I swear my heart was pounding at a million miles per hour right now. I felt like the walls were starting to close in on me. My mind was not functioning correctly. Okay - So I wasn't having a stroke. I felt like I was hallucinating, my head as spinning as my eyes widened and everything went out of focus.

Was I drugged? It was the first question that came to mind, perhaps an acid trip that I somehow received without knowing it. But then, I realized that realistically - That was very unlikely as no one who had drugs had come in contact with me or had ever been remotely close to me.

Unless Mitchel decided that he wanted to drug me. I pushed that thought out of my mind as it was improbable and quite frankly, stupid. But he did do something to me. I was now fretting over his words, replaying them in my head. I drowned in them, letting them surround me and embrace me like that drug.

I closed my eyes, trying to sort out everything that had just been boldly thrown at me. I slowly let myself fall into a sitting position against the wall. My arms wrapped around my knees, then pulled them close to my chest. Faintly, I heard the heart-wrenching sound of footsteps walking away, and painfully so.

My confusion bubbled up to m eyes - resulting in tears, gradually racking my body with sobs. My life suddenly turned into a grayscale; I could care less about the rest of the useless facts in my life.

Why was he leaving after throwing all this at me? He should've have known that I was fragile, and especially now, in times of break-ups and lost loves.

Closing my eyes, I buried my head into my knee, letting my scratch jeans rub at my now puffy eyes. Silence echoed around the room in celebration of my agony. I heard a door slam shut in what seemed like the far-off distance, and it killed me.

I was alone now, and I accepted it painfully. My body shook, but no sobs permitted themselves to escape this time.

I was perplexed, confused, frustrated. One might wonder how one can jump from emotion to emotion as fast as I can. Maybe it has something to do with the hole in my heart - figuratively and literally - or maybe it had something to do with the fact that I let life rush past me with blinding speeds, then try to follow the impossible.

Nonplussed, I tried processing the information. I had just started to take it, actually. Maybe I would have taken it in faster had I not been hit over the head multiple times as a child - But that's another story.

I was failing to link everything together. The thoughts, the sentences, the words - They just bumped against each other in my head, like irregular polygons that had no relation to one another. My peculiar sense of math led me to believe that if I had gotten up just a few seconds ago, I might have been able to stop him - And get this all sorted out.

I was alone now, and Mitchel wasn't going to help me. I think he made that absurdly clear.

I had no boyfriend, definitely no best guy friend, and I had no idea who on this forsaken Earth was a real friend anymore. The one person I trusted the most, was out the door, probably now glad to be out of my life, leaving a space for some other person to try and weasel in.

Now, being alone - something I lacked in my busy life - I found that the serenity was peaceful. Pushing negativity out of my mind, going into a positive zone, I could finally think.

Think

Think

Think

I sighed, and the sound satisfied me entirely. I could think.

Now, did he really? Did he really like me? Or even-- Love me?

No, no, this was Mitchel we're talking about. Mitchel Musso, my best friend, flirt extraordinaire, but I couldn't convince myself that I was hearing things because I failed at denial.

I hated blocking things out, and this wasn't going to be an exception just because I didn't want to confront my true feelings. I was going to take this with grace, and accept it like the mature teenager I've tried to be.

I played with the rational thoughts in my head, over and over again, until I got bored.

Who was I kidding? I was a go-to person, not a sit and think person.

A pair of mismatched socks suddenly appeared in front of me, the pair shuffling nervously.

"I shouldn't have left," he breathed. "I shouldn't have thrown all those things at you--"

"Shut up, Taters," I snapped, abruptly standing up and glaring at him.

He looked shocked, his eyes widening in a puppy-like way, then realizing that I had called him by my dear nickname for him, he broke into a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Smiley," he teased, knowing I despised being called that.

An awkward silence passed between us, words fell lost upon our tongues, and we could only stare at each other.

I had so much to say, starting with --

"I'm sorry!"

Both mouths moved at the same time, and we stared, eyes trying to figure out which mouth had spoken.

"Wait, why are you sorry?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I shouldn't have been so insensitive," he said, smiling at me sadly. "I just- You know how long I've wanted to say that to you?"

I flushed under his gaze, as it was quite intense.

"How long?" I asked, fearing that guilt would course through me once he responded.

He chuckled, and I held my breath.

"Remember... when we first met? And you- I remember, you.. You and Emily weren't friendly towards each other at all..."

