Okay, things to keep in mind... a) obviously i started writing this before Hannah Montana Forever so Jake never cheated on Miley, b) Mikayla is not equal to Selena, and c) Jesse is hot. Also, I completely stole We'll Be A Dream to be Jesse's (still nameless- ideas please) band's song with Miley.
Miley's POV
I sigh as the minutes of the digital clock on the wall go from 59 back to 00. An hour of waiting for Nick to be finished for the day has gone by. An hour since he told me fifteen minutes, an hour since he gave me any kind of update and over an hour since I finished recording with Jesse and his band.
I hear a ruckus in the hall and look up from the lobby where I'm waiting. Nick told me I could wait in his office, but that would make me feel like I was locked up so no thanks.
"You're still here?" Kevin says with a confused look on his face as the rest of the band follows out of the recording studio they were in.
"Yeah, Nick's still working," I say with a small smile. I'm not mad. Seriously, I'm not. He said he would leave before one AM, not that he wouldn't finish up late. He just gets really intense in the studio. It's fine. I can wait.
"Well, you know how Nick gets," Kevin says shaking his head in a playful way at his brother's workaholic tendencies.
"Don't I ever," I joke back before Kevin excuses himself to go to his office. The rest of the band leaves, muttering goodbyes and goodnights until it's just Jesse and I left in the small lobby.
"Do you want a ride home?" he offers, swinging his keys around his finger. He has a black leather jacket on over the white t-shirt and jeans he was wearing in the studio and his Ray Ban sunglasses are hanging out of the pocket. He's always had such a bad boy image, which is funny considering how sweet I know he actually is.
"No, I couldn't-"
"You can," he says with a smile, "since when have you cared about inconveniencing someone? I still remember you calling me at 5am insisting that you had a song that you needed to get out and that you needed me to come to the studio with you."
"Hey!" I argue, "That was only because I thought you'd understand!"
"I did," he says easily, "So how about that ride?"
"I'm sure Nick will be done soon, it's really not necessary."
"With Mikayla, I'm sure he won't be done soon, let's face it, with his perfectionist attitude and her not-so-perfect voice they could be there all night."
I sigh because I know he's right. Nick's going to want to work until it's perfect and that might take a while. And what am I going to do here? Sit around and twiddle my thumbs? There's no point especially where there's a whole bunch of wedding stuff at home that needs to be sifted through. There are at least two catalogs with silverware and some napkin cloth samples and pictures of floral arrangements and I need to confirm my spa appointments for the day before the wedding. Plus I have to schedule an appointment for Lilly and Demi (my maid of honor and bridesmaid) to look at dresses. Danielle declined being a bridesmaid because she didn't want to be "immortalized as a fat pregnant woman" in the wedding pictures. I mean, I know the dress is my decision, but I would still really like their input. God knows Nick won't be any help with that kind of think. And the quicker they get fitted for the dresses the sooner we can get that out of the way and not have to worry about it. Also, I have my first dress fitting coming up and I'm supposed to let the designer know what kinds of dresses I'm looking for so she can have her people pull up some sample dresses. It's going to be custom made, but I want to try a few on before I commit to a design.
"Okay," I agree and shoot Nick a quick text to let him know that way I don't disturb him. We walk out of the studio to Jesse's car and he opens the door for me. I give him some simple instructions to get to the apartment and then relax into the worn leather seat of his car.
"Thank you so much, I really appreciate this," I tell him as we pull out of the studio parking lot.
"It's really not a problem," he insists, but I know for a fact that his place is practically in the other direction entirely. I would have argued more, but he's stubborn and he probably would have insisted on sitting with me until Nick was done or something like that.
"I just have so much work to do with the wedding and everything," I explain, "I don't think I realized how much detail goes into everything from the flowers to the silverware to the favors to the wedding dress. Maybe if I had I wouldn't have wanted it so soon," I joke with a laugh.
Jesse keeps staring ahead, "You're not doubting it, are you?"
"What?" I say surprised that he would come to that conclusion, "No, I just didn't realize how much work it was."
He shrugs, "I just think that if it's what you really want that it shouldn't feel like work… but what do I know."
"I like it," I tell him, "It's just not what I expected… I didn't realize how everything is a decision."
"I'm sure it will all turn out fine."
Silence fills the car. I'm not doubting Nick, am I? I mean, I know that he's been coming home late a lot recently and he's been really focused on work, but I'm not mad.
