A/N - Sorry guys, a little less Niley in this one until the end, but its the introduction of Joe's love interest!! Also, this chapter is a set up for something that happens a bit later on, see if you can guess which bit it might be.

Also, I'm starting to get more reviews which I LOVE! thanks heaps, apparently you're promoting me on twitter, which is crazy, thanks so much, keep it up!

I'm getting a fair few hits, but not many reviews to reflect this, so if you have a few minutes just to tell me what you think, I would be really grateful!

CHAPTER 13

"Where did you get a suit from?" scoffed Miley, laughing at Oliver.

"Stole it out of my father's closet," Oliver chuckled.

"Why?"

"Makes me look important, don't you think?"

"Is that what you're going for?"

"Sort of. Mostly I don't want to look like the loser son who's dad gave him a job because he was too lazy to do any real work, and by working for his dad's company he can take off time whenever he wants to surf, or take his best friend on a holiday."

"That's exactly what you are though."

"I know. The suit is deceiving though, and it might fool them into believing otherwise," Oliver told Miley, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You amaze me with your sheer stupidity."

"I amaze myself," agreed Oliver.

Miley and Oliver had arrived at Coolangatta airport about two hours after the plane took off, and it was a 20 minute drive to the apartment. It was on the 12th floor of the building, overlooking the beach, with palm trees scattered along the foreshore. The event was taking place at Snapper Rocks, a point break on the northern side of Point Danger, just south of the airport. Nick and Joe going to stay with Kevin, who lives in Palm Beach, a coastal town between the competition and Miley. Miley and Oliver were going to spend a few hours at the office, which was inland a little. Once they had made their obligatory appearance, they were going to head up to Surfers Paradise to look around.

After strolling around Cavill Avenue, and eating dinner at a local restaurant, Oliver drove the car his father had organised for them back to the apartment.

"Did you request this car?"

"No. Maybe. What if I did?"

"You know Bumblebee isn't real?" teased Miley, looking at the yellow Camero they were sitting in.

"Yeah, and you're no Megan Fox. But a guy can dream," Oliver retorted.

"Remind me why I put up with you?"

"There isn't time enough in the world to be able to list all the reasons." Miley screwed her face up, and turned to watch the world go by out the window.

The next morning, Miley was sitting out on the balcony eating her breakfast, when Oliver sleepily wandered out, holding her phone in his hand.

"It's ringing," Oliver stated.

"Answer it then."

"It's Nick."

"Answer it then."

"I'm a boy."

"And that makes you incapable of answering it?"

"Don't boyfriends get mad when other boys answer their girlfriend's phone?"

"Just give it to me, you're so annoying,' said Miley in exasperation.

Miley grabbed the phone out Oliver's hand, and quickly answered Nick's call.

"Rise and shine."

"You're awake?" Nick said, surprised she actually answered it.

"Yeah, the sun managed to find a gap in the curtains and was right in my eyes, made it hard to stay asleep."

"You took so long to answer the phone, I just figured you were sleeping."

"Nope, Oliver is just an idiot. My phone was in my room and he wouldn't answer it."

"Why was he is your room?"

"Is that a hint of jealousy, hot shot?"

"No," Nick backtracked.

"Is so. Anyway, my phone was on loud, it probably woke him up because he must of heard it from HIS room," replied Miley, emphasising the word 'his'.

"Sure, sure. Anyway, I was calling to let you know we landed. Kevin is picking us up soon, and I was wondering if you wanted to meet me at his place, so I can introduce you guys before he has to go back to work. Joe and I have to be at Snapper by about midday to register our arrival, but I don't think we have anything we're meant to do in the arvo, so we could all hang out then?"

"Sounds good, message me the address and we'll chuck it into Bumblebee's GPS, and I'll message you when we're on our way."

"Why are you talking like you have a personal Autobot?"

"You'll see. See you in about halfa," laughed Miley.

"Can't wait, I've kind of missed you." Miley could hear Joe teasing Nick in the background.

"Tell Joe to shut up."

"I think the fact I just put him in a headlock just about covers it."

"Hi, Miles. Miss you…" Joe yelled down the phone. She could hear a scuffle, and a thud, so she assumed they dropped the phone. Laughing, she hung it up, imagining the boys wrestling in the middle of the terminal.

Oliver pulled the car up to the curb, and gave a low whistle as they saw the apartment block that Nick had given them directions to.

"Nick's brother must do alright for himself," he commented.

"Works for a PR company or something, Nick didn't tell me much."

"And I thought my daddy was rolling in it."

Miley looked up at the sleek grey building, with interesting architecture and great use of glass on the balconies. Miley stepped out of the car, and heard yelling from above.

