A/N: This chapter, out of all the chapter's I've written - and I wrote some risqué chapters in It's My Party - has made me feel slightly weirded out. I have no idea why… it's probably because I love this story so much. It's taken me three days to write this which is very abnormal for me.

You can probably guess... this is THE chapter... this is it. This is the naughtiest I'm going to get...

WARNING: INSINUATION OF EXTREMELY ADULT CONTENT! RUN AWAY! RUN FAR FAR AWAY! Or, you know... don't... if you can handle it... and instead... love it, review and vote for me in the NJK awards :D:

RIGHT. SO. You guys wanted them to kiss... welll... I can do better than that :)

Chapter 37 - The Lightening Strikes

She wanted to kiss him and, for once, she didn't feel ashamed about it. She'd spent so long, so stupidly long worrying about the past and not even thinking about the right now. She'd spent so long thinking about what she'd done, and hating every part of it. She had thought so long about what everyone had done but not what they could do. There was so much she had forgotten about and so much she hadn't taken into consideration. She'd forgotten that everyone deserved a second chance and that Nick had more than proved that he was the same boy she'd fallen in love with.

But they were just stood there, lips almost touching, and he wasn't doing anything. He was just standing there holding her like he was frozen in time, like he didn't want the moment to end. He was refusing to make the moment last longer, to move on into something that could make everything better for the pair of them. For once she didn't care about the world, she cared about herself and she cared about him and how much she needed him to kiss her right that very second. It felt too much like she'd been waiting for this. Her subconscious was buzzing, like it was teasing her telling her "I told you so". Her eyes were fluttering because she could barely contain herself from doing something silly like kissing him first. Her mind was too overloaded to understand what it was doing, but she knew that she couldn't make the first move. It would be suicide.

She was panting, and she knew that it was probably giving her desires away. But she knew, she could tell from the throbbing she could feel pressed against her radiating from his hips, that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. It was quite obvious. The pink of his cheeks and the heavy breathing that hit her lips making them moist told her so. The grip of his arm around her body seemed to be tightening and the clutch of his hand on her cheek was wavering, tempted as it fought against pulling her towards him and doing exactly what they both knew they needed but were too scared to take. Her fingers flexed against his skin and her nose caressed his one more time, urging him to take because she knew that she wouldn't be able to. She needed him to do the one thing she was too scared to do at any time, not just right now. She needed him to kiss her because she knew if he didn't it would break her in two.

She didn't know how long it took, but it felt like seconds before she realised that she was being pulled through a crowd of a few dozen sweaty people and into an even more packed hallway full of faces she didn't recognise. She felt the rush of loneliness as he left her momentarily by the front door of this person's house and left to find something, or someone. She was still breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling alarmingly fast until she could feel the thudding of her already weak heart aching in her chest as she pressed her back against the shockingly cold wood of the door. She looked to her feet, finding her legs shaking and her hands unable to do nothing but flex lost in their actions and the loss of the feeling of skin. She had no idea what was going on.

She waited and she tried to think, but it was impossible. She could barely breathe let alone think. She was utterly confused and exhausted. She didn't know what she was doing or what she was thinking. Her mind was still buzzing and she was sure that she'd had more than just an normal glass of diet coke. There had to be something else because her heart and her veins seemed to be pulsating, the rush of the blood seeming almost too much as it passed through them loudly and heavily. Her eyes were clouded over and her throat was dry. She could almost sense that her pupils were dilated and she avoided the urge to look into them in the nearby mirror of the hallway. She didn't need anymore evidence that she was feeling shockingly different… but all too strangely amazing.

"Here…"

She felt the shove of her coat being pushed into her hands and she slipped it on without a word before Nick was grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the front door. Her feet tapped against the concrete of the driveway, and she could feel the patter of the rain hitting and rolling down her cheeks as it grew heavier and faster. He rushed her down the street, into the ambient darkness that barely lit their faces only illuminated and highlighted their features. Her feet ached as they walked faster and faster and she knew that there would be blisters if she didn't slow down. She could still hear both of their heavy, panting breaths past the rush of the rain in her ears and she could tell just by the frantic need of the world that something abnormal was about to happen… something mind altering and life-defining was ready to happen. The thing that scared her was that she wasn't prepared to stop it.

