Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot!
Chapter 29
"Can you believe this?" A really annoyed and frustrated Miley ranted. "She doesn't want me to hang out with Liam and older friends because she thinks I'm trying to grow up faster than my own age! Does that even make any sense?" She was referring to her mother's new concerns that spending time with older people was making Miley turn into an adult faster than she needed to. Her fame and the difficulty of her work had already caused her to mature a lot faster than most teens of her age and Tish thought it was better for Miley to behave like the 16 – going on 17 – year old she was!
"Nick, why are you so silent?" The angered teen asked.
"Miles..."
"You agree with her don't you? I can't believe this! My own boyfriend is taking sides with my mother!" She cried out, hurt evident in her voice.
"Miles, you know it's not like that!!"
"Oh really... then how is it, Nick? Please enlighten me!" Her sarcasm made Nick wince.
"Please don't take this the wrong way... I just don't understand why you aren't content with being a role model to all those young girls...! Those girls look up to you and have been your fans ever since you started the Hannah show!"
"I'm almost 17, Nick! I'm not 13 anymore!!" She sighed, evidently annoyed.
"So what? They are the one who followed you and helped bring you to where you are today, Miles... You were satisfied with pleasing them and them only for so long... what's changed?" He asked cautiously.
"I'm not the little girl you dated 3 years ago, Nick!"
"I'm aware of that, Miles... Look I just think that your mother has got a point. The new clothes, the new dances and all... it's just so mature... how do you think the younger girls feel when they see you like that? They don't really understand it." He awaited an outburst and was surprised when she responded maturely.
"I'm growing up! I want to reach other people as well!"
"That makes sense... but that can't happen overnight..." He tried to reason with her.
"It didn't!" She replied stubbornly.
"You're suddenly performing in really short shorts and really mature clothes! It was a sudden change... ever since the Teens Choice Awards!" He replied, becoming irritated by her stubbornness to see things her way and her way only.
"You didn't have a problem so far... so what changed?" She asked bitterly.
"I don't have a problem! I'm just trying to help you understand your mother's point of view... not to mention your fans'!" He sighed.
"Forget I even asked you for your opinion..." She replied before cutting the call.
"Honey..."
"Don't start with me, mom!" Miley warned as she tossed the phone on her bed and buried her face in her hands.
"Miles, I heard most of the conversation... Nick's just trying to look out for you... just like all of us are... Please understand that, sweetie..." Her mother spoke calmly, trying hard to make her daughter see some sense in what she had been trying to make her understand.
"No... you guys are just like all the tabloids... you think I'm gonna turn like Britney or worse, Lindsay (Lohan)! Well guess what... It would actually be an honour to achieve as much as Britney did in her career... If she went wrong in her life it's her problem, not ours. But career wise what she achieved is amazing!" Miley spoke up, tears brimming her eyes.
"And I completely agree with you on that... There is no way we believe the tabloids, Miley. You should know that much about us... We're your family and we love you. Aren't you the one who's famous for saying 'my family keeps me grounded'? How many times have you said that, Mile?" Tish reminded her.
"I know that... but trying to control me isn't helping me staying grounded! What's wrong with me wanting to grow up? Why can't I want to be remembered as a good performer?"
"Do you really think that wearing those kinds of clothes is what is going to qualify you as a great performer?" Tish asked disbelievingly. Miley remained quiet as she thought back to the many times she was told that she wasn't living her life, she was having her image rule it for her, instead. Oh how much she wanted to prove those people wrong! Hence why she started wearing more revealing clothes... she was a teenage girl after all, she wanted people to look at her. Little did she know that her charisma was enough to attract people's attention. "You're not that girl Miley... you're not the kind of girl who needs to sell her body to be accepted by people and be looked up too. You're talent is what catches people's attention. Remember that..." Tish spoke wisely before exiting the room, quietly closing the door after her.
.............
"Babe, what's wrong?" Demi asked Miley when she saw her dull look and sad expression.
