A/N: HELLO. :)
Twenty One
Chapter 16
"Mi?" Nick whispers, staring down at her, "what's wrong?" he asks her gently.
"Nothing," Miley clears her throat and turns, her hair falling over her shoulder and blocking Nick's gaze at her. She ducks her head down, staring down at the porcelain plate sitting in front of her. She hears chairs sliding and she can feel Nick's presence beside her, but she looks up, plastering a fake smile to everyone around the table, not daring to turn to her right side, giving Nick the cold shoulder.
Mikayla stands in the background awkwardly, not sure what she should be doing, so she sits down in the seat on the right of Nick.
A while later, everyone was settled down with their food in front of them, eating and socializing with one another; Billy Ray and Paul were engaged in a conversation about the latest sports game playing last night. Demi and Joe were arguing childishly over who had won the last Thumb War session. Miley, Nick, and Mikayla ate their dinners quietly, none of them uttering out a word.
"So," Demi breaks the silence suddenly, turning away from Joe and leaning towards Miley, "I'm Demi," she introduces, a bright smile forming on her bright lips as she smiles towards Nick and Mikayla.
"Nick," Nick says with a soft smile of his own as he sneaks a glance at Miley.
"Mikayla," the brunette adds in gently.
"It's nice to meet you two," Demi tells them politely, nudging Miley's arm softly, "can I talk to you for a second?"
"I'm not really done with my dinner," Miley protests, her big blue eyes grazing over to look at Demi.
Demi's gaze shifts down to Miley's plate. Miley had barely touched her food, things were a bit scrambled since Miley continuously swirled her fork around, but other than that, her entire meal was in tact and untouched. She curves her eyebrow and shoots Miley a look, "wow, you've eaten so much," she says sardonically.
Miley's fingers grip around her glass cup firmly, bringing it to her lips as she takes a greedy sip, "fine." She huffs gently. She takes this as her opportunity to look over at Nick who was staring back at her with his warm, curious brown eyes. Her eyes flicker over to Selena for a quick second before she ducks her head once more, pushing up and out of her seat.
"We'll just be a minute," Demi tells the table and encircles her hand softly around Miley's wrist, tugging her towards the exit of the restaurant.
Miley's eyes slip close, inhaling lightly at the breeze flowing through her perfectly done curls. Her eyes open, staring directly into Demi's confused brown ones, "what?" she breathes out.
"What happened in there? One minute you were looked so happy and the next, you looked so broken . . . I thought you would've been jumping into Nick's arms the moment he walked in through these doors," Demi explains, referring to the two glass doors behind her.
Miley shrugs nonchalantly, "I guess my mood just dropped," she answers.
"Is it because of Mikayla?" Demi inquires, finally connecting the dots.
"No, why would I let a complete stranger bring down my mood, Dem? That makes no sense," Miley explains, failing to bring up a smile onto her face unconvincingly.
"You want to try that again?" Demi asks, seeing through Miley's lie.
Miley shakes her head slightly, her eyes moving down to Demi's high heels that she was wearing, "can we just go inside? I don't feel like being the killjoy to Nick's welcome back dinner. We can talk about this when we go home or something," she eggs on, hoping that Demi would agree and just drop the subject for now.
"Alright," Demi says reluctantly, "but the minute we're in our room, you're spilling your guts." She says firmly before pushing the door open and walking back towards the table.
"You okay babe?" Joe wonders.
"Yeah, we're good." Demi smiles and leans in, pecking his lips lightly and intertwining their hands under the table.
Miley slips back into her seat, staring tentatively at the table cloth.
"Mi," Nick urges once more, but gets cut off by Billy Ray's voice.
"It looks like everyone is finished eating. How about we skip dessert and just head back to my place and we'll serve some old-fashion vanilla ice cream?" he suggests, a bright smile glowing on his face as his eyes travel around the table.
Everyone chimes in, agreeing to Billy Ray's offer. The five teens stand awkwardly by the exit as Paul and Billy Ray dispute over who gets to pay the full bill for the group's dinner. Eventually, they split and they're all exiting the restaurant.
"Alright, who is riding with who?" Paul asks, placing a hand onto Billy Ray's shoulder.
"Hey Mi, Joe and I are thinking about just heading home for the night. Thanks so much for the dinner though Mr. Gray and Mr. Stewart," Demi smiles warmly at the two men before moving her eyes towards Miley, "are you coming with?"
"Uhm," Miley's eyes dart around at the remaining crowd, not really sure who to go with, "I think I'll just stay at my dad's for the night . . . it's been a while since I've gone home," she tells Demi.
"Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow," Demi leans in, giving Miley an earnest hug, "you're not getting off the hook with telling me what's wrong," she whispers into Miley's ear and pulls away, waving good-bye to everyone else.
"Night!" Joe calls out before draping an arm around Demi's waist and leading her towards his car. "What was up with Miley tonight?" he asks quietly, unlocking the car and holding the passenger door open for her.