Her entire body jolted as he pulled her into the darkness of an alleyway, and her back seared with pain as he slammed her against the ice cold brick wall before pressing his entire body against hers. She was sure that part of her should have been scared as she felt his hands place themselves either side of her on the cold wall, numbing his fingers. But she couldn't be, because his nose was running against hers again and he was so close and so near to being hers that she was temporarily paralyzed. Her entire body was frozen, all apart from her hands that slowly rose themselves to clutch at his cheeks, pulling him closer and closer, and her eyes that seemed to be searching the little she could see of his own, begging for some sign of him wanting to stop her.

But he didn't…

He pressed his lips roughly to hers, desperately and wantonly until she was moaning almost soundlessly in the back of her throat. He kissed her until he could feel her breathlessly fighting to stay alive under the unrelenting press of his lips against hers. Their bodies were pressed together until there was no room, his fingers clutching at the wall attempting to find something to gravitate himself to. Her moans against him were less than moans, more desperate than moans… they were whimpers begging him to do something that she couldn't even name. They were in perfect synchronisation... the perfect balance of push and pull as her body arched into him and his pushed into hers to meet her movements. No rain, no air, no nothing could squeeze between them, only their desperation and their need for each other could escape between their separate flesh. They were almost breaking the laws of physics.

But he fought against himself, her previous words of friendship echoing in his mind as he struggled with what she wanted and what she thought she may want. He knew what her actions could be because of considering that he knew what was usually put in the diet coke at parties and how that might make Miley want to do things that she would otherwise never do in a million years. He knew how much she would hate him and how she would never forgive him again if he took advantage of her when she was like this... if she was the way he had assumed. But she would hate him anyway... Miley often took without thinking. No matter what happened, he knew that she would hate him for this and that was something he couldn't ruin now that they were at last happy in their friendship. He couldn't.

But there was so much questioning of what they appeared to want at that moment and what she really wanted in her heart. He had no idea what she wanted as she looked at him so lustfully, her hands clutching at his cheeks, lips pressed so easily against his. He had no idea how much she wanted this and how much she really needed it. He couldn't read her mind as much as he wanted to. He couldn't even read his own mind... her kisses could render him brain-dead. He had no idea what he wanted. He only had what he knew and he knew that he couldn't let her make anymore mistakes. He didn't want her to make anymore mistakes. He would not be responsible for breaking her heart anymore. He wanted to put it back together.

"Miley…" he pulled away and only to peck her lips once again and sigh. His heart melted as she whimpered once more and let her nose reach to caress his softly again, her eyes low and heavy until he could almost think that she was dreaming.

"Kiss me..." she breathed and it made his entire chest seize up and ache, "Just kiss me..."

He shook his head and felt the soft skin of her perfect nose as he did so, running so carefully against his, "I can't..." her eyes opened and she was tugging surely on the back of his neck to bring him closer to kiss her again. It took all his control, just to stop her and speak, "I can't... I'm sorry... we're friends... we're only just friends again... I can't... I can't..."

She kissed him, her entire body engulfing him for a few slow seconds where she kissed him so painfully gentle that he could feel it in every part of his body from his head to his toes to the tips of his fingers. His hands failed as they clutched at the wall, running roughly against the brick until it felt like the first few layers of skin were removed. He moaned and shook his head as she kissed him, rendering him completely and refusingly at her mercy.

"I don't care..." she breathed, her voice low, so arousingly low and husky that it made his throat hurt, "I don't care..."

He shook his head, pressing her against the wall, another moan leaving her lips with a sharp in take of breath.

"But you don't want this..."

She nodded, "Yes... I do."

He shook his head again, "No you don't... you're going to hate me..."

