Chapter 2: Who am i to say

Joe.

Joe sat at the kitchen table, his hands running genteelly through his dark locks almost as if he was trying to pull some of his hair out. He didn't know what to do; all he had ever done was try and make a better life for Nick, but his younger brother wasn't making it any easier on him. Nick just couldn't understand that everything he did was out of love; Nick couldn't understand the simple fact that Joe would rather cut off his own arm than watch his younger brother throw away his dream.

He didn't mean to blow up at him, or to let those snarky marks pass his lips. But he couldn't help it—after everything Joe sacrificed for him, now Nick just wanted to throw it away? What kind of example would he be setting for Bella and Ben? 'To give up when things get rough, that's what example!' Joe thought to himself.

But more than it being Nick's fault, it was hers. No! Joe mentally scolded himself; how could he possible blame a sixteen year old? Well she wouldn't be sixteen anymore, but that was her age when she ran away. Joe knew what it was like to be confused more than a lot of people; he couldn't exactly blame Mileyfor it. She was young and was still trying to find herself, and he was sure she didn't want to hurt Nick the way she had.

Joe closed his eyes, and he could see them smiling happily at each other. They were sitting on one of the benches in the backyard, sharing a pocket of gummy bears, which were Nick's favourite. It was pure innocence that he saw; through the hard life both had been dealt, they could still smile and laugh together as if they didn't have a care in the world. Joe stood from the table, making his way up the staircase. He stopped at the first door, popping his head in to make sure Bella and Ben were all right.

Both youngsters were tucked in under their quilts, sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Joe smiled softly, turning around to proceed towards the next bedroom. Joe could hear Nick whimpering in his sleep, thrashing around, tossing and turning, and kicking the sheets of his sweating body in his sleep. Joe made his way quietly into the room, bending down to Nick's level beside the bed. "Hey Buddy, I'm here. It's okay," he soothed, running his hand threw Nick's unruly hair. Nick's mumblings subsided and soon he was in a deep slumber.

Satisfied, Joe stood up and walked out the door, clicking it softy closed behind him. Nick hadn't been like this since Miley hand left and Joe wondered what possible could have happened to make Nick come full circle. With that though in mind, Joe climbed into his bed, pulling Selena on him so she was sleeping against his chest softly. His eyes slowly drifted shut, but he couldn't get the sound of Nick's whimpers out of his head.

Joe woke up in a surprisingly good mood. He went through his morning: getting out of bed at six AM, getting into the shower and putting on his work clothes; which consisted of a tailor made suit, which cost a fortune. He still remembered Selena brining it home after a long day of shopping with Demi and the kids. She had stated that since he was a partner now he needed to look the part, and that it didn't matter if it was out of their budget because he deserved to buy something nice for himself.

He was about to fight back when Nick had placed a hand on his shoulder, silently giving him a look. After he was ready, he walked down the stairs to find everyone eating breakfast. At his entrance, Selena turned to him, throwing a look towards Nick subtly before turning back to the stove. Joe really didn't feel like having a talk with Nick and probably ruining both
their days but knew it was inevitable.

"Joe, you have to talk to him!" Selena had pushed, grabbing a cloth to clean the kitchen table.

"Selena, I've tried; he just doesn't listen!"

"Well, maybe if you didn't shout at him all the time then he wouldn't mind talking to you!"

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" he exclaimed, fighting the urge to bang his fist against the table in anger.

"Hey!" She stopped her actions, realizing what she'd done. Selena moved towards Joe, rubbing her hands softly up and down Joe arms soothingly. "I'm sorry; that was out of line. Please just talk to him. Even Bella is starting to worry." Joe closed his eyes before nodding, and gave Selena a kiss before leaving the room. It had taken him over half an hour to calm down after that, locking himself in his office until the rage was gone. Rage was always something Joe had to deal with since his first hit purity. Though it was something he hid pretty well, he knew both Selena and Nick had cottoned on to the fact that sometimes he just couldn't control himself.

"Nick?" he asked snapping out of his thoughts. He watched his younger brother turn towards him, annoyance displayed on his features.

"Hey, can we talk in the office, please?"

"Um, sure…" Joe could hear the uncertainty in Nick's voice, but didn't let it faze him. He turned around and made his way towards his office, aware of Nick's presence behind him.

"Look, I'm sorry for the snarky remark yesterday."

"It's okay, I kinda had it coming," Nick admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

Joe laughed, grabbing his laptop and placing in into his brief case. He then zipped it up, grabbing the straps before going over to stand in front of Nick.

"I just want you to know that—" Nick cut him off putting a comforting hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I know, Joe. Don't worry bro, I'm fine." Nick's voice held cracks, and Joe knew he was lying but just didn't want to press it. So he merrily smiled at Nick once before heading for the door. As he walked towards the door, he could hear Selena trying to make Ben and Bella hurry up

"Come on, guys, you're going to be late for school!" she pleaded.

He shook his head, grabbing his coat from the rack before heading for the door. The sun greeted him; it shined against the skin, making him smile. Oneof the only things he missed about Texas while he was away living the in city was the sun, which didn't seem to be the same.

"Demi, the last thing I feel like doing is going to the grocery store!" whined a girl from across the street.

At first Joe thought nothing of it until he recognized the voice of the girl. His head shot up and for a moment his mouth fell open. It was her. She didn't see him; she stood there, arms folded across her chest, obviously not happy about something or another.

