Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Sorry for any mistakes.

This chapter takes place one week after last chapter.

The feeling of someone continuously tapping my head brought me out of my dreamless sleep. I was groggy and disoriented as I opened my eyes to the shameless sun, burning its rays through the cabin window, soaking the room with sunlight. What time was it? And who the heck was tapping my head?

I groaned, turning away from the light, closing my eyes again.

A low chuckle came from in front of me, and the tapping continued. "Wakey, wakey," a voice sing-songed. Grrr. I knew that voice.

"No," I grumbled, slapping his hand from my head. "Go away."

"Miley," he whined, "it's gonna be noon soon. You're so freaking lazy."

And proud of it. "Noon?" I mumbled in my pillow. "What time is it?" I didn't really care. I was already lapsing back into my slumber.

"Six." His voice indicated that he might be shrugging.

My head shot up, and I stared at his stupidly amused face, shocked. "Six?" I asked, incredulous. "Nick, how the hell is that close to noon?"

He gave me that cheeky grin of his and stood up. "Well now that you're fully awake, I don't really think it matters that much. Get ready. I'll be waiting outside. Oh, and don't wake up Demi." He pointed at Demi's sleeping figure beside me. Before I could protest, he was out the door.

I stared after him in disbelief, then a string of curses and profanities blew off in my head. Wasn't he supposed to be a rockstar? Why couldn't he be like normal rockstars that woke up at three in the afternoon rather than… however early he woke up. Could he not see that he threw everything off balance? Screw his musical talents, he didn't deserve the title.

I grudgingly got up, walked to the bathroom, took a shower (longer than necessary, just to annoy Nick), then got ready. All in all, it took a good half hour to forty-five minutes. But to my utter disappointment, when I walked out of the cabin and towards Nick, he was as cheerful as ever. He glanced at me once. "You look nice. Here," he said, handing me a donut and a bottled-water. "I snagged these from the kitchen for you. Thought you might be hungry."

"Thanks," I sighed, looking around. "Where is everyone?"

He gave me a weird look and began walking away towards the lake. I followed him, kind of annoyed that he would just walk away, automatically thinking I would follow him, and irritated at myself for actually doing just that. "Where do you think, Miley? They're all asleep."

I glared at him. "You mean like I should be right now, too?"

He smiled innocently. "Okay, then. Go back to sleep if you want."

"I can't!" I cried. "I'm already awake!"

He placed his hand on my mouth, shushing me. "Don't wake up the camp, Miley. That's rude." He chuckled.

I licked his hand, and he pulled it back, disgusted. "Serves you right."

He wiped his hand on his pants. "You are a classy girl, Miley Stewart."

"Tell me, do you have to work to annoy me or does it just come naturally to you?"

He grinned. "Each day is different. Some days I get lucky with something I say or do, and you turn into an irritated little monster. Other days I have to try extra hard."

"Knew it," I muttered.

He laughed. "Eat. I'll wait."

"Yes, sir," I said sarcastically, taking a bite of my donut. I took slow bites, trying to see if I could annoy him. But he waited patiently, just as he said he would, occasionally trying to skip a rock. In the end, my plan back fired; I just annoyed myself by not being able to annoy him.

"So what do you want to do today?" he asked once I was done with my little breakfast. His voice was unnaturally upbeat. It made me suspicious.

"Same thing we've done for the past week?" I suggested, walking to a trash can to throw my garbage away. Since last week we always went to that weird rock mount that laid right beside the lake. It was just always so quiet and peaceful there… It made me sad to think I would be leaving this place in just a few days.

His shook his head, his curls bouncing as he did so. "You don't want to do something different?"

"Like what?"

He crossed his arms, looked up, and pursed his lips, thinking of what we should do. Then his look turned sheepish. "Well..."

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"I was just wondering... This is really random, but will you maybe sing for me?"

I froze. "Excuse me?"

He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I want to hear you sing."

"Why?"