I can't be mad. It's not his fault. It's not like he wants to spend lots of quality time with Mikayla. I'm sure he'd rather be putting out his own music and going on a tour, but he's not for me and our wedding. It's not fair if I get mad at him for it. Sure, it's a little frustrating sometimes, but what can I do about it? Nothing. So there's no point in bringing it up or being upset.
"I didn't mean to upset you," Jesse says suddenly. I didn't even realize how deep in thought I was until his words startle me.
"I'm not upset," I say with a laugh that sounds weird even to my own ears, "I was just thinking."
"About Nick and Mikayla?"
"About Nick and his job," I say a little more forcefully than I meant to.
"Once again, I didn't mean to upset you."
"Sorry, I just… Nick's been working a lot and it's just hard having him here, but not having him actually be around."
"It's cool. For what it's worth, I can tell the kid really loves you and I can see he makes you happy."
"Thanks that really means a lot," I tell him as we turn onto my street, "Okay, it's that building up there with the street light right in front of it."
He pulls in and parks so I open the door and get out. Much to my surprise, Jesse gets out too.
"What are you doing?" I ask him confused.
"Making sure you get in okay," he explains with a smile as he falls into step next to me.
"Well the elevator goes right to the penthouse, so you don't have to walk me all the way up."
"The penthouse, huh?"
"Yeah… it was Nick's and I was living with Lilly so it just made more sense for me to move in with him…"
"Nice, well I guess this is goodbye then," he says.
"I guess, thank you so much for the ride," I say giving him a friendly hug. He squeezes me back and gives me a light kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you for doing this duet with us," he adds, "I know you didn't get to record vocals today, but I swear it's going to be sick especially with your voice."
"Well, thanks," I say blushing, I've never been able to take compliments well, "But you guys were the ones who wrote such an awesome song."
He waves it off like it's nothing and then the elevator arrives so I step on giving him a quick wave goodbye as the doors close.
When I get up to penthouse the first thing I want to do is put on comfy clothes, then I'm going to start going through the pictures of the silverware and place settings. Of course, I wouldn't pick one without Nick, but I can rule out some and pick some that I like so it will be easier when we both have time to sit down together and do it.
By the time Nick gets home I've already gone through the whole catalog three times and called Demi and Lilly to catch up (which, since we're girls, takes forever) and make plans for dresses. Then I browse the Internet for ideas on dresses. In other words, it's late. A little past 10 already, full four hours since he told me fifteen minutes.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he says as soon as he comes in the room. I close my laptop and set it down on the magazines next to me.
"Did you eat? I brought home your favorite," he with a hopeful look on his face as he holds up the takeout bag from the sushi place down the street.
"Thanks," I say and give him a small smile. It's just like him to do something nice for me when he thinks he's messed up. I walk into the kitchen and pull out placemats and set them on the dinning room table.
"It's just that for once Mikayla was killing it, she was nailing every note, don't ask me how, and I didn't want to stop. I just wanted to get more done. You know, I don't think she's that bad of a singer, she just hasn't been properly trained."
"Interesting," I mutter sarcastically to myself. But then I wonder why I'm being sarcastic and why I feel a teensy teensy bit jealous. That's just stupid. Just because he's not complaining about her for once doesn't mean he likes her or anything.
I sit down and Nick starts taking the cartons out of the bag, giving me my sushi and putting his in front of him and taking out the chopsticks.
"How did your recording session go?" Nick asks as we open up the food.
"It was good," I say with a smile, "But I don't think they really needed me today. We mostly just went over the sheet music and the band did some music recording. Mostly I just hung out."
"Are you going back tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I think so. But not until later in the day."
"Oh, okay," he says and starts eating.
"I went through some of the catalogs today," I say with a giggle, "I never knew there were so many variations of silverware and place settings."
"Wait, you looked at them without me?"
"Yeah I just looked though, I didn't pick anything out."
"Oh, were there any that you liked?"
"Honestly? They all kind of looked the same to me."
Nick lets out a laugh and it make me smile. He has such an adorable laugh.
"That's my girl," he says affectionately, "I knew you wouldn't turn into Bridezilla on me over all the details."
"Well, you know, there's still time for that," I tease him, "And I'm sure I'll be a wreck the day of."
"Ah, but I won't have to deal with you the day of until I see your beautiful self walking down that aisle."
I stick my tongue out at him and continue eating. I didn't realize it until Nick brought it home, but I was really craving sushi. Maybe we have some kind of mental connection and he knew that even before me.
