Disclaimer: Based on real events, but some things are made up to help the story. Slight AU. Goes in a different direction.

Chapter 10 - February 7th, 2017

"When the darkness leaves you lonely, or the world tries to push you away, when your sky is looking troubled, you can count on me 'cause I'm gonna stay." - Excerpt from Need A Little Love, Hannah Montana ft. Sheryl Crow

"Why haven't you done anything about this yet?!"

My thoughts exactly.

Nick was lounging—inasmuch as you could in a ridiculously uncomfortable couch (or maybe Nick just had grudges against couches)—in a couch. He didn't know why he didn't just sit on the floor—that had to be better, right? Well, it wouldn't stop people—say, Demi—from thinking he was crazy. And though he had a reputation to keep, he was alone with her in his house, just sitting in his couch and losing his dignity.

"Nick." Demi snapped her fingers in his face.

Nick quirked an eyebrow. "What? It's not my fault." He averted his gaze. "I was busy."

"Busy," she repeated disbelievingly. "Doing what? You've been brooding and moping in this hell hole for days!"

"What did you just call my house?"

"That isn't the point, and you know it, Nicholas Jerry Jonas!" Demi thundered. Yikes. She just used his full name. That meant business. "Nick, Joe went Miley's house to talk to her, and—"

"Wait a freaking minute—how do you know Joe went to Miley's house?" Nick demanded. "I don't know."

"You're not important," Demi huffed. "And that's besides the point." Demi paused, as if she was thinking things through. "And by the way, I heard that Joe and Liam are good friends now." Nick's. Jaw. Dropped. A minute ago, he would've been surprised that Joe didn't tell him he'd been at Miley's. But now, it had been trumped—by the fact that Joe was friends with Liam Hemsworth.

Liam, Miley's fiancee. Liam, Nick's arch-rival.

Oh, Joe was going to be worse than dead when Nick got to him.

"You're joking," Nick pleaded, groaning. "Please tell me you're joking..."

"Sorry," Demi said, an edge of sincerity in her voice despite its light-hearted tone. "So I talked to Miley—"

"—hold a millisecond—when did you talk to Miley?!" Nick demanded. "No one ever tells me anything!"

Demi rolled her eyes. "Now, you're just reinforcing the fact that you're a drama princess." Nick stuck his tongue out at her, and Demi laughed heartily. "Anyway, I talked to Miles, and we—well, we were all joking and stuff, and she introduced me to her dogs. It was really fun. She's amazing." Nick shot her a look that said, get to the point. Demi sighed exaggeratedly. "Anyway, she gave me some really good advice about Joe, and—"

"—Demi!" Nick interrupted, and she shot him a fierce glare. "You can tell one of your girlfriends about your boy stuff—did Miley say anything about me?"

"She's really confused," Demi said.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Don't you think I know that?"

Demi glared. "Be more grateful. You're lucky I talked to her and asked about that anyway." Nick grumbled under his breath but said nothing. Demi took a deep breath. "Anyway, she said that Liam wasn't too pleased with you, but things are still good with them. She's so in love with him," Demi said, grinning. "It's really refreshing—and he, like, walked in when we were talking about different types of people, and he was like, does that one define me?" Demi burst out laughing.

Nick smiled tightly. "Anything else?" he pressed.

Demi laughed. "She sounds like she wants to talk to you, but she doesn't really know what to say. She's kind of tired that whenever she turns on TV, she sees her name there. I mean, she loves the attention—but this is her personal life, and that's private." Demi caught his eye. "You know Miley. So we started binge-watching Hannah Montana—"

"—without me?" Nick stared, pretending to be aghast. "What has this world come to?!"

"Calm your anguish down," Demi snorted. "But that show was amazing! We actually didn't really binge-watch it. We kind of watched, like, five episodes before she turned the TV off and said that she wasn't going to deteriorate her eyes by staring at a screen. We listened to some music and danced a little—can you believe she still knows the moves to the Hoedown Throwdown?" Demi laughed.

Nick smiled at that. "You and Joe always underestimating people—it's one of the reasons you guys are so—" He stopped short, and Demi fell quiet a little. "Well," he said sort of awkwardly, "what season did you watch of Hannah Montana?" He kind of already knew the answer, but he wanted to change the topic. It felt too awkward and personal.