"Because I've never heard you sing before."

"So?"

"So, I'm curious."

I stared at him for awhile, kind of surprised. Where the heck did that come from? Why in the world would he randomly ask me to sing? And at... What time was it now? Seven o'clock in the mornig? Not that I was nervous to sing in front of him or anything, but to just randomly start singing? That's just awkward. I shook my head.

"Miley?"

"No."

His head flinched back in surprise. He wasn't excpecting that answer. "Oh," he frowned. "Okay..."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disappoint you or anything, but–"

He held up a hand and smiled. "It's fine."

"Maybe some other time, Nick."

He smirked. "I'd bet on it."

"What?"

Something must have caught his eye behind me, because he stared past my shoulder, a hard look instantly replacing the cheery one he just had. "Great," he muttered.

I turned to see Joe walking toward us. I was instantly by Nick's side. It's not that Joe scared me or anything, but I still got the feeling that he didn't like me. He ignored me whenever possible, and when he was forced to interact with me – usually through Demi's command – he never seemed pleased about it.

Nick grabbed my wrist and pulled me slightly behind him. The look in his eyes was defensive, guarded, and laced with warning. He grunted when Joe threw me a happy look. Wait. Happy? "What do you want?" I flinched at Nick's tone. I had never heard his voice sound so harsh, not even at me. It didn't sound right. His voice was too gentle to be bitter.

Joe stopped five feet away from us, and stared at Nick's stance in front of me. His eyes turned amused as he assesed us two. "Am I interrupting something?" He looked at me, smiled, then turned back to Nick.

I blinked. Did he just smile at me? And was it real? It looked real. Maybe I imagined it...?

"Actually, yes." Despite Nick's previous tone and his hostile pose, his voice turned polite. I swear these brothers are weird.

They seemed to be communicating silently through their eyes. Nick shook his head slightly, and Joe grinned. I was about to speak up, annoyed that they were doing this in front of me, when Joe asked, "So should I tell her?" He pointed at me. His voice was teasing.

"No," Nick snapped. "Now leave."

Joe's grin widened, pleased with Nick's reaction. "I think she deserves to know."

"Know what?" I asked Nick.

"Nothing, apparently," Joe answered for Nick, his voice friendly. "It's going to be a surprise, I guess." He gave Nick another look that made me sure they were having a different conversation with themselves rather than the one in front of me.

Nick suddenly looked relieved at whatever Joe must have "told" him, but the warning was still there. "And thanks for ruining it. She'll find out when she finds out. Now go away."

Joe stayed rooted in his place. "Where are you guys going?"

Nick sighed, agitated. "None of your business, Joe."

Joe smiled and took a step toward us. "Maybe I should go with you?" Nick's answering look had Joe taking that step back. "Or not?"

"Not." Nick's voice was firm.

He laughed, shrugged, and began walking away. "Whatever. My lips are sealed." He turned to me. "Have a nice day, Miley."

Okay, I definitely imagined that. ...Right?

Once Nick was sure that Joe wasn't going to come back to ruin the surprise, he turned to me. "I'm sorry about that."

"What was that about?"

"Joe's just being Joe. Annoying."

"What was he talking about?"

Nick stared at me, then walked in the direction toward the trail that led us to the rock mount. I followed, but this time not irritated. "Let's just go to our usual spot." He smiled at me, but it didn't touch his eyes. I guess Joe's interruption knocked his good mood out of him. I silently cursed his brother.

And I didn't the let fact that he didn't answer the question go unnoticed. But I wasn't going to bother him about it. I guess if he wanted to tell me, he would. I think my only job now was to try to cheer him up.

"So how's Selena?"

He brightened up a little bit, but then his face fell. "I don't know."

I crinkled my forehead. "Haven't you talked to her?"

"No."

I stared at him, confused.

He grinned. "Well you see, when you attacked me in the mess hall last week, you caused my phone to fly out of my hand and shatter. Poor phone. So young – and then he met you." He gave me a look of mock grief.

