Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot.
Thunder and Lightening
Part 10
You'll be fine
Tears poured out of the girl's eyes, as Nick looked straight at her. He saw the pain that she was carrying. She ran away, as Nick quickly said his goodbyes and thank you's. He ran off of the stage, seeing his mother point to his dressing room. Nick gave her a quick nod and then ran to his dressing room, opening the door and shutting it behind him. He looked over in the corner of the room and saw her sitting there, her arms wrapped around herself. She was rocking herself back and forth, as sobs ripped through her mouth. Nick ran over to her and wrapped his arms protectively around her. He knew she needed comfort and acceptance. He knew she felt bad for not telling him. He knew everything she was thinking. She wrapped her arms around his waist, as he continued to hold her, whispering comforting words into her ear.
"How did you find out?" she asked, her voice unstable. Nick looked down at her, her eyes filled with regret and pain.
"After we talked a few days ago, I went and talked to my mom and she thought that you told me everything." He explained, as she nodded slowly. She was waiting for him to yell at her. She was so sure it was coming; which was why she was so surprised when his voice came out soft and understanding.
"Why didn't you tell me, Mi?" he asked, obviously hurt that he thinks that Miley doesn't trust him. She sighed, her lips trembling. She gathered herself together, before looking up into his eyes.
"You told me you didn't want to deal with my emotional baggage anymore." She whispered, as Nick's eyes clouded with confusion.
"Miley, being sick is not having 'emotional baggage'! Did you honestly think that you couldn't tell me about this? If I made you feel that way, I am so sorry Mi. I really am." He responded softly, as she nodded.
"Thank you." She whispered, as he helped her up and over to the couch.
"For what?" he asked, as she sat down.
"For everything."
Everyone gathered into the largest room at Platinum Records, as Mr. Gilmore made his way to the front of the table. He sat down in his chair, as everyone became quiet.
"Okay, well as you know I am trying to do things a little bit differently than your former President. I want this side of the room to right your name down on a sheet of paper and put it in this bag." He said, as everyone on the left side of the room did so. After he was finished, he walked around the table and held out the bag.
"Everyone on this side, draw a name. This is the person that you will be singing a duet with for our next combination album. It can be any classic song. You have one week to pick and record your song. Okay, Nick, draw first." Mr. Gilmore said, as Nick stuck his hand in the bag.
"Vanessa." He said, as he smiled.
"I've got Kevin." Demi replied.
"Ashley." Demi replied. Miley grabbed the last name in the bag.
"Joe." She replied, as Mr. Gilmore smiled at all of them.
"Alright, so this week, I want you to get to know the person you are going to be working with. Well, let's get started!" he said, as everyone made their separate ways. Miley didn't know much about Joe; except for that he was Demi's on-again off-again boyfriend.
"Hello." Miley said, smiling. He nodded, sitting down next to her.
"So, Joe what type of genre do you think we should do?" Miley asked as he shrugged.
"Are you okay?" Miley asked, as Joe shrugged.
"I'm hungry, do you want to go get something to eat. Maybe if I have some food in my system, I might actually respond to you with a sentence." He said, as Miley nodded, giggling.
"Alright, well where do you want to go?" Miley asked, as Joe led her out the door.
"I know the perfect place."
"Well alright." Miley said, as they walked out to Joe's car. They got in, as Joe started to drive to his destination.
"So, Joe, how old are you?" Miley asked, bored.
"I'm 18. How old are you?" he asked.
"I'm 15. When's your birthday?" she asked, as she turned up the radio slightly.
"August 15th. When's yours?" he asked.
"November 23. Are you good friends with Nick?" Miley asked, as Joe nodded.
"Yeah, he's a really nice guy. He's a great friend, too. Did you ever date him?" Joe asked, as Miley gave him a disgusted look.
"Um, no. He's like my brother. That's weird." Miley said. Joe just smirked at her.
