Heyheyhey!

I'm back! All I can say is…

Best. Vacation. Ever.

But I won't bore you with details. ANYWAYS thanks for the review, I really appreciate them!

OH and before I forget, halfway through writing this chapter, I realized it wouldn't make any sense if I made them 16, so now they are 18 and seniors. Which would mean I would need to change part of Lilly's description of herself in the first chapter, but just bear with me. Sorry about this confusion!

Enjoy (:

xoxo

Lilly's POV

Miley and I were talking about how awesome this whole situation was. But then suddenly something clicked in my brain. I was pulled from the fantasy of Joe being perfect back into reality.

"We can't be together," I simply stated, avoiding Miley's eyes.

"What?"

"Me and Joe. We can't be together." I looked at her.

She gave me a confused look. I sighed.

"Miles, you and I both know completely well that Joe is the biggest player at school, if not the world. All he EVER does is sweet talk girls, then he just cheats and moves on, throws them away like trash. He's a sweet-talker. How do I know that everything he said to me wasn't just a load of bull? It easily could've been, and knowing him it probably was." I knew deep down I wanted to be with him. I wanted to believe what he said was genuine. But I couldn't get myself to do it. After all the crap guys have put me through (cheated on, dumped, stood up, my father, yup I'm one lucky girl), I've built a wall surrounding me, not letting anybody (with the exception of Miley) too far in. I couldn't deal with any more pain.

"Lils I want you to listen to me carefully. And I'm not just saying this, I'm saying this as your absolute best friend and sister. You should give Joe a chance."

Well that was a shock. I was expecting more of a, 'Yeah, Joe's a dick. Forget him. We'll go find better guys around." Hmm. Well, let's hear her out I guess.

"From how you and Nick have described his behavior, it's completely different from his usual acts, right?" She continued, "Think about what he said about the heartbreak he told you about. It happened exactly 3 years ago. That's when he became who he is now. What you don't know is, remember when I went on tour with them 4 years ago? Back then, he was different. He acted exactly the way he did today with you. You're changing him Lils. You're changing him back into the true person he is. And when you have the power to do something that great, you know he needs you, and that you two are meant to be something special."

I was taken aback. Since when was Miley so deep? Her words ran through my mind before it finally registered. She knew I had to think so she didn't push me for response and we sat in silence for a few minutes. 'He needs you, and you two are meant to be something special.' Those words rang in my head. I knew Miley wanted what's best for me, and she wouldn't have said this unless she truly believed it. She knew me inside and out, better than anyone else, and I knew she was right. I had to give him the chance. I smiled and gave Miley the biggest hug. She giggled, "What was that for?"

"For being the best friend possible, and giving me moral support. I love you Miles," I said with a smile.

"I love you too sis," she laughed, and the night continued like all our usual sleepovers: junk food, chick flicks, matchmaker, fantasizing, just talking about anything forever.

LIVELAUGHLOVE

Joe's POV

I went down to the music room. Best room in the house. I looked around the room and sighed. This was always my place to get away from everything and everyone when I was home; I had another even better secret place outside. Everyone knew better than to bother me when I was down here-they were all afraid I would explode on them like the time I threw a guitar at Nick for invading. In my defense, that only started 3 years ago. I sighed again. What monster have I become? Look what she did to me, that cold-hearted bitch.

Flashback

It was her birthday and our 1 year anniversary. Yes, I asked her out on her birthday. Say what you want about it being cliché or cheesy, but hey. When you're 14 you think that's a super romantic way to get a chick. She had called me saying she was really sorry that she was really sick and her mom wasn't letting her go anywhere. I had to admit, I was disappointed. I mean come on, it was her birthday AND our anniversary; girls are supposed to be super excited and want to do anything no matter how bad they feel.

Well, being the amazing boyfriend I was, I decided to go surprise her. Nobody was home (strangely), so I put on a pair of my best dark wash skinny jeans, a purple dress shirt (her favorite color-don't make fun of me, I thought I was being thoughtful), and black converse before walking to the best deli around. I got a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a bouquet of flowers for her. Halfway to her house, it started pouring rain. Great. What can I say, I was what everyone called "whipped," and I would do anything for her. And I wanted to make her feel special. I made it to her house in a few minutes and the soup was still hot. Perfect. I straightened my shirt and rang the doorbell. I was so sure she'd be completely swept away that I would walk through the pouring rain just to make her feel better, to make this day, our day, special. Nobody answered, so I rang again. I heard a thud and I was curious and a little nervous. Was something wrong with her? Wasn't her mom supposed to be home? Why wasn't anybody answering the door?

I remembered she had told me about a spare key somewhere, and I quickly found it and opened the door. I'm sure you can guess what I saw next.

There she was, the 'love of my life' with Jake sprawled on top of her making out, topless. I opened my mouth to yell, to shout, to scream my head off, but nothing came out. I dropped the flowers and the soup spilled all over the hardwood floor. That got their attention. She looked at me from underneath him while I just stare at them. We're 15. We're not even supposed to be doing that. "What the hell is this Mandy?" I remember it all clearly. That day was the first time I had ever sworn. After that, it became a bad habit. A terrible habit that got me into a lot of trouble.

She just smirked at me, her arms still around Jake's neck. I was ready to puke. "Let's face it Joe. We're young, we don't know what we want. I need to-to explore."

I knew what I wanted. And it was her. I was fuming. "You told me you were sick."

"Ever heard of an excuse," she said nonchalantly. Damn it, if she wasn't a girl I'd punch her to pieces.

"God damn it Mandy! I got soup to help your cold and I fucking walked through the pouring rain to see you, to make this day special! I thought it was special."

"Well I guess you were wrong."

I blew up. There was the end of me. I could feel my heart tear right down the middle. I felt anger, disappointment, fury, betrayal, and sorrow all at the same time. I gave her one last long stare, full of all my feelings, and even she looked scared. "I loved you Mandy. I fucking loved you." And with that I turned on my heels and walked out of the house and slammed the door shut. It was still pouring rain. Just my luck.

I could remember that day perfectly. Every detail about it. I sat in the middle of the carpeted floor and just stayed there, my back to the door. There was a soft knock and I heard it open.

"Hey," a voice said softly. I recognized it as Nick's. In the past 3 years we've had a grand total of maybe 2 conversations that didn't involve yelling and arguing. I missed the old normal, fun conversations we'd have. The random ones, the deep ones, all of them.

"Hey," I replied turning to face him. "What's on your mind?" I could tell he wanted to talk about something serious from his tone. Usually his words to me were very straightforward, short, and harsh.

"I came to ask you."

I sighed.

You know how pathetic it is to be nervous about talking to your own brother? Well I was.

So there you have it!

Hoped you liked it and review please! (:

~Giving up somebody does not necessarily mean you're weak. It means you have the strength to let them go.~