"Huh?" Miley snapped out of it.
"You're being all quiet and you're not your usual rambling self... it's your Birthday! Will you cheer up?" Demi tried to make her smile.
"I'm sorry, Dem." Miley shot her an apologetic smile and went back to tying her shoes. "Ok I'm ready... is this appropriate?" She asked as she twirled around, showing off her knee length, light blue and white, silk, halter dress.
"You look beautiful... it's perfect." Demi grinned.
"Where are we even going? I said I didn't want anything fancy..." Miley whined, reminding her best friend that she wanted a low key birthday party.
"Don't worry. I know you will love it!"
"You look really nice, Dems." Miley complimented her as she took in the beauty of the black and red dress that stopped just above her knees. "If only Joe could see you like this!" Miley teased. Demi's eyes widened as she realised something but she covered up her expression and answered nervously.
"Um... yea..." She took a deep breath and tried to change the conversation. "Miles, I'm sure Nick didn't mean any harm by what he said to you... don't hold it against him. He's just worried..."
"He just doesn't understand me!" Miley cried out, frustrated. "Why can't he be happy, like any other boyfriend would be to see his girlfriend in short skirts and shorts? Does he want me to wear a turban or something?" She spoke bitterly, still extremely hurt by her boyfriend's words.
The point she missed was that, Nick wasn't just any kind of boyfriend. He was a decent one, one who didn't necessarily want to show off his girlfriend's body.
She rubbed her temples tiredly and pulled out her phone to check her messages. No messages... and no missed calls. He hadn't even tried calling... Just one call to wish her a happy birthday, earlier that morning and it had only resorted into a fight. Or more like Miley reproaching him the fact that he had taken sides with her mother and didn't try to understand how she was feeling.
As much as she didn't want to talk to him she knew what he was trying to do. Giving her space so that she would get fed up with his silence and call him up. Of course, she was upset with him for the way he had spoken to her... and she resented the fact that he didn't call. But she was stubborn and wasn't going to give in that easily.
"You'll sort it out soon, I promise." Demi vowed, as she pulled up her friend from the bed and walked her out to the awaiting limo.
"So much for nothing too fancy..." Miley rolled her eyes playfully, trying hard to cheer up for her friends' sakes. This was her evening, she wasn't going to let her fight with Nick come in the way of her having a good time with her friends.
"I promise it won't be that fancy... just a good old birthday party with the people you love... do you have any objections?" Demi joked.
"No, no, no objections!" Miley grinned. "Thanks Dems. You're the best friend I could ever ask for..." She smiled gratefully.
"It's only the beginning..." Demi winked. She crossed her fingers that this evening would turn out the way she had hoped it would. The last thing she wanted was a scene at Miley's birthday party... she just wanted her to have fun with her best friends, being reunited all together was rare for them seeing as their full schedules kept them busy and out of town quite often.
"I've never been here before." Miley commented as she the large sign on what looked like... a club? "Whoa..." She was speechless. It looked like one of the most expensive clubs she had ever seen and she started to wonder how many people had been invited... It looked like the large building could hold at least a 100 to 200 people.
"Before you start thinking anything... it's a teen club."
"But..."
"And it's been closed for the night in your honour! So don't start worrying about fans and paparazzi, now follow me!" Demi ordered as she stepped out of the limo and guided Miley towards the entrance. No identification needed since the security man at the door knew exactly who they were. He smiled politely and opened the door to reveal what looked like an amazingly well decorated room. Balloons hung from the ceiling and the disco lights in the dim room gave out a great effect. Miley was quick to notice the large cake, or rather the two large cakes in the shape of a 1 and a 7 (for 17) in one of the corners of the room. She had to admit, it looked really good. She also noticed a stage on the other side of the room and wondered if there would be a live band? Everything looked amazing but one thing let her a little confused... where was everybody?? And just like magic, the lights on stage turned on and she could distinctly make out the three worldly known curly heads.
