As the white Cadillac drove away, I looked over at a now satisfied Taylor. I smiled, thankful that she was happy. She snuggled up to me like she was my second skin before saying, "Why don't you finish what you were saying back at the house?"

I looked at her slightly confused. I didn't even remember what I had been saying, my mind was so cluttered. She giggled. "About this last week. About how everything had been so amazing...and then Mr. Obnoxious cut you off to drag us here."

"I wanted to come." I said softly. It wasn't sticking up for my brother nearly as much as I should have been, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings. "I was saying that I feel like everything is coming undone. All the things I've heard about Riley from you, I mean…I don't even know for sure that they're true.."

She ripped her hand away from mine, exaggerating her facial expression to the point of something I would have expected for killing her dog.

"Are you saying you think I'm a liar, Nick?"

I shook my head. That wasn't what I meant to say. Was it? Taylor wouldn't lie to me. Taylor cared about me.

"Not at all" I started, wrapping my arms around her. "It's just that, Riley has never lied to me either. So after eight years, it's hard to think that she would."

Taylor pushed my arms from her waist and took a step back, still obviously offended. She looked down at her feet, then directly in my eyes. "Have you ever thought that maybe she has, Nick? Maybe she has and she's just never gotten caught. Her sweet and innocent act has everyone wrapped around her little manicured fingernail. I see through all the smoke and mirrors. You should too."

I nodded, but the weight on my heart was back. I didn't totally agree with what she was saying anymore. I knew that Kevin, Joe…and especially Riley were all annoying. They were still a huge part of me though. If I wanted Taylor to stick around though, that would have to change.

She stood on her tip toes to give me a quick kiss. "Don't let it bring you down. Today is a BIG day for you, and I promise that tonight will be amazing."

I looked down to catch a sincere look that was shining in her green eyes. She smiled, and I didn't have a care in the world. I wrapped my arms around her again and lifted her up, spinning her around and around, right in the middle of the valet parking lot. She laughed a contagious laugh, and soon we were both sitting on the sidewalk, holding our stomachs.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Taylor." It's not something I would normally say, but I meant it.
I gave her a kiss, before she pulled away.

"That's good. Because you'll never have to find out."

The white Cadillac came whipping back into the parking lot, and Riley jumped out of the driver seat in stealth mode, peeking up from behind the door to make sure none of the adults were watching for her. Kevin out his arm around her shoulder as they walked towards the hotel doors. She kept her eyes directed at the ground while Joe whispered something to her that made her laugh.

"Hey," she started, stopping a few feet away from me. "Dad wants us inside to make sure the play list has everything we want on it."

I looked up at her, hoping for a chance to throw a dirty look her way when I saw her eyes. They were red and puffy, and there was no doubt that she had been crying. It didn't keep me from being a jerk.

"Well see what you can manage on your own, and I'll be in to help you along in just a minute."

Joe stepped towards me and opened his mouth to say some things I knew Momma wouldn't want to hear when Riley grabbed his arm. "Don't, Joe. It's not going to change anything."

They slipped into the hotel, and after a few minutes of silence, Taylor and I followed. We walked into the ballroom to everyone erupting in laughter. Kevin, Joe and Riley were have a battle in the middle of the dance floor that was winding down as the final seconds of "Mmmbop" played through the many speakers.

The three of them were grinning like it was the best thing that had ever happened to them. It disgusted me.

The next voice began flooding through the speakers.

Everybody makes mistakes,
Everybody has those days.
Everybody know's what, what I'm talking 'bout,
Everybody gets that way.

"SHUT IT OFF!" Everyone screamed at once. Riley was having another laughing fit as she gazed up towards the DJ booth.

"None of that nonsense tonight, please."

The DJ nodded his head and Riley walked over in my direction. "Hey, if there's anything you want added to the play list, just go tell him and he'll put it on for you."

Taylor squeezed my hand to remind me to be strong, before excusing herself to take a phone call.

"Riley, why are you talking to me?"

She smiled. It was so frustrating how happy she was, especially when my life felt like it was falling apart. She must have got some sick satisfaction out of it. After all, it was her fault.

"Because, Nicholas." She put her hand on my shoulder. "This is OUR birthday party. I love you, and it's for the best if we just have fun with it."

I pushed her arm off of my shoulder.