My mouth curled. Did he need to remind me how much of a prick I had been? But then again, it wasn't my fault that I got along better with boys. Besides, Emily was beautiful - she still is - and I was a little brace-faced, veneer-wearing skinny thirteen year old.

Mitchel continued, his mouth twitching at the change of emotion - or lack thereof - on my face. "Well, remember how-- How well we got along? We liked doing the same things, we could talk about everything and anything." He laughed out loud, his eyes sparkling. "Heck, Miles, you were willing to talk about a pencil."

I shrugged, urging him to continue. My heart raced, and I tried to keep it under control, knowing it wasn't good for my health.

"I think since then," he said, looking away now. "I mean- Remember that episode that we filmed and it-"

"-Never aired," we both said, laughing. "I remember," I said, tapping my head. "We both hadn't even had a first kiss yet."

"Yeah well-" He shuffled his feet. "That's when," he said softly. "I guess I kinda wanted to be at the center of your universe with you- I was willing to do anything for you."

Oh, well. There came the guilt, along with a pang of sadness that I was too dense and caught up in my own world to notice this perfectly sweet, kind boy in front of me.

And of all the things I could have said, I went, "That long?"

"That long," he said, bobbing his head.

I tentatively reached forward and took his hand between both of mine. I could feel a tremble that went through his body. "Why didn't you say anything, you dummy?"

He let out a soft chuckle. "I was scared."

"Scared?" I teased. "What? Do you think I would have rejected you?"

He shrugged, a slightly hopeful light brightening his eyes.

I ran one of my thumbs carefully over the soft skin of his hand, while my other hand caressed his palm. I entwined our fingers together, holding his hand up idly. I avoided his eyes, choosing my words carefully, thinking ahead for once. "And... What if I had a crush on you? Did you ever think I thought you were the cutest boy I had ever met?"

"You what?!"

"Silly boy. And then you let me go into the arms of another silly boy, and all this time has been wasted," I said, using a mock-reprimanding voice.

Things were making sense.

I think when things don't make sense, and you feel alone, it just means that something good will come out of it, and you'll appreciate things more - Seeing things in a new light.

"I'm sorry Mitchel," I said dully, dropping his hand. He let it fall against his side, still gaping at me, as if I were a freak-show.

"Wha--" He regained control of his mouth. "What- Why are you sorry? What are you sorry for now?"

"I'm sorry that I never... I never really appreciated or noticed all the things you've done for me."

"You don't need to apologise," he mumbled, but I could tell he was happy.

"You know why I'm sorry?"

He shrugged, looking apprehensive,

And this was one of those snapshot moments of my life. I had taken that jump from impulsive teenager, to a decision-making young adult.

"I'm sorry because of your lack of honesty, I haven't been able to properly thank you."

I understood better now. I hadn't accepted anything at first because I had the one who was afraid. I was afraid of getting hurt, of getting torn apart, but most of all, I was afraid of falling in love again.

I was standing here- I wasn't Miley Cyrus, and he wasn't Mitchel Musso. We were just Miley and Mitchel, Smiley and Taters, a girl and a boy.

We were human, and I realized that without taking risks, how the hell were we supposed to understand mistakes or how the world worked? I wasn't sure about Mitchel, but I knew I had been too caught up in this Barbie Doll lifestyle. The airbrushed pictures, the fame, the popularity, the hate. Everything.

Maybe this wasn't so much the fact that I had been confused about what he had told me initially, throwing me into turmoil. Maybe it was just my own personal way

This was God, telling me that I had a chance to make myself me again. Hollywood wasn't going to change me. Mitchel and I - Hell yeah, we were going to win.

I'm a Southern Girl. Big things don't really matter to me. (A/N: That was actually something she wrote. It's from Miles To Go.)

So, God, take me back to the time, where I was the small, brace-faced thirteen year old. Take me back to the time where I had met this one boy, and goodness, he was cute.

Now, kissing Mitchel, full on the lips, my hands clenched around a fistful of his shirt, this was what I was waiting for.

And to think this was what I had been missing out on all these years.

Either I had to become less dense, or he had to make his so-called 'signs' more obvious.

His hand touched my waist lightly, then pulled away. I smiled into the kiss, grabbing his hand and slapping it on my waist.

Oh Mitchel. Ever the gentleman.

Mmm.

He might be a southern boy and I'm a southern girl, I never said I was gentle.

AN: Aww, so sweet! I hope you guys enjoyed it- I loved having the pleasure to write with Snickes3339!3