A smile slid on Demi's face. "Season one. Anyway, after that, we searched up the shoe fight in Hannah Montana, and we played out the scene. I was Tyra, of course, and Miley was herself—or, well, Hannah. It was so fun! And then, we sang a bunch of Camp Rock songs and everything." He perked up at that and grinned. "And Liam kind of walked in the middle of that, and it was just so embarrassing!"

"Did she sing 'Introducing Me'?" Nick inquired.

"We both did," Demi said, grinning. "And then, Liam started singing—and we just couldn't stop laughing."

Nick felt a little sad and wistful as Demi talked. He felt that he should've been there, not Liam. If only things were different.

"Nick."

Nick looked up at Demi. "Yeah?" he said wearily.

"I'm sorry," Demi said softly, and Nick squinted as the sun's glare reflected from her shiny phone case. Why was she holding her phone anyway? "I know this is hard for you—this is hard for all of us—but I really think it would be better if you talked to Miley. She cares about you, and you care about her, and you guys have matured. I know which side I'm on, and I'm not going to convince you to do anything. But you and Miley need each other in your lives."

Nick closed his eyes. "I don't want my heart to break," he confessed. "But more than anything, I don't want to break her heart." Nick shook his head. "I know it's selfish, but I want her all for myself. There are other things I want, but they seem like nothing compared to having her. She gets me through the day, she always has, whether she knows it or not."

Demi smiled softly. "You should say that to Miley."

Nick shook his head. "I don't know. I'm confusing her, and I know I'm not being fair to her... I can't just let her go like that. I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy for saying it, but I feel sparks whenever she's around. Time melts away when I'm with her, and I'll probably never admit it to anyone, but I still get lost in her eyes... even after all this time."

"You wanted to kiss her," Demi said, matter-of-fact. "She stopped you guys, but..."

"I'm not sure what I was thinking," Nick said, shaking his head. "I probably wasn't thinking, but it was so sudden. She was right to push me away, but I regret doing it because I created this rift between us, and that's just tearing me apart. I wish I wasn't so dependent on her, but I am. She was my entire life for a very long time, and that's not something you forget easily." Nick pushed back his emotions. "But she's moved on now. I don't know why I tried."

"Yeah, why did you try?" Demi mused. "If you didn't think you had a chance, why bother at all?"

"I guess I wanted her to know," Nick said with a shrug. "I wouldn't make the same mistakes I did last time. I would show her off proudly, and I wouldn't break all those promises." Nick closed his eyes and pictured Miley. "And when we kiss..." He sighed softly. "It was like flying without ever being afraid that I would ever fall. And she's my flame in a hurricane, and she's my life and soul..."

Demi fell silent. Then, she murmured, "That's deep, Nick. Really deep."

"I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I still have her old things," Nick said softly, scratching at the back of his neck. "It seems kind of stupid to hang on for so long when... when she hasn't. And I still have her old things in my closet, and I take them out when I feel alone." He shrugged and averted his gaze. "If I could say everything to her..."

"I think you would have a really good chance to make things right with her," Demi murmured softly. "She will forgive you."

Anguish washed down Nick's spine. "But why? Just why? Why should I hold on when it's always going to hurt more?"

Demi closed her eyes. "What's your favorite thing about Miley?"

Nick chuckled a little. "I don't think I can just pick out one thing, but let's see..." He could feel Demi's gaze trained on him as he contemplated his decision. It didn't take him long. He smiled and looked up to meet Demi's eyes. "I like her honesty," he said softly. "She's honest—often to the point of brutality, but a lot of people are fakers, users, and backstabbers. Maybe that doesn't make Miley a very pleasant person to hang around at times, but at least you know she isn't stabbing you in the back."

Demi nodded, satisfied. "You're right. And if you said all of that to Miley, I think everything would change."

"That has been my problem this entire time, right?" Nick said, frowning. "I hold back everything I want to say, and that ends up being our downfall."

Demi averted her gaze. "Maybe..."

He laughed. "I'm twenty four and still a coward when it comes to her. I would stutter and mess up, just like I did at fourteen."

Demi got up. "Well, it's been a long day, and you probably need to drown in your thoughts more," she teased. "So I'd better make my exit!" She saluted him playfully, and he returned the gesture. Then, she got up and strode towards the door. She turned to meet his gaze one more time. "For the record, Nick, I think you're a genuinely decent person, and Miley could use someone like you. You'll always be there for her."