"I really can't wait," he confesses, reaching out for my hand, which I give him, "I think about it all the time. Seeing you walk down the aisle in a white dress with your father, watching my mom cry from happiness, even dealing with Joe's constant teasing."
See what I mean? How could I possibly be mad at this guy? He's just as excited and ready as I am to be married. The guy is supposed to be the one who's all doubtful and not quite ready to settle, but we're both so ready for it. I swear we could elope tomorrow and be happy. Not that we will, I'm just saying."
"I think about it too," I say with a smile, "All the time."
He leans over the table and kisses me lightly on the lips.
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you more," he says with a playful smirk.
"Nope, not playing that game," I refuse, shaking my head.
"So you're saying that it's true, I do love you more?"
"No, Nick, I'm just-" I start but then I see that look on his face. I don't understand why he wants to argue about this, but clearly he thinks I'm going to give in. "Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying."
He pouts and sits back in his seat while I laugh at him. After a few more minutes we're done eating and we clean everything up.
"So what do you want to do now?" Nick whispers, coming up behind me as I finish washing my hands at the sink in the kitchen. His lips kiss the soft spot right behind my ear as his hands slide around to my hips.
"I don't know… I'm kind of tired," I tease him, backing away and heading for the bedroom.
"Oh, yeah, that's cool," Nick says seriously although he sounds disappointed. It takes everything in me not to laugh as I turn the corner.
"Hey, Nick?" I say once I'm out of sight.
"Yeah?" I pull my shirt off and poke my head back into the kitchen.
"I was just kidding," I say and fling my shirt in his face. It hits him perfectly and even gets stuck there for a moment so he has to pull it off his head.
It takes him a moment to realize what's in his hands, but once he does he's after me in a second and I'm running away from him. When I get to the bedroom, I turn around and close the door, pushing my back against it so he can't open it.
"Let me in," he says as he gets the door and starts shaking the handle.
"No," I cry childishly. Sometimes it's just so fun to tease him, I can't help it.
"Mi, we both know that your body against the door isn't going to be able to stop me, so I suggest you move away and let me come in."
I listen to him by moving away, but I don't say anything. I wait a few moments, but Nick doesn't seem to realize that I'm not holding the door anymore.
"Miley," he says in a warning tone and I giggle. He pushes the door open.
"You're a pain in the ass," he says rolling his eyes.
"But you love me…" I say in a singsong voice.
"That I do," he says, staring at me in my bra and cheer shorts that I changed into when I got home. Then without a warning, he comes at me and practically tackles me to the bed. But instead of kissing me or doing something that a normal guy would do, his fingers go to my sides, digging in and tickling me.
"Stop," I say trying to squirm away, but his knees press firmly on my sides holding me in place as his fingers run up and down them, "Don't you think… this is a bit… childish," I say in between bursts of laughter.
"Because locking me out wasn't childish?" he asks with a grin.
"I did not… lock you out," I gasp out, trying to push his hands away from me. He stops suddenly and grabs my wrists. My chest rises and falls heavily as I try to catch my breath. He places my hands on his waist under his shirt and then brings his own up to the collar and slowly pushes the first button through the loop. I watch him take of his own shirt, revealing his toned chest and stomach. I stare in awe at how hot he is. Then he grabs my hands again, putting them on his shoulders before leaning down so that we're nose to nose.
"Say that you love me," he says softly.
"I love you," I respond as my heart starts to beat even more rapidly.
"I love you more."
"Nick!" I say and slap his chest playfully while he just laughs and laughs. Soon I can't help but laugh too and even though he's an annoying pain in the ass, I can't imagine being any happier with anyone else.
Later the next day I pull my own car into the studio to work with Jesse and the rest of the band. Getting to sleep in was pretty awesome especially after last night with Nick.
When I get to the door of the studio that their band uses I knock twice and then step back. It opens up and I see Jesse standing there. When he lets me in I realize that we're the only ones in the room.
"Hey, where's everyone else?" I ask confused.
"Oh, it's actually our day off, but I figured we could use the rehearsal time, like just run through the song and stuff."
"Jesse, if it's your day off I don't want to-"
"It's fine," he interrupts me, "I want to do this. I can't wait to hear this song. It's going to be awesome."
He leads me into the sound booth that has a keyboard and an acoustic guitar in it. I take out the sheet music that I had in my bag, "I really like this song, Jesse. I think it's really sweet."