My irritation was back in an instant. "Okay, you fell on me and you dropped your own damn phone. Your phone's death is a result of your own stupidity. Besides, it must have been a piece of crap if it broke that quickly. If anything, I did you a freaking favor. So shove it."

Nick was shaking with silent laughter. "How easily annoyed you're getting. I guess today is one of those lucky days for me."

I ignored that. "So you just don't use someone else's phone?"

He shook his head. "No one else trusts me with their phone. Sel and I tend to lose track of minutes and exactly how much those minutes cost." He chuckled.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and handed it to him. "Here, my dad will never notice. I highly doubt you could do more damage than I have ever done."

We finally reached the rock mount, and sat in our usual spots. I leaned back on the rock behind me, pulled my knees to my chest, and wrapped my arms around my legs. Nick laid across the rocks on his back, folded one arm behind his head, and used the other to hold the phone to his ear. "Hi, yes, I would like to place an order of a dozen roses to be delivered to this address. " He recited an address, told them what to put on the card (something sickeningly cheesy, I almost gagged) and gave them the address to his house so they could send the bill there. "All right, thank you. You have a good day, too. Bye." He hung up the phone and handed it to me.

I stared down at him, astonished. "You have a flower shop's phone number memorized? Are you kidding me? What, no chocolates?" My sarcasm was marred by my shock. "What happened to calling Selena?"

He shrugged. "Hasn't your mom ever told you it's rude to talk on the phone when you're with someone else? Besides, this is more romantic. A dozen roses sent to her house, no warning." His smiled, a little smug. "How good am I?"

"Okay…?"

He looked up, obviously surprised by my lack of enthusiasm. "You don't think that's romantic?"

"If you're a big romantic, then yes, I salute you." I paused. "I'm guessing she's a big romantic?"

"You're not?"

"Not really."

"Are you a girl at all?"

My eyes widened. "Am I?"

He looked at me apologetically. "What I meant was, aren't you supposed to find what I just did romantic? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't you be secretly gushing over me by now?"

I snorted. Arrogant little bastard. "It's sweet, don't get me wrong, but not my cup of tea."

He scrunched his eyebrows, truly confused. "I don't understand…"

"Holy jeez, Nick!" I was getting irritated again. I had to take a deep breath so he wouldn't notice. Today was not a lucky day for him. "Not all girls are the same, you do realize that, right?"

The look on his face told me he didn't.

I pursed my lips. "Well I guess it's because you've been with Selena for so long. You're only used to what she wants, so you assume that what she wants is what every girl wants. Like for example, the roses. I'm sure she will find those very, very romantic. She'll gush, she'll maybe even cry, she'll be dying for your return so she can kiss you all over and tell you how much she loves you. Am I right?"

He grinned. "Sounds about right."

I gave him a quick smile then went back to explaining. "Well say someone did that for me… I'm not a snob. I'd find it completely romantic and I'd be very flattered… but–"

"But it's not your kind of romance," he interrupted, finally getting it.

"Yeah. To me, that's just too much."

He sat up, leaning in closer to me, eyes wide with curiosity. "Too much?"

"Yes."

He shook his head, amazed. "Wow, I thought all girls… So then what would be your preferences?" He tilted his head, and I had to giggle at his expression. It reminded me of a kid asking someone why the sky was blue. So curious.

"Uhm. I would find a single rose very, very romantic. The less, the better."

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. It took him a minute to recover. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

He scrunched his eyebrows again. "But… why?"

I blushed and looked away from him. "I'd rather not say."

"Please?" The tone of his voice made me turn back to him. His wide eyes were blazing, and, yeah, I'll be honest, it took me a second to catch my breath (it could have happened to any girl after all). "Miley?"

"I'm sorry... what?"

He cocked his head. "Sorry I'm asking you all these questions. You're right – I've never experienced anything else besides Selena... I always thought every girl liked the same thing. You're answer just shocked me."