He moaned at the first press of her lips on his neck, her teeth biting softly at his flesh like she hadn't even realised what she had started to do, and before he even knew what was happening he was clutching at her waist with his betraying hands and tugging her hips against his until she was gasping in shock at the feeling. Her cheek pressed against his and he could feel her lips against his ear as she breathed heavier and heavier than he'd heard her before. She clutched herself to him with one arm, while the other placed itself on his chest beneath his coat. He felt her head shake so surely against his cheek that his eyes fell closed and he sighed in defeat.

"I can't... I can't hate you..." her voice was so sure, so strong that it scared him, "I want this... I want you..."

"Miley..."

"Take me home..."

He turned to look at her, the tone of her voice - the wavering nervousness in it - telling him that there was something she wanted that scared her and shocked her. He saw the alarm in her eyes as she stared at him, not knowing what she'd done in asking him, but being sure of it anyway. He searched her eyes for something, for some sign that this was just a cruel joke he would have gladly laughed off alongside her. He couldn't find it. He couldn't find anything at all but what was plainly put before him. He saw in her eyes what she wanted, but he couldn't dare voice it to ask her if it was real. Instead he simply pressed his lips to hers, just once until she was breathless, shaking and clutching at his cheek again and asked,

"You're sure?"

She nodded and he wrapped his arms around her tighter just as a way of consoling her in her words. She seemed a little lost but at the same time, so terrifyingly sure. She wanted this.

"Okay..." he whispered and he felt her relax in his arms. She gulped and suddenly nerves and fear became him. But he nodded knowing that this was what she wanted and what she needed, and took her hand in his, "Okay..."

The rain didn't seem to wash away their need for each other, but it did seem to wash his nerves to the forefront of his mind and his fingers as he clutched at her hands and pulled her towards a cab. He paid the driver before they got in, gave him a handful of cash that was way too much for the journey, but instantly told the driver that he was not to tell anyone what he'd seen... not that the older man would have even known who these two kids were wandering the streets at 11pm at night days before Christmas.

They sat in the back seat of the cab, kissing and holding each other just to stop the words that they both knew would come if they didn't. He felt her jump at the first loud crack of thunder and flash of lightening, her breathing becoming more and more laboured as she clutched her hands at the fabric of his shirt beneath his coat and tugged him on top of her. He gasped against her lips as his hands carried out a life of their own, grasping at her waist and her hips and pulling her to him until they met in the middle. It was pure desperation, withheld emotion that had been built up over months and barely released in-between.

The cabby said nothing as he drove them into the driveway after what seemed only seconds of them being entwined together. They moved quickly from the cab, mumbling gentle sheepish 'thank you's to the man as he stared at them through his rear-view mirror, looking at them like he couldn't quite place what was going on. Neither of the two teens cared what way he looked at them, Nick handing him another twenty dollar bill as he shakily followed Miley to the front door.

As soon as the door was open, Nick pushed her against the wall inside, pinning her hands to the wall either side of her as he pressed his body against hers, letting every inch of him press against her until they locked together like a puzzle. They weren't even kissing, their bodies were just pressed against each other until Miley could feel every part of him pressed against her in all the right places, hands disabled at her sides and her feet kicking off her shoes. Her cheek was pressed against his and her eyes closed of their own accord, fluttering against his cheek. She was panting so dangerously heavily in his ear and her already weak heart was hammering in her chest. It scared her.

It was her who made the first proactive decision, pushing his coat over his shoulders and down his arms as they stood their in the entrance way. She heard the rush of it as it hit the floor, her lips hitting his neck and kissing, biting, sucking, anything she could manage as she felt his nervous fingers travel up to her shoulders and as carefully as possible take off her own coat until it joined his on the floor.

"I don't know what you want..." she groaned as she pressed herself against the wall and moaned at the feeling of his teeth biting hard on the curve of her shoulder.

He shook his head, "I'm following your lead..."

She groaned, more in annoyance than pleasure. Her hands slowly moved to the back of his neck and tugged him closer as he kissed her neck, "You can't just say that... you need to tell me if you want this too..."