"What?" she asked, as he continued smirking.
"He's so in love with you." Joe said, as Miley shook her head.
"Um, no, he's not." Miley said, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
"Sure, of course he's not." Joe said sarcastically.
"Changing the subject; what's going on with you and Demi? Are you guys together right now or what?" Miley asked, as Joe cleared his throat.
"Promise you won't tell anyone; especially Demi?" Joe asked. Miley held out her pinky, smiling.
"Pinky promise." She said, as they locked pinkies.
"Well, I mean, we've been dating off and on for about a year and a half now, and honestly, I'm just ready for a stable relationship. I just don't think Demi and I can do that." Joe vented, as Miley nodded.
"Well, I believe that there's someone out there for everyone; maybe you just haven't found yours yet." Miley said, as Joe smiled.
"Yeah; well what about you? How many people have you dated?" Joe asked, as Miley hung her head low in embarrassment.
"Um, zero." She replied, as Joe just laughed.
"Sure, now seriously, how many boyfriends have you had?" he asked, stopping at a red light.
"Um, I was being serious. I've never even been on a date." Miley said, her face red.
"Oh, well, this is awkward." Joe said, pulling into a small little café.
"Boys didn't really go for the nerdy, friend-less, girls." Miley replied, getting out of Joe's car.
"Well alrighty then." He replied, as he led her into the small place.
"What is this place?" Miley asked, seeing no one in the café yet.
"This is my cousin's café. It's really good." Joe said, seating himself in one of the comfortable booths. Miley sat across from him, as a young looking girl came over.
"Since when do you think you're aloud to seat yourself?" she asked, as Joe smiled.
"Nice to see you, too Anna." He replied, as the girl looked over at Miley.
"Joey, who's this?" she asked, as Joe smiled.
"This is Miley. She's the new girl. I have to be friends with her." Joe said, rolling his eyes and then smiling. Miley giggled, as Anna smiled.
"Well, just let me know what you all want, whenever you decide. See you guys later." Anna said, going back into the kitchen.
"She seems . . . spirited." Miley pointed out, as Joe nodded.
"Yeah, well she is. So, I feel like I need to know everything about you. So, shall we just start from the beginning?" he questioned, as Miley bit her lip.
This was going to be a long day.
"Nicky, I'm home!" Miley yelled as she walked into the home. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs, as saw Nick emerge.
"Smiles, I don't care!" he mock yelled, as he fell back onto the couch, turning on the TV. Miley pouted, sitting next to him.
"So, what's up in your life?" Miley asked, as Nick shrugged.
"Not much. I'm thinking about auditioning for a role in a new movie, though." Nick said, casually flipping through channels.
"Really? I'm going to see my Nicky on the big screen! I'm so proud!" Miley mocked, as a fake tear slid down her cheek.
"Good god, woman. You're so weird." Nick said, turning off the TV. Why were all shows such crap, now?
"You know, Joe said the funniest thing today. Well, I guess weird would be the correct term." Miley said, as Nick raised his eyebrows.
"Oh yes, how did your date with Mr. Joe go?" Nick asked, smirking. Miley rolled her eyes, deciding to just ignore his comment.
"It was fine, but he said something really weird. He said-he said that you were in love with me!" Miley said, as she giggled. Nick threw up a fake smile and laugh.
"What? That's just stupid. I'm not in love you with." Nick replied, scoffing. Miley felt like a small piece of her heart had just been smashed. Honestly, she didn't even know why.
"Yeah, that's just . . . stupid." Miley replied, running her hand through her hair.
"So, what do you want to do today?" Nick asked, as Miley shrugged.
"I think I'm just going to go take a nap. I'm really tired." Miley said, getting up and walking upstairs.