He sighed. "And the times that I'm not?"

"You regret them, mourn them, and move on." Demi shrugged. "That's what we all do. And that's life. There's no other truth but that."

Still In Love Somehow

"God, you two move like grandpas! No wait, that would be an insult to the elderly!"

Demi tapped her foot impatiently, and the door opened. She grinned at Liam, who looked faintly surprised but pleased nevertheless to see her, and headed inside as if she ruled the world. He chuckled and closed the door behind her. "Hello to you, too, Demi," he said politely. A smile curled on his lips, and Demi smiled back, too.

"Miley, get in here!" Demi hollered.

A few heartbeats passed before Miley entered the room, wearing a white t-shirt with a rainbow-colored "PEACE" lettering on it. Miley was sporting casual jeans, and her hair was down and curled. Despite all the changes, Demi was pleased to see Miley's same smile and the very Miley-like glint in her friend's brilliant cerulean eyes. "If you come here anymore often, you might just have to move in," Miley teased, extending her arms out to hug Demi.

Demi embraced Miley, grinning. "I might just do that," she joked. Demi shooed Liam away. "Girls' talk," she told him, and he laughed.

"I thought you had one earlier," he teased. "Or was that just a singing thing?"

Miley grinned and shoved Liam gently. "Get out of here!" she murmured teasingly.

Liam kissed her cheek and left. Demi linked arms with Miley and walked her to the kitchen. Demi walked outside onto the terrace, and Miley followed. Demi sat on the porch swing, and Miley took a seat by her. Reds and golds flared on the sky, mingling with pinks and purples that seeped through the vibrant orange sky. It was a lovely sight.

"How're you?" Demi grinned.

Miley laughed. "How do you not know? You saw me earlier!"

Demi made a face. "Yeah, well..." She trailed off. "How're you and Liam?"

Miley watched her carefully. "I knew it: you have ulterior motives. Whenever you mention Liam, we end up talking about Nick, and you know how things are with that," Miley said, her face schooled to a slightly exasperated look. But her eyes betrayed her confusion. "Demi, I'm happy with Liam." The wind blew through their hair.

"I wasn't denying that, and I wasn't the one who mentioned Nick," Demi said. "You did. But I did want to talk about that."

"Dem—"

"—just listen to this, Miles," Demi said, pulling out her phone.

Demi tapped a recording, and Nick's voice filled the air: "I don't want my heart to break." Nick's voice was slightly distorted through the phone. "But more than anything, I don't want to break her heart. I know it's selfish, but I want her all for myself. There are other things I want, but they seem like nothing compared to having her. She gets me through the day, she always has, whether she knows it or not."

They went through the entire recording, and when it was done, Demi put her phone back in her pocket. She was surprised to see that Miley's eyes were bright. Miley shook her head, blinking away tears but unable to prevent a few from falling. "I don't know why I'm crying. I get so emotional lately... but I guess I've always been the overly-emotional type," Miley said, wiping away a few stray tears.

The tears didn't make Miley look scruffy—if anything, they enhanced her beauty. They also made her seem younger and more vulnerable, as if she was a fourteen-year-old experiencing her first heartbreak instead of a twenty-four-year-old getting a little emotional over Nick's genuine words. Miley's eyes were such a clear shade of blue, slightly red from crying.

"Do you think you could ever have something with Nick?" Demi asked Miley quietly, knowing that attacking her friend with this question when she was emotional and vulnerable was cruel.

Miley met her gaze steadily despite her shaking hands. "I-I think we could've been beautiful..."

"And now?" Demi could hardly anticipate Miley's answer.

"Honestly?" Miley's lips quivered. "I still think we could be beautiful."

QotD: Which was your favorite season of Hannah Montana?

#Can't decide! I love 'em all!

A/N: Hey, it's Darky! I don't know what this chapter is supposed to be. I mean, it's kind of like somewhat something leading to something, I guess. It's not really going to be much right now, but I guess I just like building everything up like that. Switched things up a bit and put it through Demi's eyes instead of Miley's or Nick's. Hope you don't mind.

I was thinking long and hard about how I should plan this out, and though I'm not quite pleased with the results, I'm satisfied enough that I'm not going to change it. So there's that.

Review your answer to the QotD! Tell me your thoughts? I appreciate it though you don't need to. But who doesn't love reviews? ;)

- Darky