A/N: O – M – G…

Major Niley happenings people… major major happenings major Niley Moments... my first reaction "aww they grew up!!!"… I'm an inspired little monkey XD. So I've pretty much got good news on the writing front. I pretty much have a week spare to write whatever I want next week. I've done all my coursework nearly and I received emails from my universities… so unless I'm beckoned to London to attend meetings with the admissions people, then I can pretty much knock out a good couple of chapters for each story next week ;)

Show me your Niley love XD yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

xo

Chapter 11 – Sweet Sixteen

She had never worked this much on a birthday. She had never really worked this much in this short amount of time really…

Were parties meant to be hard work?

She didn't know. She just knew that her party was really, really hard going on the nerves and the ever-increasing stress that she had building up in her. She hadn't even arrived at the actual party, yet the amount of interviews and rehearsals she had to do for the entire thing were slowly creeping up and worrying the crap outta her. GMA, Tyra… they all wanted to talk to her on this big day that she was having. They all wanted a piece of her now that she was busier than she had been since she had been on the last leg of her tour. Interviews! They always wanted interviews. They all wanted exclusives and they all wanted to know what was going on with her life. She always had to lie and she didn't like it. Today, she was following the lead of her father and sticking with his story. Her and Justin were friends. She and her father were best friends no matter what. Her party was going to be great and they had loads of cool guests coming. She was calm. The pressure didn't affect her. She was fine. Absolutely fine… she always was fine.

So if she was fine, why did she burst into baby like sobs when her mother presented her with the tiniest most beautiful little puppy she had ever seen? Why did she become so overwhelmed so early in the party? What was her problem? What the heck was wrong with her? She just wanted to sleep.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" her mom smiled at her as she sobbed onto her shoulder, potentially ruining the make-up that had recently been applied.

"I don't know why I'm crying…" she said as she held the small puppy that distinctly resembled a small ball of fluff in her arms. Her mother's arms fought to hold her. She sobbed, "Why am I crying? What am I crying for?"

Her mother shook her head. She didn't know either. The past few months had been overwhelming and it was finally getting to them all as they tried their best to celebrate one of the most important birthdays of Miley's life. It was a struggle, especially as they were attempting to forget all the bad things for one day and concentrate on the good. They were there to help people and they were there to give Miley a day that she deserved. Amongst all of her bad days and actions, no one could deny that Miley didn't work harder than anyone in the business. She did whatever she could when she could. She would do anything to keep her mind from her troublesome life. She had attempted too many times to act like a normal teenager and her mistakes only made her career worse off. She'd decided that she was going to work as much as she possibly could. She didn't want to be seen as a bad person for doing normal things anymore.

Her walk down her purple carpet was filled with yet more interviews and more work to be done. There were celebrities and there were all kinds of hostess type things she had to do. She had to say hello and thank them for coming. She was quite looking forward to seeing people like Emily and Mitchell who she hadn't seen for what seemed forever. She was looking forward to meeting famous actors who she looked up to who she couldn't believe had come. She was looking forward to hugging Joe when he walked down the carpet. She was ready to scowl at his brothers when they followed him.

But the moment that she saw them walking down the carpet to screams of girls, she was surprised to see that only two of them were there. Joe was smiling at her as he started giving his own interviews, Nick was just trying to keep his mind on what he was doing with an incredibly nervous look on his face. When she whispered to her publicist to ask her where the other one was, Laura told her secretly that Joe and Nick were telling the press that Kevin was unwell with food poisoning. Miley shook her head and gave a laugh. He was almost as bad as Nick, except he was too much of a wimp to show his face to her for the first time since they were on stage together and he didn't have to talk to her. He just had to appear to be okay with her being there. If he was to appear at her birthday party, he would have to talk to her, otherwise he would look like the bad person. Miley shook her head. That was because he was the bad person. He was the most childish of all of them.

"Mandy's presenting E!" she screamed as Laura grabbed at her hand to stop her. She pulled her back to the next reporter and forced her to talk to them, slowly following the protocol of interviews. There was an order and she had to talk to all the people that Laura had written on her clipboard. She smiled and complied with their demands, smiling when she saw Joe talking to the Extra lady next to her. She turned to him with a smile and gave him a wink. She had a plan and by the looks of it so did Nick who was slowly forcing the three of them, via the amount of interviews he was getting through, slowly towards Mandy at her reporting post.