"Miley! Oliver! Look up! Look! Penthouse! I'm totally moving in! Look, this is the balcony. The whole way round!" hollered Joe, running back and forth across the balcony, which wrapped its way around the side of the building, so there were views front on to the beach, and down the coast.

"He's a bit excited," Miley heard Nick say, as he walked out of the building's entrance.

"Penthouse, really?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, its only a 6 story building, but he's got the whole top floor."

"No wonder Joe is acting like its Christmas morning," laughed Miley. Nick pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her forehead quickly.

"Come on up, Kevin's waiting for us," Nick took Miley's hand, and shook Oliver's with his other one, "glad you could make it, bro. Miley wasn't kidding about your advanced alien robot."

"I really hope Miley's sarcasm isn't starting to rub off on you, because an ancient struggle re-erupting on Earth between two extraterrestrial clans is a very serious matter," Oliver joked.

Nick just laughed, opening the door and leading them into the elevator. He swiped a card, and the 6th floor button automatically lit up, and they could feel the lift starting to move. When they had reached the top, Nick held his arm in front of the motion sensor in the door, allowing Oliver to exit first, straight into the hallway of the apartment. Nick put his lips on Miley's, kissing her affectionately before letting her out.

"You must be Oliver and Miley," remarked a tall male, with curly dark hair, thick brows and dark eyes. He smiled warmly at Miley, his eyes flickering to her hand in Nick's.

"And you're Kevin, nice to meet you," Oliver answered, extending his hand. Kevin shook it, and pecked Miley on the cheek.

"Glad to finally put a name to the face," he said to Miley, "Nick hasn't shut up about you, and I secretly wondered if you were just made up, the way he talked about you being so perfect."

Miley blushed furiously, and Nick just groaned in annoyance at Kevin.

"Thanks, Kev. You're the best big brother ever," Nick drawled sarcastically. Kevin just laughed, and winked at Miley.

"Sook. Anyway, I've got to get to work, but if you guys are still hanging out here later, get Nick to call me and I'll bring home some dinner for us all."

"Thanks, that sounds great," Miley accepted, liking Kevin already. He smiled at her again, yelled a goodbye to Joe, who was busy throwing things off the balcony, and entered the lift.

"He likes you," Nick said.

"Don't tell her that, she'll get a big head. Well, an even bigger one," said Oliver, poking his tongue out at Miley and dodging her punch. He ran off to join Joe on the balcony.

"Want me to show you around?"

Miley nodded at Nick's suggestion, and followed him around the apartment as Nick gave her the grand tour. Miley stared in awe at Kevin's study, as frames littered the walls with photos of Kevin with famous people, like the Dali Lama, the Prime Minister, the head of the Sea Shepherd organisation, Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, Steph Gilmore and too many others for Miley to even comprehend.

"He surfs too?" she asked.

"Used to. Gets out there on the odd occasion. Deals more with the PR side now. He's really good at what he does, which I guess shows because he's so high up in the company, and he's one of the youngest people who works there."

"Note to self. Make sure Kevin really does like me, he's got some gnarly friends that would be awesome to get introduced to."

"You would," Nick teased.

"Maybe I chose the wrong brother," snapped Miley, pretending she was serious.

"I don't think so..." Nick started, before kissing her. Their lips danced against each other, hungry for more. Nick slowed it down, whispering to her while their faces were still very close.

"Still think you chose the wrong brother?"

"Not so much," she breathed. Nick just laughed, dragging her into another room to continue the tour.

Miley dug her toes into the sand, waiting for the boys. Joe and Nick had gone to do the official stuff, and Oliver was trying to chat up some bimbo who was hanging around the VIP area. Miley rolled her eyes at him, which he caught, only making him grin. She looked at the ocean, watching a big group of people in the line up of the wave. Miley saw someone settle themselves about a metre away, a clipboard in hand, and a textbook that Miley had for school, next to her. Miley looked at the girl quizzically, wondering why someone would have a textbook at a surf event when school didn't start back for ages. The girl must have noticed Miley staring at her, because she gave Miley a strange look.

"Sorry," Miley apologised, "I was just trying to figure out why you had an enviro science book at a world class surfing event."

"Don't be sorry. The fact you know what that bible is for, means you can't be one of the groupie airheads that I would silently mock for the next few days."

"It's my lecturer's favourite book. The number of times he references it is insane."

"You're studying environmental science?"

"Start 3rd year this year. I study back in Melbourne though, that's where I live."

"This is weird. So am I. Well, not the Melbourne bit, I'm a local girl."

"And why are you at a surf event, studying, months before uni goes back?"

"My mother is a documentary maker. My dad is a sponsor rep. They fell in love. Blah, blah, blah. Here I am."