"It's like singling someone out," I explained, ignoring him. "A dozen roses is nice, but a single rose… To me it's a symbol, like someone telling me that I'm the only person they are thinking of or whatever. It's dumb, really, but…"

He shook his head. "No, it's not dumb." He thought it over for a second before flashing that cheeky grin. "And I thought I was the romantic."

"You think that's romantic?"

"Very."

"Okay."

He chuckled. "I think I've made you uncomfortable."

"That obvious?"

He laid back down, resting his head on his hands, closing his eyes. "Yes."

"So are you going to tell me what the surprise is?"

"Not anymore."

"Why not?" I demanded. "That's not fair. You said you would."

"Yes, it is very fair. And no I didn't. I said you would find out when you find out."

"Jerk."

He just laughed.

I glared at him for a few seconds, then stood up. "Fine, I'll just go ask Joe."

He caught my wrist and pulled me back down. "No, please don't. Don't ask Joe anything."

"What's the big deal, Nick?"

His face looked strangled. "Please don't ruin this, Miley. Just be patient."

I grimaced at his expression. "Okay…"

He sighed, relieved. "Thank you."

"Yup."

We went back to our positions, and let the silence of the lake surround us. I let my imagination run wild with what the surprise might be, and eventually I heard Nick's breathing even out. I guess he fell asleep. I stared down at his face, kind of angry and annoyed that he could sleep when he hadn't let me. I was about to wake him up when he said, "Chill out, Mi. I'm not asleep." He opened his eyes and grinned at me. "Am I annoying you again?"

How the heck did he know–? I frowned. "My?"

Nick chuckled. "It's my new nickname for you. The first two letters of your name. What, don't like it?"

Ohh, "Mi". Not "my". I almost slapped myself. Hmm. Well I liked it better than 'Smiley'. Thank God Nick still hasn't made that connection. "Yes. I like it very much, Nick." I smiled. "I need a nickname for you then."

He waited patiently while I thought of one.

I grinned wickedly. "How about... studmuffin?"

His smile faded immediately. "No. Absolutely not."

I nodded my head, still grinning. "No, I think I will call you that... Studmuffin."

"Miley," he complained.

"Yes, studmuffin?"

He glared. "You're the devil."

"Are you getting annoyed?" My smile turned teasing.

He grunted, but didn't answer. Yes!

I giggled. "Okay, Nick. What would you like me to call you?"

"Whatever you want."

"I told you what I want."

"Whatever you want besides that."

I rolled my eyes and sighed dramatically. "Well, if you're going to be difficult." He chuckled. "Okay, how about... Nicky?"

He groaned. "You're not creative."

I scoffed. "Coming from the person who thought of 'Mi.' It's either that or studmuffin. You choose."

He pursed his lips, thoughtful. "Fine, you can call me Nicky on one condition."

"Shoot."

"Never, ever call me that in public. Ever. It can be your little nickname if you want, but I will not have other people calling me that. Got it?"

I grinned. "You bet, Nicky."

He tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace.

Just then my phone start going off. I pressed ignore.

"Why'd you ignore the call?"

I rolled my eyes as if he were stupid. "Because, Nicholas, hasn't your mom ever told you that it's rude to talk on the phone when you're with someone else?" I asked, repeating his words from earlier. "I'm trying to be, like, respectful and stuff."

He bit his lip, trying suppress laughter. "You're very right. I'm sorry. Where have my manners gone?"

"Well, I forgive you."

He chuckled. "Okay, well who was it anyway?"

I checked. "Oh, just my mom. I'll call her back later."

He scoffed. "Hasn't your mom ever told you it's rude to ignore her calls?"

"Yes, of course she has," I said with fake exasperation. "But what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

Nick laughed out. "Mi, call her back."

"Nick–"

"Just do it."

I sighed. "Fine." I pressed redial.