"Yeah?" he says his face brightening up, "There isn't anything you want to change or anything right? Because if there is we can try to incorporate it in… I mean I had to rewrite it as a duet so it might not be perfect…"
I laugh at how worked up he is, "No it's good, I like it. If I run into any problems with it, I'll let you know."
"Okay, so do you want to go over your verse?" he asks, "Or do you need a warm up?"
"A warm up would be good," I say with a smile, "I haven't sung professionally in a while now."
"I'm sure you'll be fine," he says as he starts to play some scales for me. After the brief warm up he stops playing, "Wow, do you have a pair of lungs on you."
"Thanks," I say blushing slightly. I never know how to take compliments like that. I mean it's kind of something that comes naturally for me, it's not like I have to work that hard to make such a big sound.
"Okay so these are the notes of your verse by yourself," he explains, playing the first line on the keys, "So this is the starting note," he plays it and I sing it and hold it, "Good."
He plays it again and this time I sing the words, "Do you remember the nights we made our way dreaming?"
"Perfect," he says and then we finish the rest of the verse.
"Okay, so now this is the part where we both sing so here's your notes," he plays the whole chorus with my notes, "And then I'll be here," he plays his and then mine again and we continue to practice.
"He could be the one, he could be the one, he could be the one," I sing after a few more hours of practice as Jesse plays the piano. I can't stop laughing though it comes out sounding pretty ridiculous. He stops playing and laughs along with me. I honestly can't remember how we got around to singing old Hannah songs, but we have. And it's pretty hilarious to be honest.
"I can't believe that's the first song we ever wrote together," he says shaking his head.
"Yeah, I think we've both come a long way since then," I joke.
"Definitely," he agrees, "Have you talked to Jake since… everything?"
"Not since we broke up," I admit, "I mean we were never 'just friends' so it's not like we could be. He went off to do his Hollywood thing and I went to school."
"Do you still think about him?"
I shake my head, "Not really. It's been years since then and I have Nick now. And, no offense, it's not like he's really relevant anymore."
"But you used to think he was The One."
I'm kind of irritated as his prying, but at the same time I know that he never got to hear the end of the story and he's probably just curious. I haven't talked to him since Hannah ended which was before Jake and I ended. When we were friends I always used to talk to him about Jake problems and we'd work them out through songs.
"I was so young then though," I reason, "I didn't know what that meant then."
"Have you dated a lot of guys since then?"
"Not seriously," I shrug, "I was in school and then I was working at E! which is when I met Nick…"
"So how do you know Nick is The One?" he interrupts me.
Okay. That was just unnecessary. I stand up from the piano bench.
"Do you have a problem with Nick?" I ask angrily, "Because if you do, say it now, don't just bad mouth him."
I should've known something was up when he asked me if I was doubting marrying Nick. I mean, what kind of person just asks something like that?
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," he says jumping up so he's standing in front of me, "I really didn't mean to offend you."
I cross my arms across my chest and wait for him to continue to explain himself.
"I mean, Miley, you haven't been with that many guys so how do you know there isn't someone better out there?"
"Nick is perfect. Nick loves me and he makes me happy and when we're together it's like everything is going to be okay. Who could possibly be better?"
"What about me?" he asks boldly, moving forward and putting a hand on my waist and pulling me closer to him.
"What?" I practically scream because I'm so appalled. That's what this whole thing was about? He likes me.
"Come on, Miley, you know there was chemistry between us. We never got our chance. But now we're both here in the same place again…"
"Jesse… I don't think so," I try to say as nicely as possible even though I don't think he really deserves it. What kind of person tries to get a girl to leave her fiancé?
"Haven't you ever wondered about it?" he asks desperately, "About what would have happened if you had let me kiss you? What it would have felt like?"
"I-" I hesitate. I mean of course I thought about it before but not recently. With Nick making me feel the way he does it's kind of hard to think about anyone else. So do I say yes, because I have, or say no, because I don't anymore?
As I'm thinking about it I fail to notice that he's pulled me even close so that we're almost touching and that I've uncrossed my arms. They're not touching him or anything, but they're not necessarily resisting him either.
"Jesse," I try again, 'that part of my life is over… I don't think about it anymore."
"But have you?" he asks again.
"Y-yes," I stutter out as his breath hits my face. His skin is so flawless even from this close and his soft brown eyes are burning into my own. It feels weird to be this close to someone who's not Nick. Not necessarily bad, just… weird.
"So have I," he admits, "So why don't we see if it lives up to our thoughts?"
:O been a while since i've done a cliffhanger. don't kill me. i love you, i swear. haha