"Miley, stopping acting childish and get in the car." Joe could tell it wasDemi's voice. And then there was the giggle of Sage tugging on Miley's arm and leading her towards Demi's car. He watched as Miley stood in front of the passenger side door, not making any movement. Joe could see Demi's face; she was starting to get impatient. He knew it was wrong to look, but he couldn't help himself.

"Oh no, Auntie Miley, Mamma has that look on her face!" he could hear Sage warn.

"OKAY! Fine," Miley exclaimed, opening the passenger door and climbing in after Sage. Joe shook his head, a foreboding feeling sweeping through him. This was the last thing Nick needed, and Joe could see what would happen if they got close again and Miley decided to leave. No, Joe had to stop this at all costs.

Miley.

All Miley had wanted to do today was sit in the backyard and read one of the novels a friend from the city had recommended. But no, they wouldn't let her do it; they kept going on and on about how it's not good to stay inside.

"It's perfectly normal for me to stay at home and read!" she argued, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance. Richard Lovato sat across from her, peeking over from the newspaper that covered his face.

"Why don't you help Demi run her to-do list?" he offered.

"That sounds like a great idea!" her mother exclaimed.

Miley shot Richard a glare, making him hide behind his paper once more. Couldn't they understand that staying at home wasn't a bad thing? Some sun would do her good. But no, now she was sitting in the back of Demi's car listening to Sage tell her about her school and how excited she was because they were preparing to do something for the county fair. Miley listened,
trying to pretend that she was interested, but after a while found herself tuning Sage out.

Sage's school was all too familiar to Miley; she'd remembered going there herself when she was Sage's age. It was the first place she'd ever meet Nick. Even just the thought of him made her chest hurt like someone had stabbed her heart right through, but yet she was still alive.

That morning had been emotional for Miley; it was the first time she'd ever been without ether of her parents. Which Billy Ray, Miley's father, blamed Trish, "You're suffocating the girl!" He'd complain every time a mother from the block would invite Miley over for play time, and Trish said no. "It's not suffocating, its love," Trish would always counter, ending the conversation there.

She'd begged her parents not to make her go, promised to do every chore in this house if they'd let her stay home, Sadly enough for Miley she found her standing in front of small building which was larger than most houses but not as big as the high school she'd seen from the back seat as her mother drove. Again Miley had pleaded until Trish took her to class herself, leaving her in the nice hands of Miss Amanda (who would later on have a nervous breakdown) but Miley had left for middle school by then.

"Why don't you come sit by Nick?" Miss Amanda had offered, pulling Miley's towards a small boy with curly hair.

Miley back then was a shy girl before coming into her town, before boys started to see her not for another classmate but as "hot" as a lot of boys from the small class would later on call her.

The boy offered her a friendly smile as she sat down, trying to hide her sniffles from the class.

"Hey do you want a piece of my chocolate?" The boy had asked, trying to cheer her up. Miley nodded and watched as the boy had broken the chocolate into two and handed her a piece.

"I'm Nick, by the way."

"I'm Miley."

Miley smiled as the memory faded from her mind. Nick had been Miley's first real friend; over the years they had had their fights had the awkward talk and made the switch from best friends to boyfriend and girlfriend. As Demi revved up the engine, Miley shook her head, because there was no point in daydreaming about the past, which she'd ruined.

Later that afternoon, once she'd come home from running all the things Demi needed to do, she went outside and sat in the front lawn. She opened her book, running her fingers across the smooth pages before she began to read softly to herself:

"It is in the depths of contemplation that love is discovered. Not the idea of love, beliefs about love or fantasy love, but love itself. Love has always been present, but unseen. It is not of this world, but can erupt into this world through us. Love is not an action, but action can be the fruit of love. Love, real love, is beyond words and concepts. It can only be tasted. It is to be found at the heart of now, but only when one gives profound attention to what is."

She loved Simon small; the way he wrote about love was pretty darn accurate. Love was like something out of this world; it was beyond words orconcepts. They say love is different for everyone, and that's how Miley felt. As she continued to read she noticed that someone was watching her, and from the corner of her eyes she spotted a tanned man or maybe boy across the street looking at her with intent. She nearly looked up to smile until she realized who it was.

She was going to have to speak with Nick had some point and who knows when I'll get him alone! She couched herself as she stood from the grass. She placed the book at her feet, squared her shoulders and walked across the empty road to meet Nick. She noticed how much he looked the same, but different at the same time. Older but still had that child inside him.

"Hey," she called, afraid to step onto his lawn.

"Um, hi." His voice was deeper than she had remembered—smoother, more
manly.

"Look, I think—" but Nick cut her off, not letting her even get out the words she'd been wanting to say since the day she'd left.

"I don't want an apology; in fact, I don't want anything from you! I don't need you and I haven't for a long time, so save your guilt for someone else!" And with those words, which stung, he turned around and walked back into the house.

Miley stood there for a moment before turning her back to the house, clear tears running down her face.

I don't know anything at all
And who am I to say you love me
I don't know anything at all
And who am I to say you need me
I don't know anything at all
Who am I to say – Hope

Authors Note: Hey everyone sorry it took so long but i now have a beta reader ExtremeWriter who is amazing! So it might take a little longer for updates but they'll be much better chapters. So Joe's POV was kinda an insight to his character, every once in while i'll be putting either his or Demi's or selena's but for the most part it will be Nick and Miley's POV

Thanks for reading and please review with your thoughts.

Love Laura

3+ for the next chapter