An old character reappears in this chapter. Keep an eye out ;)

Demi's scream when she saw Miley echoed around the entire arena. She raced down the stage steps and thundered over to Miley, practically jumping on top of her as Miley laughed.

"I can't believe you're back!" Demi pulled back and looked at her arm. "How are you doing? We heard about the accident."

"There's nothing that won't heal with time," Miley replied. She hugged Selena tightly and grinned. "How have you guys been? I'm sorry I didn't call much. I guess I was trying to distract myself from what was happening back here."

"We get it," Selena said with a smile. "We were here with Nick and you didn't want to think about him. Totally understandable."

Nick slipped an arm around Miley's waist and grinned at the girls. "I'm afraid Miley can't dance on the tour with her arm, but at least she's back, right?" He kissed her temple and leaned close to her ear. "If you want to hang out here for a little while, I can take your stuff to my bus," he suggested.

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"If I did, I never would have offered, would I?"

The girls waited until Nick had walked away with Miley's bags before Demi and Selena dragged Miley over to the seats in the empty arena. They all sat down, Demi and Selena on either side of Miley.

"So, how was the make-up sex?"

"We aren't having sex," Miley mumbled, blushing.

"Jeez, Miley, how long are you going to make the guy wait?" teased Selena. "Seriously, he's crazy about you."

"Has it occurred to either of you that not having sex is what keeps our relationship exciting?" Miley grinned and leaned back in her seat. "Putting off having sex was one of the best choices we've made. Sex just complicates things, and complications are the last thing that Nick and I need."

"It's pretty stinkin' good, though," Demi muttered.

Miley nudged her and giggled. "Enough about me! We've already established that I'm not having sex with Nick right now. How about you two? Has anything happened since I left town?"

"Demi's got a new guy," blurted Selena.

"Selena!"

"What? Did you plan to hide it from Miley or something?"

Demi's cheeks turned pink. "It's nothing. He and I are just talking."

"It was pretty much sexting." Selena turned to Miley and smirked. "I swear, she and Joe were being so flirty that what they were insinuating may as well have been a porno."

"Do you ever keep your mouth shut?" Demi asked, glaring at Selena.

"Joe?" exclaimed Miley. "But he was in Los Angeles with Nick!"

"But she was texting him, like, the entire time, and when he came back here this afternoon, they disappeared together for a couple of hours," Selena explained.

Miley turned to face Demi. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"I want to hear more about this!"

Demi's cheeks changed from pink to red. "We are not having this conversation right now."

"Too late. Spill it."

"Okay, I guess I'm kind of into him. All the dancers went out one night last week and he came with us. We danced together a little bit and he bought me a drink. Then when he left, they were waiting to hear more about you in the hospital, so he was texting me and we just sort of kept talking. When he got back, he had to go talk to that publicist bitch, but he said he'd rather spend time with me, so we went back to the bus and …" Demi trailed off.

"You had sex?" Miley and Selena screamed.

"Oh my gosh, shut up!" hissed Demi.

"You had sex with Joe, Demi. That's a pretty big deal!" Miley murmured.

"I didn't mean for it to happen! He was talking to me about how Nick couldn't get on the plane without you, and he started saying that he hoped that he could find someone that made him feel the way that you make Nick feel. Then we started kissing and one thing led to another and, before I knew it, we were in his bunk." Demi covered his face with her hands. "Please don't judge me!"

"I've used that whole 'one thing led to another' excuse, Demi. It's a pretty stupid excuse. Where do you think my son came from?" Selena put an arm around Demi and hugged her. "I think you need to talk to Joe."

Demi furrowed her brow, puzzled. "Why?"

"Just do it," Selena replied.

Miley watched Demi walk away before turning to face Selena. "Why do you think she needs to talk to Joe?"

"Don't you remember where Joe went all those weekends he went back to California? He was visiting his girlfriend, Miley." Selena sighed and closed her eyes. "I didn't think that it was my place to tell her."

Miley opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a loud whistle. They both looked up and saw Nick standing on the stage.

"Hey Selena, do you mind if I steal her away for a little bit?"

Selena smiled. "You'd be doing me a favour," she joked. "I have to go call my mom. Bye, Miles."

Nick jumped off the stage and came down to join Miley. "Hello, beautiful."

Miley stood up and smiled. "Hey, handsome. What's going on?"

"Well," Nick said, "I was sitting on my tour bus and then I saw your bags in the corner, and I just thought to myself, why am I sitting alone on my tour bus when I have a crazy-hot girlfriend out there? So I got off the bus and decided to come and see you." He wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you."

Miley giggled. "We were apart for about twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes is a long time, babe." He glanced at his watch. "We need to handle something."

"What?"

"Karen."

She paled slightly. "I'm really not up to facing her today, Nick."

"Mi, if you don't face her now, you never will. We need to let her know that she can't just chase you away like that and expect me not to retaliate. She was supposed to be looking out for me, and instead she made the only person I care about on this tour run out on me," he replied.

"I thought Joe was going to deal with her."

"Joe was … busy."

"He told you about Demi?"