He nodded, "I do," she exhaled harshly as he soothed his bites with kisses, "Always have... always will."

Her eyes rolled back into her head, "Jesus..."

She pulled him to her, kissing him until he was breathless and clutching at her hips and feeling her body arch into him. She pushed him away from her once she could no longer feel her lungs and back against the wall where she had previously been. She pressed her fingers to the buttons at the front of his shirt, her hands shaking in her nerves and the rush of adrenaline. She saw the look of panic in his eyes and she ignored it taking the lead. She tried unfastening the buttons, her fingers not working, tugging at them until she felt them come undone or rip from the shirt and hit the floor as quick as lightening.

"No sex..." she breathed burying her face into his neck and kissing weakly, "We can't..." he nodded in agreement, his hands searching to find the zip of her dress, "I just wanna... I just wanna..." he pulled her to him, gentle fingers pushing her hair from her eyes as they looked at each other for a moment. She looked pained for a second before she kissed him just once, gently on the lips, "I just want to hold you... and touch you... and--"

He silenced her with kisses that told her of his agreement. He lifted her into his arms, letting her wrap her legs around his waist, carrying her along the hallways and upstairs. She pulled away from him as he carried her, pushing his shirt from his arms with his struggled help and lifting his undershirt up until it was bunched under his arms awkwardly. He almost fell as he saw her move against him and lift her dress over her head to reveal her flesh, wearing nothing but her soft cotton boy-shorts underneath.

He lowered her onto her bed, the one that they'd shared over the days she'd spent in his home, and his eyes widened as he saw her laying there, hair littering the pillow. She stared up at him nervously, silently begging him to stop, but he was paralysed. He saw almost every part of her and it was better than any wrong-felt dream he'd ever had. She was perfect and yet again he was reminded of how stupid he had been.

She moaned at the shock of him so quickly bounding to lay over her, kissing her again. His lips moved slowly, with the purpose of wanting to make her feel as perfect as she was. He kissed her and shed his clothes until he was in his underwear, his skin pressed to hers, making sure that she knew that he was there. Her breathing seemed to slow, but her heart sped up until it felt like a thudding in her throat trying to escape. The fingers of one hand entangled themselves in his hair, remembering just how soft it was, while the other pressed itself flat to the skin of his back, urging his hips against hers. She felt amazing.

"Are you sure...?" he whispered again, lips pressed against her ear as he kissed there, her fingers flexing uncontrollably against his bare skin, letting her fingernails bury themselves warningly into his flesh.

She nodded, and tried to force her voice that didn't want to do anything other than moan. She tangled their legs together, until it was impossible to tell whose was who, bringing him impossibly close. She hated that she'd waited this long to experience this.

It seemed like hours of them kissing and running their hands over each other. The rain grew louder on the windows and the roof until their movements seemed to go with the rhythm of the water that ran against the glass. Their gasps appeared to be in time with the crashes of thunder and electrifying lightening. The world seemed to flicker in the darkness and she was unsure if it was because her senses were failing or if the lightening was flashing into her exhausted and overwhelmed eyes. She could hardly move, her body aching all over as he just kissed her and worshipped her. She felt like she was the only thing in the world, her memories and her desires only of him. Her world, for those minutes as he kissed her, was him holding her, the feel of his lips and his fingertips making pathways across her skin that cleared the way for her shivers and goosebumps.

She whimpered as she felt his lips move from hers, kissing her cheeks and her neck just as he'd done the week before. But his hunger was more apparent, his fingers laden with more purposeful actions than sleep as he ran his hands all over her body, searching for something he didn't already know. Her fingers clutched at his neck and his shoulders and pulled on his hair as his movements darted across her body. She felt her body arch entirely against him when she felt the tingle of his fingers darting to the waistband of her underwear. Her breathing laboured until she was sure she was going to die. Her fingers were clueless, desperately searching for where they needed to hold onto as his kisses lowered to her stomach before reaching even lower on her hips. His fingers slowly pushed their way down her thighs, taking her underwear with them, as she gasped and grabbed at the sheets beneath her, holding onto reality.