She picked up after the first ring. "Hey, Miley."

"'Sup?"

Nick rolled his eyes. He would never greet his mom that way. I winked and stuck my tongue out.

"How's your stay going?"

"Awesome, mom." I watched Nick as he laid back down on the rock in the same position as he was before. He slid his eyes close. "I've made a lot of friends here." I nudged Nick with my foot and he smiled.

"That's good, sweetheart," my mom said. I couldn't help but notice that she seemed a little distracted. "Uhh… The Gray Brothers are there, right?"

"Yes. I'm actually with Nick right now." I stared down at Nick, but he seemed nonchalant that I was talking about him. "Why?"

"Oh, then maybe he should tell you."

"Tell me what?" The corners of Nick's lips twitched, but he remained perfectly still. I narrowed my eyes. "What are you guys not telling me?" This question was for both of them.

"I'm surprised, really. I would have thought that he would have told you by now," she mumbled.

"Tell me what?" I asked again, my voice rising with impatience. Nick coughed, but I think he was trying to disguise laughter.

"Well, okay, do remember that band that was supposed to open for you on your tour? They dropped out. Well, actually, they broke up. Something about the lead singer's girlfriend cheating on him with the drummer... And every member in the band for that matter. Tragic, really. Imagine the songs they would be able to write just from that experience alone..."

"What?" I yelled. "They can't do that! Get them back together! Tell them to suck it up!"

"Calm down, Miley," she laughed. "Disney had a better solution to the problem."

"Oh, Demi! She can do it!" I said, ignoring her.

"You know Disney would never allow Demi. People still don't even know who she is yet."

"They barely know me too," I countered. "This can be great for both of us."

"Miley, they already have a band for you. And I personally think they are the perfect choice. They are already known. They will definitely attract crowds." She paused. "Oh, Miley, not that you won't–"

"Thanks, Mom," I sighed.

"Sorry sweetie. Wrong choice of words."

"I'll say."

She laughed slightly. "So, wanna guess who Disney got for you?"

"Who did they–" But I didn't bother to finish. I glared down at Nick's still figure, and all of it suddenly clicked – the "surprise", Joe's friendliness, Nick's upbeat mood this morning. How did I not see that coming? "The Gray Brothers."

With his eyes still closed, Nick flashed a wide grin. "Surprise," he mouthed to me.

"Yes!" my mom giggled. "How amazing is that? The Gray Brothers!"

"Very amazing."

"You don't sound excited."

"Just shocked."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I got to go, but I'll call you later to give you more details. Love you."

"You, too," I sighed, hanging up.

Nick's eyes opened slowly, but when he took in my expression, his smile faded. "You're not happy."

"I'm ecstatic."

He sat up, sitting across from me. "You sure know how to show it."

I looked down at my hands. "I'm happy, I swear."

He lifted my chin with one finger, making me look at him. He frowned. "What's wrong? You don't want to tour with us?" I could tell he tried to hide his hurt, but he failed miserably.

"No! No! That's not it. I want to tour with you guys. I mean, are you kidding me? You guys are the Gray Brothers for crying out loud. Who wouldn't want to tour with you guys? You guys are the best there is." My voice caught in my throat, and he immediately caught what was wrong about this picture. How he did, I have no idea, but that was Nick for you.

"Miley!" he hissed. "I can't believe you!"

"Oh c'mon, Nick! You know as well as I do that I'm the one who should be opening up for you guys! People will end up just going to see you three, not me! I don't want to sound selfish or anything, but… I mean, seriously, you opening for me? In what universe will that ever work? I'm still the new girl around Disney." It's true. People did like my show and all, but everyone was still caught up with The Gray Brothers and little miss Selena Russo. This tour was Disney's idea for me to get a little more notice, and I think – even though Disney would never admit it – my chance to replace Selena. I didn't want to replace her, but maybe it was good for miss Russo to get a little competition. But no bad blood with her, I swear.

