the hurtful things people were saying about her. She didn't mean to lose it in front of the three who had been so kind to her, but she couldn't help it, and ignored their calls for her to come back.

She had gotten her fair share of the media ridicule starting out in show business, from people accusing her of getting Hannah Montana because of her dad, to insults about her appearance. As far as anybody was concerned she had taken it all in stride, brushing them off saying that everybody was entitled to their own opinions and that she was happy with who she was. It was true that she had gotten used to it in the past couple of months, but it didn't mean that it hurt any less.

"Miley?" The young girl turned around to see Nick's concerned face peering at her through the pulled back curtain. "Are you okay? 'Cause you know you shouldn't really pay any attention to what those people are saying because they don't know anything."

She gave him a small tearful smile. They had been unofficially dating one another for a couple of weeks now, regardless of the fact that they haven't been able to leave the bus to go out. Even then, he had become one of the people Miley really trusted, along with her family and his. She wordlessly scooted over to the side of her mattress, giving him some room to lie with her.

"Can we just not mention it anymore?" She quietly asked as she snuggled into his open arms. They were at that point in their relationship that they were comfortable with such displays of affection. "I really don't like talking about things like that."

"Um, okay. Is there anything I can do to make you better?" Nick said, tightening his arms around her and tucking her head under his chin.

"Can you just say something about you? Or you could tell me a story or something. Anything would be okay, just not that." Miley seemed so helpless, and he was only too glad to do anything to make her happy again. He had known her long enough to know that when she felt bad, she needed people to take her mind off things instead of obsessing over them. Nick's heart broke a little as he felt some tears drip onto his chest, but choosing not to draw any attention to them, he began to tell her of when he first started to sing.

Before long, Miley's breath evened out and he began to feel a little drowsy as well. However, as he began to move out of the comfort of her embrace around his midsection, she momentarily tightened her grip.

"Nick?" She said softly, her face still pressed against his shoulder.

"Yeah, Mi?"

"Thank you… for everything."

Nick carefully tilted her chin upwards as to see her blue eyes shining with residual tears. "Anything for you, Miley, you know that." He hesitated before softly adding, "I love you."

Her heart pounded at his words, and even if she hadn't been able to hear what he said, Miley could see it reflected in his eyes. "I love you too, Nick." She pressed her face into his chest again and was unable to see the smile that crept onto his face. With a chaste kiss on her forehead, Nick said goodnight and went to sleep in his own bunk, where he would undoubtedly replay the moment they had just had.

END FLASHBACK

Nick was exhausted and his eyes were begging for sleep, but neither his heart nor mind would allow him to say goodnight, much less put down the phone. He spared a glance at the clock and saw that he and Miley had been on the phone for more than an hour. Granted, she was yet to say a word other than his name at the beginning of their conversation, but she didn't need to speak for him to know that she simply needed him to be there for her like before.

He felt as if he had told her every story he had from his, Joe's and Kevin's childhoods, as well as some embarrassing family vacation tales and he was rewarded when her sobs slowly subsided. All he could hear from her end of the phone was her deep breathing, and he allowed himself some minutes of silence to enjoy just listening to it. It was almost as if he was holding her in his arms again, and he could picture her sleeping face so clearly in his mind.

"I love you, Miley," he whispered softly into the phone, sad at the knowledge that the only way he could tell her was while she was sleeping.

His breath hitched as he heard the soft click of the other line going dead, and he was left staring into his phone as the loud dial tone was the only sound that could be heard as everybody else slept.

: The Next Day, Disney Studios, Hannah Montana Set :

It had been a full week since Miley and Joe's encounter at the beach and subsequent outing at the ice cream shop. He had been unable to talk to her since then despite his promise to do so because he was understandably preoccupied with things at home and with Nick.

His parents were really understanding of the entire issue when Joe explained to them that Miley had really needed a friend at that time. Kevin had also backed him up, saying that there was nothing more to it than that and that he had even driven the two of them home. They had all agreed that even releasing a statement a press was unnecessary as they didn't need to justify being a good friend. Needless to say, the second-oldest Jonas was relieved that he didn't need to add a grounding to his growing list of problems, most of them having to do with making Nick see that he didn't do anything wrong.

As far as Joe was concerned, he really didn't do anything wrong. He hadn't even known that Nick and Miley were talking until after the incident and, he decided, even if he had known what was going, it still wouldn't have stopped him from being there for Miley when she needed a shoulder to cry on.