"What the heck?!" Miley asked as she hugged Mandy quickly. Joe and Nick were stood behind them waiting to be interviewed.

"It's supposed to be a surprise!" Mandy smiled. She looked uncomfortable with Nick and Joe standing nearby, Joe's eyes staring at her amorously. She turned back to Miley and grinned, "Happy Birthday!"

Miley shook her head and looked around at Joe and Nick. Nick seemed to want to do something and she caught his eye as he winked and nodded at her. She looked back at him as Mandy asked her questions from the piece of paper she had in her hands like the geek that she was. Nick was nodding at her and indicating with his eyes between Joe and Mandy, trying to get her to understand. Her eyes widened in realisation and she smiled. Why could they still work like a team?

Mandy asked her a few questions and she answered half heartedly as she slowly moved her way over to the two brothers. Mandy's brow seemed to furrow with each inch forward that she stepped. She stopped finally, mid question and looked at her confused, "What are you doing?"

Miley looked at her and walked over to Joe with a large over-dramatic groan of false annoyance, "I'm grabbing Joe before you can run away like the wimpy little girls that you are!"

Nick snorted and both Joe and Mandy went red with the words that she said. Miley pulled Joe onto the podium and stood him directly in front of Mandy with another dramatic sigh. She looked from one to the other as they stared at each other with the same old intensity as they used to. It was rich in lust, love and the unnecessary detachment that they had beheld for the last ten months. Everything that had once constantly been present in their eyes was still there and Miley didn't doubt that it wouldn't always be there. If it could last months of them not being primarily present before each others eyes, then it could last as long as they wanted it to, if not forever. The idea of it made her heart swell and her eyes ache with tears. She longed for that kind of attachment to someone.

"I want you to talk to each other…" she said as she indicated for the camera guy to cut the recording and just let them duke it out if they needed to, "You both have to stop this…"

"He treated me like an idiot Miley…" Mandy said shaking her head trying to back away.

"I don't care, Amanda…" she shook her head sternly, "He loves you and he needs to tell you that to your face instead of telling the world via a youtube video…" she groaned, "He knows he's been an idiot and he knows that he should stop listening to everyone else and listen to the heart that aches for you, you great…big…idiot…" she said each word slowly, her eyes were closed and she held both of their hands., "Please just talk to each other so I can have my two best friends together in the same room again!"

She stepped off the podium and reluctantly stood with Nick watching what happened.

She was suddenly aware that he had taken a step back as soon as she had stood beside him nervously. He said nothing to her. He just stood there in another of his tailored suits looking more handsome than ever. It annoyed her. She felt her cheeks reddened with what she knew was anger and the still ever present resentment of him being there and looked around at the rest of the carpet as Mandy and Joe stared at each other. She saw Justin stood nearby Selena and Demi, watching on and shrugged her shoulders at him. He winked at her and nodded. She was going to be okay. He knew it.

"Why did you listen to your brother?" Mandy asked plainly.

Joe put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, "Because he's my brother, Mandy… he was supposed to be looking out for me and I thought that everything he told me I could trust." He shook his head, "I know now that sometimes family aren't always looking out for what is best for you… but what's best for them…"

Miley's cheeks went a darker shade of red at his words and she found herself looking over at her father who was talking to the reporters and smiling like nothing was wrong. He had his arm wrapped around Justin who was staring at Demi and Selena strangely and instead of talking about his daughter she could hear him talking about how Justin was going to be a huge star some day soon.

She looked back at Joe and felt lucky. Joe hadn't known that Nick was looking out for himself back then. She did know that her father was looking out for himself. He'd as good as told her. He was going to be producing Justin's album if he ever got to make it. He was going to be a record producer and his career that wouldn't be going down the drain again. He didn't care that Miley being caught in a kiss and tell story with Nick Jonas whilst having a boyfriend would ruin all four of them. Nick, Justin and her father were all going to go down the pan with her if a kiss scandal happened. Justin would look like the idiot for going out with a sixteen year-old cheater. Nick would look like a complete ass for kissing a girl with a boyfriend while he had a girlfriend and it was the same with Miley. Her father would be blamed for her actions as he always was. None of them realised that she was just trying to save them all and stop more scandal from ruining them. Look what the amount of scandal had done to them already… she just wanted her Daddy back…

"So… you loved me… but you listened to your brother…" Mandy looked away from him and shook her head, her arms folded around her chest, "What's changed?"