"Wha..." Miley covered her mouth in shock when she saw Nick smiling right at her, standing close to the mic. Their whole band seemed to have come down for the occasion and she couldn't help but grin at the sight of her boyfriend and her close friends singing Happy Birthday to her. She soon noticed the crowd that had formed around her, singing along.
"Happy Birthday to you Miles..." Nick spoke into the microphone when the song was over. His short sentence had everybody awing, the love in his eyes evident to everybody who looked at him then. He was quick to walk off stage and then through the crowd. Miley watched him nearing her, it seemed like every second lasted forever and she finally got her legs moving, running as fast as she could in her heels, to meet him. No words were spoken when the couple embraced each other, holding on tightly.
"I missed you so much!" Nick smiled when he finally pulled away to look into her eyes.
"I missed you too... and I'm sorry..." Her saddened expression had his heart melting and he was quick to comfort her.
"I'm sorry too... I love you..." He smiled sincerely before pulling her into a passionate kiss.
"I love you too..." She murmured against his lips. "But I'm still sorry for reacting like baby. You were right, I should be able to accepts critics from you..."
"Shhh... we can talk about it some other time... For now, please enjoy your birthday, big girl!" He kissed her forehead and let go of her so she could hug his brothers and their band mates.
Nick never left Miley's side as her friends wished her a happy birthday, hugging her. He was content with watching her interact with her friends and his heart thumped faster every time she glanced towards him, her beautiful smile charming him just like the very first time he had seen it over three years ago.
.............
"Congrats party planner! You did a great job!" Joe hugged Demi tightly when he finally found her leaning against the refreshments table.
"Thanks..." She breathed in his scent and reluctantly pulled away from his embrace. "I'm just glad you guys could come. This party wouldn't have been the same without you guys!" She smiled knowingly and Joe nodded his head.
"I thought Nick would burst if he went another day without seeing Miley. Two and half months is a long time..." He chuckled. "I don't know how they do it."
"I guess they love each other enough to know that they'd rather be together like this than not be together at all..." Demi observed.
"You're probably right. I don't think I've ever seen those two happy without each other." He laughed lightly. "Anyways... how are you?" He smiled softly her way.
"I'm good..." She laughed lightly. It wasn't like Joe Gray to ask those questions and it somehow made her laugh.
"You look good, too." He complimented, a slight trace of red covering his cheeks.
"You would tell me that even if I was wearing my pjs, Joe!" She teased, reminding him of how much of ladies men he was.
"Ok then let me correct myself... you look amazing!" He winked.
"It's just a party dress, Joe." She giggled.
"A party dress with you in it. Makes a big difference." He flirted. Demi found her cheeks flushing and was thankful for the dimness of the room that prevented Joe from noticing them.
"Whatever Gray!" She laughed. "Let's dance!" And like that, they were off to the dance floor, combining their most hilarious dance moves to the joy of the guests, laughing hysterically at their antics.
"Oh please tell me that's not my brother..." Nick begged as he watched on.
"Sorry, babe, it does look like Joe making a fool of himself on the dance floor." Miley laughed.
"Wouldn't hurt to show some compassion, you know!" He scowled.
"Hmmm..." She covered her mouth to muffle her giggles as she noticed Joe's partner in crime, Demi. "At least they seem to be having fun... Come on, dance with me!" She pleaded.
"Miles..." He groaned as she pulled him towards the dance floor. However, he soon forgot his misgivings when he found that dancing gave him the opportunity of holding Miley close to him, something he hadn't been able to do for over two months.
"Not so bad is it?" She smiled knowingly.
"Not bad..." He smirked before twirling her around and bringing her back into his arms to kiss her.
"Who knew you had that in you, Mr Gray?" She teased when she pulled away breathless from their kiss.
"You'll find that I'm quite a good dancer by night, Miss Stewart." He replied seriously, earning a giggle from Miley. "You look beautiful, by the way..." He noted.
"We're matching..." She grinned, pointing at his light blue shirt and her light blue dress.