Nick looked down at her. "I'm guessing Demi told you all about what happened this afternoon, huh?" He sighed. "He's really screwed this up, Miles. He cares about Demi, but then there's Ashley."

"Ashley as in choreographer Ashley?"

He nodded his head. "They started dating a couple of months before the tour started. He really liked her, but then he met Demi on the road and he kind of forgot how he used to feel about Ash," he explained.

"Selena reminded me that he had a girlfriend, but I never knew it was our boss."

Nick took Miley's hand and led her back onto the stage and down the back steps. "He's dreading seeing Demi. He doesn't want to have to explain the whole Ashley thing to her."

They walked into the dancers' dressing room and found Joe and Demi sitting on a couch in silence.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are we interrupting something?"

Demi jumped up. "No! In fact, why don't you two come on in, make yourselves comfortable." She glanced at Joe and bit her lip. "I was just leaving. I'll see you guys at the show tonight." She then rushed out of the room, slamming the door.

"What did you do?" growled Nick.

"I didn't tell her about Ashley, if that's what you're thinking," Joe mumbled.

"Well then what the hell did you do?" Nick snapped back.

Joe covered his mouth with his hand and closed his eyes. "I may have invited Ashley to come and see how the tour is going." He threw his head back. "I called her to tell her that I think we should take a break for a while, then she started saying she missed me and it just came out! Then Demi got all upset because she thinks I don't care about her and that I don't think this afternoon meant anything."

"And you didn't correct her?"

"She didn't want to listen."

"Why didn't you make her stay?"

"She wanted to go."

Miley sat down beside Joe and sighed. "You did a lot for Nick and I by going with him to Los Angeles, so I think that we owe you." She looked up at Nick and smiled. "I think that you should take my old bunk on the dancers' bus to spend some time with Demi."

"How do you suggest I do that if Ashley is coming on the tour in, like, three days?" exclaimed Joe.

"Tell her there's no room on the buses," Miley replied with a shrug. "She'll have to stay in a hotel, and you can stay with Demi on the dancers' bus."

Nick leaned against the wall, his arms folded. "Anyway, Miley's staying with me on our bus and I doubt you want to be around us." He eyed Miley and grinned. "It's been a long time."

"Okay, gross!" Joe muttered. "You two seriously make me want to throw up."

Miley stood up and took Nick's hand. "Think about it."

"We're heading to the bus," Nick said, giving Joe a look. "If you're thinking of coming back there, please don't." He winked and walked out of the room with Miley.

"Literally throwing up right now, man!" yelled Joe after them.

The only reply he got was their laughter echoing in the hallway.

Nick flopped onto the couch and closed his eyes. "I should call Karen."

Miley sat down beside him and rested her hand on his chest. "You can call her later. I want to spend a little bit of time with you. Alone." She bit her lip and looked up at him, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Nick groaned. "Mi, don't even start. You know that once I start, I won't be able to stop."

"Who says you have to stop?"

"I thought we had a no-sex policy."

"What if I lifted the no-sex policy?"

Nick froze. "You want to have sex with me? Miley, we really don't have to do that. I thought you said -"

"I know what I said," she interrupted.

"It's a big step, Mi," he whispered.

"I know that," she replied. She laced their fingers and smiled her soft, sweet smile. "And I want to take that step with you. I wasn't sure that you were all that committed before, but you just flew across the country to be with me. I know that you really do want to be with me for more than the sex."

Nick opened his mouth to reply, but he was halted by the sound of a loud rapping on the bus door.

"Nick, let me in!"

"It's open," Nick called lazily.

The bus door burst open and Karen Lakewood hurtled onto the bus. Her peroxide blonde hair was tied up in a tight bun on top of her head. Her suit and blouse were pressed and dirt-free. She kicked off her black stilettos and pulled herself up onto the counter, just as she had when she had warned Miley about Nick's career.

"I heard from Tom that you were back. What the hell happened to you? Do you know what kind of strings, the favours I had to call, I had to pull to make sure that those dates were rescheduled?" Karen's eyes drifted to Miley. "Oh, Millie. You're back."

"It's Miley," Nick corrected her. He rose to his feet and opened the bus door again. "And didn't anyone tell you? You're fired."

Karen's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I know all about what you said to Miley. Really, Karen, did you honestly think that getting rid of Miley would help my career?" he snapped.

"She was bringing you down, Nick! Do you have any idea how many fans were angry that you were in a relationship?"

"I don't give a crap!" roared Nick.

"Nick, calm down," Miley said softly from the couch.

Nick turned to face Miley. "Mi, you know better than anyone what she did. I don't want someone like that working for me." He looked at Karen with a disgusted glare. "I want you to pack your bags and fly back to Los Angeles again. You can find a new client, because I'm done with this."

"You're going to regret this," snarled Karen, jumping down and slipping her stilettos back on.

"You know what? I really don't think I will," Nick said, now calmed down.

Miley stood up and slipped her hand into Nick's. "You know, maybe we should hear her out."

"I've heard all I need to hear," Nick said quietly. "Karen, you know where the door is. Don't let it hit you on the way out."