"If you ever knew what was best for me, if you ever loved me at all, you would've left my life a long time ago, Riley."

I regretted it as soon as I said it.

She looked me dead in the eyes as the next song began to play.

She shook her head as tears started to brim.

I was losing myself to somebody else
But now I see, I don't wanna pretend
So this is the end of you and me.
Cause the girl that you want, she was tearing us apart.
Cause she's everything, everything I'm not.

"How incredibly appropriate." She mumbled, and left.

-----------------------------

After what I had said to Riley earlier, no one in my family would even look at me. Even my always kind mother was avoiding me at all costs. I had stopped in the kitchen for a few minutes when we got home, and the smile that she was wearing from one of Joe's stupid, immature jokes instantly faltered at the sight of me.

Taylor had gone home once we had left the hotel, and I was entirely alone in a house full of people. You could cut the tension with a knife, but the only person anyone had tension with was me. I had been in my room, ready to go for the last two and half hours, and I still have another hour gleeful 60 minutes to go before we even left. I turned my iPod up as far as it would go, but it didn't stop me from hearing the jokes and laughter from the Brady Bunch that was infesting my living room between songs.

I rolled off my bed and stood up directly in front of the mirror. I was a shell. I know that doesn't make much sense, but I was. I adjusted my light pink tie. Taylor had drug me into what I'm sure was close to every store in Jersey that sold ties after she bought her dress until we found the exact color. It meant a lot to me that she cared so much about looking nice for my party.

Everything about me was the same as it had been a week ago, when I looked in the mirror. Almost. I was still tall, I was still skinny and my brown curls still wild. My eyes though, that's what got me. They were still small and brown, but they were cold. A week ago, my eyes told stories. Happy ones, funny ones, crazy and scary ones. They smiled even when I wasn't.

The eyes that were looking back at me were cold and so close to empty. They had no fire, no life. And they only told me one story: You are everything you swore you'd never be.

I shook my head and turned away from the mirror, not willing to look at it anymore. Whatever I was thinking, it was wrong. Maybe everything I swore I would never be is the way I should have been all along. It had gotten me an amazing girl, and showed me everyone else's true colors. Which might I add, sucked.

I glanced up to the clock that was on my window sill. 7:55. We were planning to leave at 8. My gaze continued upward as I saw something move in the window across from mine. It was Riley, and even though I couldn't see any detail through the clutter of each set of blinds, I could tell that her dress was pink. Light pink.

I looked down at my tie and groaned. "Just my luck." Riley grabbed what looked like a book off of her bed along with her purse and hurried out her door at the sound of a car horn in front of my house. I separated the blinds with my fingers to see Joe and Kevin waiting for her in the new car.

I heard their muffled cat calls and Joe shouting "SHAKE WHATCHA MOMMA GAVE YA!" through my window and Riley climbed into the car carefully, making sure to not face plant in her heels. They drove down the street smiling and screaming, not even glancing back.

There was a knock at my door and it opened, my Dad standing in the doorway. He looked everywhere in the room except my eyes when he said, "We're leaving now." before closing the door again.

The car ride there was very awkward...for me at least. My parents were talking, laughing and having a regular comedic show down like their son wasn't in the back seat.

Everyone's happiness was totally bogus. There is no way they could be that genuinely happy without me.

By the time we pulled up in front of the hotel, I was out of the car before it had even stopped. I was disgusted that these people were actually my family, and if I was around them any longer, it was definitely going to ruin my night.

As I approached the front doors, the lines of new friends, old friends and acquaintances started to scream their greetings at me. I smirked and walked past them as Rob checked their names off one by one on the list.

I'm Nick Jonas, and if these people wanted me to actually associate with them, it was going to take a little more than a smile and a "Hey Nick! Happy Birthday." People are so fake, it made me sick.

Taylor was waiting for me at the door with an impatient look on her face. "It's 8:45, Nicky." I hated it when she called me that, but I knew better than to complain. "You told me you would be here at 8:30, no later. I've had to stand outside with all of these stupid people for fifteen minutes…all of them looking at me like I'm a piece of meat."

I turned back to look at the crowd. "Well, now it looks like all eyes are on me, so rest easy, babe."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand as we walked through the doors. From the crowd of people outside, I wasn't expecting the ballroom to be packed. But, it made sense. Everyone wanted to try to get into my party. It made me laugh. People are so pathetic.