"Not following…"

"Well, for the last couple of years I've been living on campus, studying, while my parents travel the world with the tour. Dad signs up new talent, and my mother makes film about the locations and the environmental consequences of these events."

"That's awesome!"

"Which bit?"

"The doco bit. Actually no, all of it."

"That's what I think. Best of both worlds for me- surfing and the environment. That's why I'm doing my course by correspondence this year, so I can go with them. This is the first stop!"

"I'm so jealous!"

"I'm Demi," the girl introduced, teasing Miley.

"Miley," she grinned back.

"Want to hear what I've got so far?"

"Do you do the movie making bit, or the research bit?"

"Research. I work in the field, and all the boring behind the scenes bit too. For example, this break is actually part of what people know as 'The Superbank'. It's a man made surf break, which goes from here at Snapper Rocks, through Rainbow Beach, Greenmount Headland, Coolangatta and Kirra, so about 2 kilometres. It's been reported that a single wave caused by the sandbar has actually been ridden the whole way, but we can't verify that yet. Studies done in 2007 detail that the large build up of sand actually extended the beaches by a few hundred metres. It's because of the Tweed River sand bypass system, which has pumped sand from the river mouth to the beaches in the north to make the river safe for ships, and make the coastal erosion more stable north of the river. Sounds amazing, doesn't it?"

"Wow, yeah."

"Well, since the '90s, the first couple of sections of the break have improved in quality, but Kirra has suffered. It was regarded as one of the best waves in the world before the formation of the Superbank, but now there are calls to change the sand bypass system so Kirra can be restored, but no one really has any plans of how they can do that."

"And now, because of the hype of the Superbank, has the level of tourism has increased in the region?"

"For sure, at any time there can be up to 800 people in the line up of the wave along the whole distance."

"And an increase in tourism can have a domino effect on the local environment. Like tourists using the same trail over and over again trample the vegetation and soil, eventually causing damage that can lead to loss of biodiversity and other impacts. And, if they are not locals and don't know the area, they could stray off established trails and just go trampling in the sand dunes and the damage can be way more extensive."

"Yes!" Demi squealed in excitement, "I have to introduce you to Connie."

"Connie?"

"Oh, I call my mother by her real name most of the time, now that I'm working with her, it seems a bit more professional," she laughed, "and she hates it. Bonus!"

Miley beamed at Demi. Demi's jaw then dropped, staring past Miley. Miley looked at her, confused.

"Please don't turn around and make it obvious, but THE hottest guy is looking at us. In about 10 seconds, turn around and take a perve at the gorgeous hottie with his hat on backwards. He's got dark hair, ripped arms, and the cutest smile. Oh no, he's coming over here, I think. What do I do?"

Miley erupted into laughter, when she turned to see Nick and Joe walking towards where they were sitting. Joe had a silly grin on his face, wearing his favourite hat backwards, just like Demi described.

"Dare me to run up and kiss the friend? You know, wingwoman style? I'll take one for the team, land you a conversation with your lover boy?"

Demi scoffed. Miley jumped to her feet, calmly walked over to Nick, and embraced him.

"Hi," was all the warning she gave Nick, before planting one on him. She turned to look at Demi, who was staring in shock.

"You're going to explain that one later," Nick said, smiling while looking confused but suspicious.

"I've got someone to introduce you guys to," she told them.

"Please tell me you're going to hook a brother up with the babe you were sitting with!" Joe practically begged.

"Will you be my slave for eternity if I say yes?"

"I'll never tell anyone I saw you guys getting naked the other week."

"We weren't naked!"

"I like to exaggerate, for my own amusement."

"You say that like I hadn't already figured it out," she laughed, watching Joe walk a little quicker in Demi's direction.

"So, we're up to public displays are we?" Nick asked Miley.

"So, she may or may not have been under the impression you were really hot strangers, and I may or may not have led her to believe I was some wild and daring girl who would just walk up to a guy she liked the look of and kiss him."

"So you want her to think you make a habit of making out with good looking randoms?"

"Got her and Joe talking, didn't it?" Miley replied, looking over to Joe and Demi chatting on the sand, then teased him by saying "and what if I do make it a habit?"

"A lot of good looking randoms would have me to deal with."

"That sounded almost posessive, Nick," Miley observed.

"I know. I was kind of joking, but now I think I mean it," he said, frowning a little.

"I'm not really going to go kiss every guy on the beach," Miley laughed, not picking up on the fact Nick had become serious.

"No really, I was thinking, it's been a few weeks... it's going really well, maybe, if you wanted to I mean, make this, us,..." he trailed off, as Demi and Joe approached them.