Karen stepped off the bus. "Just you wait, Nick. She'll bring you down and then you'll see. You'll see just how right I was to get rid of her." She looked up at him once more. "Come on, Nick. I've been your publicist since you were seventeen. You can't do this!"

"Goodbye, Karen." Nick then slammed the bus door after her and turned the lock. He turned to face Miley and smiled. "There's that sorted."

Miley never got a chance to reply. They heard a loud scream. Moments later, a brick came hurtling through the window. Nick brought Miley to the ground and covered her with his own body.

He looked around at the shattered glass all over the bus and stood up. He looked out the broken window and saw Karen standing on the concrete, her eyes filled with rage.

"This isn't over, Nick," she screamed. "I can ruin your career!"

Nick glanced at his watch and smiled down at her. "If you did what you did to Miley to anyone else, you've been ruining my career since I first got signed. Now leave before I have to call security."

He watched as Karen marched out of the bus bay and out of sight.

"Are you okay?" he asked Miley, helping her to her feet.

"I'm fine," she replied. "Are you?"

Nick nodded and leaned against the counter. "I'll call someone to clean this mess up, okay?" He sighed and reached for his phone.

Miley touched his arm and smiled. "We can call someone later," she said softly. She then bit her lip and leaned closer to him. "We came on here for a reason, right?" She leaned her whole body against him and rested her hand on his chest.

Nick let out a low groan and rested his hands on her hips. "You really know how to distract me," he murmured. He then shook his head and looked down at her. "This is a special moment for us, Mi. I don't want it to be just some quick thing on my tour bus."

She laughed. "Well, what else are we supposed to do?"

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "We're here for a couple of days. I can book us a room at a hotel in the city and we can stay there for the night. Unless you really want it to happen on a bus."

Miley looked at him and grinned. "You're so sweet, do you know that?"

He smiled back. "Only if you stick on my good side."

"Oh honey, as if you have a bad side anymore."

They stood in the same position for a while, their arms wrapped around each other, looking into each other's eyes. There was no rush, no yelling. It was just them, and that was how it was supposed to be.

"Where the hell is my boyfriend?"

Miley stood up from the couch in Nick's dressing room and looked over at him in the chair where Leah was fixing his hair. "Did you hear that?" she asked. "It sounded like –"

"Ashley," finished Nick. "I'll be back in a second, Leah." He stood up and took Miley's hand. "Come on." He led her out into the hall and looked around. "Ash?"

Ashley spun around on her heel, her eyes narrowed. "Where the hell is Joe?"

Miley stepped closer to Ashley. "We haven't seen him since this afternoon. What are you doing here? Joe said you weren't coming for a couple of days."

"Well, he sent me a text, telling me that he didn't want me to come anymore and that he thought we should take a break." She clenched her fists. "Where the hell is he?" she repeated.

Nick looked around nervously. "We mean it, Ash, we haven't seen him since this afternoon."

Ashley's gaze drifted to Miley and Nick's hands, their fingers intertwined. "When did this happen?" she asked quietly.

Nick chuckled. "What, don't you read the magazines?" he joked.

They heard footsteps. The three of them all turned their heads to see Joe approaching from the stage, his head down. He looked up and his eyes widened in shock. He dropped the clipboard he was holding and stood rigid on the spot.

"Ash, what are you doing here?"

"What, you expected me to stay in Los Angeles after what you said to me?" she spat. She stormed over to him. "What the hell is going on with you? You've been acting weird for forever! You didn't even come and visit me in L.A."

"Miley was in the hospital," Joe said quietly.

"And I haven't seen you in weeks!"

Joe raised his eyebrows. "Your friend was in hospital after a car accident, and all you care about is the fact that you haven't seen me in months? Wow, Ash. Real selflessness there," he said sarcastically.

"Well, clearly Miley is okay. Us on the other hand …" Ashley trailed off and looked at Nick and Miley. "Hey, can we use your dressing room?"

"Actually –" Nick didn't get the chance to finish saying no. Ashley had already thundered into his dressing room, yelled at Leah to get out and slammed the door shut in their faces.

Leah turned to face Nick. "Who the hell is she?"

"That is my choreographer," Nick said with a sigh. "Let's head to the dancers' dressing room. There's probably room for us down there."

As they walked down the hallway, they heard screaming and yelling. The three of them assumed that Joe was definitely not having a good night.

This chapter had a pretty crappy ending, but I didn't know where else to go with it, so I ended this one there. Thank you to jonasluver4ever21, Jancy, NileyandFinchelLover, Fatimaaaa, MissQueenyB, Esther15, lee lee, rainbowsandsunshine123, IWantNiley3.0 and Simar for your reviews. I'll admit that, if it weren't for the reviews I get, I probably would have given up on this story a long time ago, but the reviews I get let me know that the story probably isn't as bad as I think it is, so thank you.

I know that this chapter is all over the place, but I'm basically trying to tie up loose ends before I finish the story (hopefully before summer starts).

I've almost the first chapter of my new story. It hasn't got a title yet, but hopefully I'll have the first chapter completed and posted at the start of the week.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for your support as I keep on working on this story, and please, let me know what you think