"Truly made for each other... what do you think?" He grinned.
"I think I love that sentence..." She giggled, pressing her lips to his.
"One more year and we're legal! Can you believe it?" He asked her.
"Yeah... time flies." She smiled lovingly at him as she examined his perfectly gelled curls and his joyful expression.
"Picture time!" Demi yelled as she gathered everyone in front of the stage for a group picture. Of course, Nick and Miley were the centre of the attention and hence of the pictures. The small squeezes Nick was giving Miley's hand had her smiling wide and she winked at the camera taking shots of the large group of friends.
She noticed the awkwardness between Taylor and Joe but shrugged it off. She was just happy to be surrounded by her friends and thanked every one of them for celebrating her birthday with her. Most of the Hannah co-stars and friends along with quite a few of the Disney stars had come out to share her birthday with her. She also noticed and greeted the Last Song co-stars and was somewhat relieved to find that Liam hadn't been able to make it. She liked the guy and was great friends with him but the combination Nick/Liam wasn't the best, seeing as Liam had feelings for her and Nick was quite protective.
...............
"Looks like we're the only ones left..." Nick whispered into Miley's ear as he placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them gently. Leaning her head back against his chest, she closed her eyes to imprint the moment, the happiest birthday she had ever had so far in her young life.
"Thank you for coming..." Miley said ever so softly.
"You really thought I could go another day without seeing you?" Nick chuckled lightly. "I was dying to tell you that we would see each other sooner than we expected... but I didn't want to ruin the surprise." He admitted sheepishly, his arms wrapping around her waist.
"Yeah they got quite a laugh out of my expression when I saw you up there!" Miley giggled.
"You looked beautiful..." Nick kissed the back of her neck lightly. "Your parents agreed to let you spent the night at my place... should we go?" Miley turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him.
.................
Miley made her way down the stairs of the Gray LA house, after changing into comfortable sweats and one of Nick's t-shirts. She walked through the large house and out the backdoor to see Nick, looking up at the star filled sky. She quietly sat down on the back porch beside him and smiled at his soft expression.
"Just like old times..." She whispered, reminding him of the countless number of times they had watched the night sky together in their younger days.
"Just like old times..." He whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the top of her head. "Happy Birthday, baby."
"Thanks..." Miley smiled lovingly at the curly haired man holding her against his heart.
"Now... time for your presents!" He told her cheerfully.
"I thought you were my present!" She laughed.
"The surprise was just part of it, babe." He pulled out a large envelope and handed it to her. She raised her eyebrows in confusion but took the item nonetheless, opening it to pull out a voucher for a plane ticket to Texas.
"I want you to be able to come see me when you really need me..." He smiled softly.
"You know I have plenty of money to buy myself a ticket and come to see you when I need to." She reminded him, a smile never leaving her face.
"But I wanted to cover the costs... and I thought that having a voucher might be enough of a push to make you come." He smiled mischievously.
"Smart boy!" She laughed lightly, pressing her lips to his in a sweet, meaningful kiss.
When they broke the kiss, he searched his pant pocket for a box and when he pulled it out, he handed it to her.
"Nick!" Miley cried out when she discovered the content of the box. "Are you crazy?" She fingered the beautiful silver chain with the diamond heart pendant. "It's beautiful..." She smiled when she met his gaze, his eyes twinkling under the moonlight.
"Look on the back..." He turned around the pendant and she was moved to see the tiny inscription: I love you Mi – Love always, Nick. Nick took the jewel out of its box and clasped it around Miley's neck.
"I love you so much..." Miley whispered as she wrapped her arms his neck, holding him against her tightly.
I'm not too happy with this chapter... I had no ideas as to what Nick could give her as a present that wasn't the usual thing guys gave their girlfriends... but I'm not well and I just couldn't think of anything better! Sorry folks! I also wanted to write a scene with Miley and her friends, not just Nick but I'm just way too lazy and out of ideas!!
Tell me your thoughts in a review?
xoxo