Taylor and I sat down at near the gift table, as crowds of people walked past us without a word. She managed to give 100 of the girls she laid eyes on a disgusting looks while instantly insulting something about them. After about the 50th girl, I began to block her out. The gifts were piling up, but I didn't care.

Not one person had said something to since I had walked in the doors hours ago. I gazed across the room to see Riley, smiling wide. Her arms were linked with Joe and Kevin's, and swarms of people kept coming up to her, giving her kisses on the cheek and taking pictures with her. She looked so happy. She looked so beautiful, in her Riley sort of way. I kept watching her for awhile, and with every minute I got more and more depressed.

I looked across the table at Taylor, who had a permanent glare plastered on her face for everyone to see. What happened to the smiling girl who made me laugh? More importantly, what happened to MY smile? What happened to MY laugh?

I shifted in my seat.

I missed talking to my parents. I missed Kevin's advice. I missed Joe's ridiculous sense of humor. But there was one pain that was really eating at my heart. I missed Riley.

I hadn't noticed, but I had zoned out with my eyes fixated on her. She seemed to notice, and when I came back to my senses, she was waving a hand in front of her face from across the room and mouthing an "Earth to Nick."

I smiled weakly. God, I was sad. She smiled back and grabbed the book I had seen her grab from her bed earlier from a table before walking in my direction. Taylor rolled her eyes and slammed her head down on the table at the sight. "Great, this should be entertaining."

Riley finally reached the table and immediately turned to Taylor.

"Hey honey!" She smiled.

It was the fakest voice, and most forced smile I had ever seen in my life. She continued.

"I see we're looking extra promiscuous today!"

Taylor's eyes darted towards me, waiting for me to defend her.

I didn't.

Riley pressed on.

"It's okay though. Self respect isn't something a girl who cheats has, anyways. Speaking of which, great dress."

I lifted my eyes from my feet to look at Taylor's dress. I hadn't even noticed.

It was yellow.

Taylor snickered. "Look, Little Miss Used To Be. Why don't you run along and cry some more because your little buddy has moved on to bigger and better things." Her eyes narrowed, and she continued. "You're nothing to anyone here. The only reason they're talking to you if because they feel bad for the fatherless little charity case." She stuck out her bottom lip and put her hand over her heart. "So touching. The girl that no one can ever love for too long." She wasn't done yet, folding her hands and putting them on the table. "But who could blame them? You're disgusting, Riley. You cling to Nick like a leech, and you've been like a lost puppy ever since you realized-" She took a breath. "That you mean nothing to him."

Before I had time to react, Riley had thrown the book onto the gift table behind me, and had started running for the front doors, her hands over her eyes.

I set my fists on the table a little more loudly than I had intended to and looked directly at Taylor.

"You are not bigger, and definitely no where near better than Riley. She's nothing to you, but she is my entire world. I can tell you for a fact, that every single person here has been a better person since the day they met her. I have loved that girl with every piece of me since I was seven years old."

Her eyes were growing wide as my rant grew longer.

"The only person who is a nobody here, is you."

I pushed away from the table and stood up.

"And Little Miss Used To Be, is Little Miss Always Will Be."

I started for the door with Taylor on my heels, grabbing my elbow. "Nicky, I'm so sorry, ple-"

I cut her off. "Taylor, get off of me. I never want to see you again."

She smirked and let go of me as we paused in the lobby.

"Nick, me dating you was a bet! A bet that an average girl couldn't get amazing Nick Jonas. But guess what? You aren't all that amazing. Riley's story about Max was true, but you took some random girl's word over your best friend. You ARE a keeper. I saw Riley at the mall that day. I saw her take the picture, and I knew I had to get home before you suspected something. You're so easy to fool Nick. I've been dating Max this entire time, and you were too caught up in yourself to realize it."

I caught her eyes and held contact. "Well, you taught me a huge lesson, Taylor."

Her eyes lit up with victory as a smile slid across my face. "Of exactly what no girl should ever be."

Her face fell, and I couldn't have cared less. I turned my back to her and ran out the front doors just in time to see a brand new white Cadillac whipping out of the parking lot.

She never heard me defend her.