But how the heck was I supposed to do that now that her boyfriend and his brothers were coming on the tour? They would just be a distraction.

His face softened. "You're the new girl who's going to take the world by storm. This is your tour. And trust me, Miley, you're amazing."

"How would you know?"

He hesitated, then smiled. "I lied earlier. I have heard you sing before. In your cabin last night when you thought no one was listening... Well I was. And believe me, I really liked what I heard."

Is there no privacy in this camp?

"You did?" I guess I should be upset that he was eavesdropping, but, to be honest, I really didn't care.

"Yes, I did. And so will everyone else." He leaned in closer and winked. "Maybe more so than me and my brothers. After what I heard last night, I'd bet on it."

I bit my lip. "We'll see."

He took my hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Have faith."

I tried to imitate that cheeky grin of his, but I don't think I got it down quite like him. He saw what I was trying to do, laughed, then did it himself. "Thanks, Nick."

"Sure thing, Mi."

"So, why exactly did you lie?"

He suddenly looked embarrassed. "Well..."

I smiled at his red cheeks. It was rare to see Nick blushing. "Yes?"

He sighed, then chuckled. "Like I said, I liked what I heard. I just really wanted to hear it again. But I thought you'd be mad if I told you I was eavesdropping last night. Once again, you're reaction has surprised me. As always." He shook his head. "Makes me wonder sometimes if you're even human. I'm sorry, a normal human. You're certainly different. Well, from what I'm used to."

"Oh."

"Yeah... So, will you sing?" he asked hopefully.

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"No."

His face fell for a second, then lit back up. "Oh well. I can wait for tour."

Tour... with him. And his brothers, too. I shook my head. Up until now, I never thought about anything beyond "Camp Rock". Once I left, what would happen to our friendship? He had his music, I had my show. Would we ever be able to hang out like this again? Though I would never admit it out loud, Nick has kind of grown on me. He was annoying as hell, but he had his moments. I had come out here to visit Demi, but I had spent most of my time with Nick. He's kind of become a best friend, I guess. Two weeks with him just isn't enough.

And now a tour with each other. Needless to say, that will definitely give us more time together. I shook my head again. Funny how some things work out.

"How does Joe feel about this?" I asked randomly. He seemed happy enough this morning, but I couldn't tell if that was just a show or if he was actually being sincere.

"Don't worry about Joe." Something about his tone made me flinch.

"That mad, huh?"

He shook his head. "No, actually, he's very excited." He frowned for a second, then smiled. "I think he thinks you're the one who suggested us. He's an idiot." Nick chuckled. Well that would explain Joe's sudden change of heart towards me, I guess. "Play it to your advantage, Mi. This is your tour we're going on, after all." He winked.

"Damn straight."

He grinned then laughed, obviously delighted. "A tour... Can you believe it? A tour. How awesome is that?"

"So awesome," I laughed along with him. "I think this calls for a celebration."

"Well, it's still early, but I think I can sneak a carton of ice-cream from the kitchen."

I smiled. "My cabin? Ten Minutes?" Hopefully, Demi's already awake by now.

He stood up, reached for my hand, and pulled me up. "Sure." Then his eyes lit up. "Hey, I bet I can beat you to the camp."

I rolled my eyes. "You better, because if you don't, I swear to God, I'll never let you live it down."

He smirked. "Okay. Get ready, get set,–"

I placed my hand on his chest, and pushed as hard as I could. To my great surprise, he actually fell over. "Go!" I shouted, sprinting back towards the camp.

"Miley!" I heard him yell from behind me. I could hear his feet slapping against the ground as he tried to catch up with me. He laughed. "You're so dead!"

I giggled and pushed myself harder, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

Miley does NOT like Nick. I mean, she does, but in a friend kind of way. I'm just telling you guys that because I think I made it seem like she likes him. That's my fault haha. But just so you don't assume anything, she likes him only as a friend. For now, that is ;) Haha.

Review? :)