She felt his lips panting against the toned skin of her stomach. One of his previously busy hands grasped for hers, letting her take it and hold onto it refusing to let go. She could feel his eyes looking at her, all of her, as his other hand ran it's way down one of her long legs that had found their way resting over his shoulders.

This was new but she wasn't afraid. The only part that scared her was her sudden desperate need for him to be the first person to touch her like this, see her like this, taste her like this... She hadn't known when her such strong adverse views to his current actions had changed and when she'd started to so desperately need him. But then it took one kiss to the inside of her thigh to make her realise that he had always been the first choice... the only choice... the only option. He had been the only boy she'd ever been able to imagine doing these things to her.

It made the moment when his lips and his fingers touched her all the more intense, all the more electrifying like the constant steady hits of the lightening past the windows and her eyes.

Her back arched higher with the new sensations and attention paid to places she never even knew existed. She partly wished she'd listened to Mandy's recommendation sooner, because this... what she was feeling right now because of him... it was spectacular. There had never been such a feeling that could make her feel so alive, so happy and so wanted in her entire life. There had never been such caring and deliberate actions that's only purpose was to make her feel relieved and satisfied. The building of the pressure that pooled between her hips was something that she felt could take everything bad away, like it was compiling and gathering together any frustration, fear, pain and anger that she'd had and was removing it so swiftly from her being.

But it was so much more than the steady relief of release. There was the connection between her and Nick, the undivided attention to her every action and reaction that was swooped up quickly into his mind, the realisation of what she needed quickly found and confidently taken out via his lips and fingers. It was him. That's all she could think of... was that... this was him... this was that beautiful caring young boy who she'd met all those years ago. He was back and he was there... and he really did love her. He loved her and he cared about her and he wanted to make her happy. This was the boy she'd fallen in love with.

The realisation made the release come all too quickly, her body arching and seizing against his movements as she could feel the sensation on every inch of her body. Her skin was on fire, tears in her eyes as her entire being throbbed with the sensation of what he had done to her... what he had made her feel. She panted as she groped at his shoulders, tugging him steadily back to face her, empty words tumbling from her lips as she kissed him and thanked him, shell-shocked as he kissed the beads of sweat from her forehead and wrapped his arms around her.

She looked at him just once, her hand drifting down between their bodies, watching as his eyes grew wide and his body almost failed and fell upon her. She looked at him, and just watched his resolve loosening at her movements, his eyes glassy and youthful, truth radiating from them as his lips struggled to kiss her, pressed against hers as he breathed so heavily against them.

It was then that she felt the ache die from her chest, the beating still there but no longer hurting. The truth in his eyes made her realise that it wasn't just the calm and the release washing all over her body and clearing her mind, that made the pain go away... It was the feeling of her heart being slowly fixed, it's beat steadying to a perfect rhythm as Nick took it into his hands and pieced it back together.

A/N: Don't judge me.

It's probably not even as dirty as I think it is.

Chapter 38 - Someone gets paid a visit
Chapter 39 - Nick contemplates
Chapter 40 - Trace and Brandi talk to Miley
Chapter 41 - Awkwardness.
Chapter 42 - Confrontation.

Try and guess what happens... I like it when you guess :)

Things to think about:

- Things often look different in the light of morning.
- I've said nothing about them getting back together.
- Where's everyone lse while this is happening?
- Miley still has to worry about her Dad and his dislike for Nick.

PS.

- In reply to your reviews, you guys ARE ALWAYS too nice. I feel like I'm slacking half the time.
- This is NOT one of those stories where they all get high and drunk... it has a deeper basis than that... however I cannot vouch for anyone getting pregnant. That may or may not happen.
- And I am thinking of starting a support group for the people that say they're addicted to this story... I hold some responsibility for it and feel like I should help...

Reviews? NJK Award Votes?!?!?!

Love you all xx