He really hadn't intended to get in the middle of whatever it was that was going on between Nick and Miley, but as he was his younger brother and she was one his closest friends, he supposed it was unavoidable. Now, he found himself standing in front of the dressing room he was now familiar with. Although he was still unsure of what to do, of what to say to her, looking at the tabloid with pictures of her, he knew he had put it off long enough. He rapped on the door gently and waited for somebody to open the door.

The door swung open, revealing none other than Miss Hannah Montana herself, and Joe felt himself grin as her face visibly brightened at the sight of him.

"Joe!" She squealed before dragging him inside. "It's been a while since I've last talked to you. What brings you here?"

The young man scrutinized the person before him, knowing even before she spoke that something was not quite right with her. Joe could tell her smile was forced, mainly for his benefit, and her eyes, slightly bloodshot, didn't hold the same sparkle he was used to seeing in them.

"Stop it, Miley," he said as gently as he could, but with much authority that he surprised even himself with how harsh it sounded in his ears.

If she was surprised at his straightforward manner, she chose not to show it, instead going over her vanity to hurriedly apply some lip gloss with a somewhat unsteady hand. "What do you mean, Joey?"

He sighed deeply, realizing that this was going to be harder than he thought. He should've known to expect that she would pretend that nothing was wrong.

"This. You don't have to act all happy around me. I know you well enough to tell that something is wrong."

"What's wrong with being happy?" She said, clearly defensive underneath her cheery exterior. "I mean, what's not to be happy about? Didn't you hear, Disney just signed me on for another two seasons of Hannah Montana? I get to spend more time with Emily and Mitchel, and you'll be right next door!"

"You're rambling again, Miley," he tiredly responded from where he was seated on her couch. "It's okay to be upset too, you know. You don't have to act fine all the time."

"Seriously, Joe, I'm okay. So if that's what you came here to talk to me about, you can go," she finally said without a smile, turning to face him.

"You seriously expect me to believe that you're okay with everything that's been going on?" Joe asked her exasperatedly. "I saw the pictures, Miles. It's kind of hard not to, as they're everywhere these days. I know it's a lot to deal with, and I want you to know that you can come to me with anything."

"You know what, Joe? I'm okay. Just because I cry to you a lot, it doesn't mean you have to save me all the time," she replied hotly, reacting in a way he didn't expect her to. "I mean, don't you get tired of just listening to me going on about my life all the time? I'm giving you a break from all of that."

"Don't you see, Miley? I want to be here, because you're my friend, and I know you. This, pictures of you in your underwear, being with random boys, it's not you!" He exclaimed, standing up suddenly. "If this is your way of acting out or something, I'm telling you, just talk to me."

"Acting out?" She asked loudly. "Is that what you think I'm doing? Acting out? Some little girl rebelling, is that it?" He was taken aback by her tone, not by her anger, but at her clear sadness and desperation.

"I thought… I mean… this just isn't you, Miley!" Frustrated, he started to run a hand across his hair, unable to do anything else as he paced the length of her room. "You don't even know what seeing this has done to Nick. He's been stuck in his room…"

"Nick?" She said his name incredulously, unbelieving that he would even bring this up now. This was the last straw for Miley, and she cut Joe off before he could even finish his sentence. With the events of last night's conversation with her companion's brother still fresh on her mind, she fired back at him. With a much softer tone, perhaps reflecting just how tired of everything she was already, she said, "This isn't about Nick. This isn't about me acting out."

Joe stood and watched helplessly as she gripped the edge of the table so firmly her knuckles were turning white, almost as if relying on it to keep her upright.

"This is me wanting to find something that's real." It was barely loud enough for him to hear. She closed her eyes tightly, willing herself not to cry anymore than she had already. With a deep breath, she recovered quickly, and gave herself a once over against the mirror.

Joe was stunned at what she had said, and didn't really know how to respond to such an admission. In fact, he had hardly enough time to digest what had been said before he was awakened out of his deep thoughts by her surprisingly calm voice.

"I bet they're looking for me outside. I really have to finish taping this last scene before I can go straight home. I'm kind of grounded." He was surprised at the candor of her voice that still spoke of some bitterness. "I'll see you around, Joe."

Before he could even get a word out to stop her and beg for them to talk about what had just occurred, she had quietly slipped through the door and he was left alone once again.

END CHAPTER

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. You all know I've been having some problems with this fiction, so I do hope this was still satisfactory regardless. Also, this is for Lovely Heavenly Sarai, who made me rightfully ashamed of doubting my reviewers. Thank you, seriously. Only a couple more chapters to go before the end; hope you stick with it.