"I know the truth…" Joe stated.

"And what's the truth…?"

"That I think I'll love you until you look me in the eyes and tell me that you love me back…" Joe shrugged.

Mandy breathed in, "And then once I tell you that I love you back you'll leave me alone and won't every bother me again… I'll be Joseph free?"

Joe paused and shook his head with a guilty smile, "No…"

"No?" Mandy let out a laugh, "Then what?"

He smiled and took a daring step forward, "If you said you love me back… I wouldn't be able to just walk away and leave you be…" he leant towards her and whispered so no one could hear, "I'm not my brother… I'm not an idiot…" He stood back up straight. Mandy's cheeks were reddening and she was smiling under his intense gaze. Miley's eyes sparkled with proud tears. She always knew he could get her back if he tried hard enough… if she stopped meddling… "If you said you love me back… I'd have to kiss you straight away… and I'd have to make up for every kiss we've missed in the past year… right now… this very minute."

Miley's chest clenched with the tension as Mandy released one of the arms that had been sternly folded around her chest and took hold of the end of Joe's purple tie with her fingers. She smiled as she stared at the floor nervously realising that everyone probably was looking at her.

"Well that's good…" she whispered breathlessly and she sounded nothing like her usual squeaky hyper self. She seemed natural and elegant… and… in love.

"At least if I told you I loved you back you wouldn't break my heart all over again…"

Joe sighed with closed his eyes and took hold of her hand wrapped around the end of tie with a pain-filled gasp. He was desperate just to hear those few words and he would kill if he didn't, his first target being only feet away. He let his head fall to rest on hers and waited as he almost silently pleaded with her to say them with one simple word… "please".

They were inches apart and his eyes were closed as she looked up to meet the shut eyelids. She smiled a little and knew that now was the time.

"I love you."

His eyes opened and he grinned, gathering her up in his arms in seconds and kissing her quickly and passionately on the mouth. He lifted her from the floor as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him with as much desperation and need as he did. They smiled between kisses and Miley watched on as they spun on the spot kissing and kissing with no signs of stopping. She felt the tears running down her cheeks and shook her head. Not again. She was pathetic.

She looked around as a handkerchief was waved in front of her by a familiar hand. It was purple and Miley was sure that she'd seen enough purple to last her a lifetime tonight. It was silk and she instantly knew who it belonged to the moment she took it into her hands and began to wipe her moist eyes with it. The smell of him on the fabric filled her senses for a moment and she felt every single thought and feeling for him rush back to her for a millisecond until it dissipated. She chastised herself angrily and looked up at him, avoiding those brown eyes as she handed him back the purple silk.

"Thanks…" she mumbled trying to walk away.

However, her heart stopped for a moment when he took her arm gently and tugged her easily towards him amongst the mass crowd of well wishers that had swarmed around them screaming in shock at the new couple in the middle.

"Does this make us okay?" he whispered into her ear and she could feel the electricity crackle in the few inches of space between his lips and her neck. She closed her eyes. She knew that he wasn't talking about the handkerchief. He was talking about him helping Mandy and Joe and telling them the truth.

She looked around at him and she almost collapsed at how deep he looked into her eyes. As she spoke, she'd never been more sure of anything in her life. It didn't matter that he'd helped her friends. She'd helped them too. It didn't mean she was instantly going to start feeling better about herself because of it. Just like she had lots apologies to make, so did he… and he was stupid to think that this one thing could make up for that whole year of pain she'd had.

She shook her head breathless, "No…" she pulled her arm from his grasp, "It doesn't…"

A/N: Did that satisfy your Niley needs? Because I'm not too sure about this one. Ummm… I don't know what else to say except the next chapter's called "Kissing a Drunk Girl". Let's have your thought and opinions about what that could be about…

Much love homies XD

B xo

PS. Am I the only one who finds it surreal that they're talking in Bow Wow's youtube video? Suck on that haters. xx