"Sleep well!" Nick called, as a tear slid down from Miley's eye. She was so confused right now. She knew she loved him, but she didn't think she was in love with him. She opened the door to her room and shut it, making sure the bathroom door was shut. She climbed up onto her bed, hugging her pillow. She sat there forever. She picked up her phone and went to her contacts. The first name she saw was Demi, seeing as she put it in her phone as 'AAmazingDemi'. She skipped passed it, deciding to call somebody else. She dialed his number and took a deep breath.
"Hey Smilerz, what's up?" Joe asked through the phone.
"Can you come over, please? I need to talk to somebody." Miley replied, her voice soft.
"Yeah, of course. Are you okay?" he asked, as Miley sighed.
"Just . . . come over." She said, as she hung up. About 15 minutes later, Miley heard the doorbell ring. She got up off her bed and opened her door. She saw Nick open the door, as Joe appeared.
"Hey man, did I know you were coming over?" Nick asked, as Joe was bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"Um no, actually I came over to see Smilerz." Joe replied, as Miley smiled.
"Smilerz? Since when are you two so buddy-buddy?" Nick asked, kind of jealous. Joe shrugged, as he gave Nick a half-hug.
"See ya!" he said, skipping steps as he hurried up the steps. Miley was back in her doorway.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Joe asked, as Miley leaned out and hugged him. He hugged her back, still very confused.
"I'll tell you in here." Miley said quietly, as she led Joe in her bedroom and shut the door. She made sure the door to her bathroom was shut. She sat down on her window seat, her back against the wall. Joe sat down beside her, as pulled her knees against her chest.
"What's going on?" Joe asked, very confused at the moment. Miley paused, trying to think of how to say this.
"Okay, so you know how earlier today, you said that Nick was in love with me. Well, I told him that you said that and then he was all disgusted and was like 'I'm definitely not in love you' and stuff like that. But, the only thing was, I felt really sad after he said that. I'm just so confused right now." Miley mumbled, as Joe sighed.
"Listen, Smilerz, he's just putting up a front. Honestly, if you would hear the way he talks about you, you would honestly believe that he is in love with you." Joe said softly, as Miley shrugged.
"I don't know why I got so upset over it." Miley whined. Joe chuckled, as Miley looked at him.
"Because you're in love with him." Joe replied, as Miley put her head in her hands.
"But, can I ask you a serious question?" Joe asked, as Miley nodded.
"Sure, what is it?" Miley questioned.
"Why didn't you talk to Demi or Selena about this?" Joe asked, as Miley shrugged.
"I just, I don't know. I just thought that if Demi or Selena knew, then it would get all weird. Because, if there's one thing I know, is that if I never came along, Nick and Selena would be a couple right now." Miley replied, as Joe nodded.
"Okay, I guess I understand that. So, back to work, what song do you think we should do?" Joe asked, as Miley shrugged.
"I have no idea." Miley giggled, as Joe rolled his eyes.
"Well, maybe we should work on that." Joe replied, messing up Miley's hair.
"Hey, don't mess up the hair." Miley warned, as she stood up and went over to her guitar.
"You know, we are going to be the only group that doesn't have their song ready." Miley said, sticking her tongue out at him.
About 30 minutes later, Joe and Miley really hadn't gotten much work done. So, Joe decided he'd do see Demi.
"Okay, well thanks for entertaining me for a while. I'll see you tomorrow Smilerz." Joe said, as they walked down stairs. Nick was still perched on the couch, watching some show.
"See you tomorrow Nick." Joe said, walking out the front door. Miley shut the door behind him and walked over and sat down next to Nick.
"Hey Nicky." Miley replied, trying not to let their previous conversation affect her.
"Hey Mi. What was wrong earlier?" Nick asked, as Miley shrugged.
"Um, nothing. Just wanted Joe to come over and hang out." Miley lied, as Nick rolled his eyes.
"Listen, Miley, I need to tell you something." Nick responded, as Miley turned to face him.
"You can't be friends with Joe anymore."
A/N: DUN DUN DUN. Hope you liked it! Please review?