"I think she just misses Nick," Demi says, sliding into her seat. She waits for Joe to walk around the car and slide into the driver's seat, "I'll talk to her about it tomorrow." She says.
"Or late tonight," Joe adds in.
"You know me so well," Demi smiles cheekily, leaning over and placing a chaste kiss onto his cheek, "I love you."
"I love you too," Joe smiles and starts the ignition of the car, "do you want to head home or just drive around for a while?"
"Drive around . . . let's just talk," Demi suggests, smiling warmly at him.
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"Okay, so you kids are all riding in Nick's car back to—"
"I'll ride with you, daddy," Miley cuts in, walking towards Paul and her dad.
"I thought you would've wanted to ride with Nick, to you know catch up . . ." Billy Ray's sentence drags off as Miley shoots him a look and he nods, "yeah, Miley will just ride with us and we will all just meet up at our place, alright?"
Nick nods, understanding the plan as his chocolate marbles set on Miley's retreating figure. He shakes out of his gaze and turns to Mikayla, "did you have a good time at dinner?" he asks, leading her back to his car.
"It was awkward, but it was really nice," Mikayla tells him modestly.
"I'm sorry I didn't really say much . . . I guess my mind was just somewhere else." Nick tells her as they reach the car.
Mikayla nods and gets into the car, buckling herself up, "Miley was really quiet. I didn't really expect that from all that you've told me these past few weeks," she says quietly as Nick starts up the car.
"Yeah," Nick turns to look at Mikayla, "it sort of surprised me too, but I'll just catch up with her later about it," he says, pulling away from the curb and following after Billy Ray's truck. He could easily make out Miley's figure in the backseat of the car and a frown etches itself onto his think lips. What was wrong with Miley? He would've thought she would be excited at his homecoming, but he guessed there was just a change in emotions.
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Miley leans onto her hand, staring out the window at the bright lights coming off the neon signs of the restaurants they were driving by. She tuned out her dad and Paul's conversation on college football, sighing mildly as she tries to decipher the reasons to why Nick would bring Mikayla back to home with him—and better yet, why she was draped in her dress. Before she could collect up her thoughts, her dad was pulling into the driveway of her childhood home.
Before Billy Ray had turned off the engine, Miley was pushing the door open and stepping out, "whoa, bud, careful. Next time wait until I shut the car off completely," he laughs, sharing another round of laughter with Paul.
"Okay," Miley croaks out, stepping down, shielding her eyes as Nick's headlights shine in her eyes, watching as he pulled up to the curve. She starts towards the door, tapping her foot impatiently as her dad takes his time opening up the front door.
"Where's the rush Miles?" Billy Ray chuckles, watching his daughter make a beeline towards her bedroom.
"Hey Nick," Mikayla says softly when they get out of the car, "do you think you could just let me inside to your dad's house? I'm sort of still tired from the flight and all," she lies. "I just want to head off to bed," she says.
"You sure you don't want some ice cream first?" Nick asks, knitting his eyebrows together for a moment.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Mikayla pushes a smile onto her face, sighing in relief when Nick begins to cross the lawn over to his house, "if you get lonely, just head on over okay?" he says.
"Kay. Goodnight Nick," Mikayla whispers, leaning in and wrapping her arms around him.
Nick hugs her back and releases, making sure she made it up the stairs safely.
Mikayla walks up the stairs, flipping the lights on in the guest bedroom and walking towards her suitcase. She slips out of Miley's dress and slips on an old band t shirt and a pair of flannel shorts. She walks into the bathroom and washes her face, letting her hair out of its pony tail and ruffling her locks a bit. She quickly brushes her teeth and yawns, moving a hand over her mouth and exiting the bathroom. She frowns slightly and climbs into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin as she lies flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Her mind seemed to be preoccupied with Nick—just like it always was. She leaned over, clicking the lamp off and snuggling into the pillows, catching the scent of Nick before drifting off to sleep.
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Slipping the door close and walking back across the lawn and into the Stewart household. Nick's eyes first travel to the kitchen where he spots Billy Ray and his father setting up the bowls and taking out the ice cream from the refrigerator. "Where's Miley?" he asks automatically.
Billy Ray's dull blue eyes snap up to meet Nick's gaze, "I didn't hear you enter the house son. Miley's up in her room. Do you two want to eat your desserts upstairs?" he asks, scooping ice cream into two bowls for Nick to take up to Miley.
"Yeah, okay," Nick answers, grabbing the spoons his dad was handing to him and sticking them into the bowls of ice cream before thanking Billy Ray and heading up the stairs of the house he spent all his summers at. "Miles?" He gently taps her bedroom door with the tip of his foot, waiting patiently as he heard the door click unlock and Miley open the door, "I have ice cream," he smiles warmly at him.
Miley grabs one of the bowls and opens the door wider, letting Nick walk in, "Mikayla's not with you?" she asks in a mumble, shutting the door and trudging over to her bed and placing the bowl of ice cream onto the table next to her.
"She went to go sleep," Nick responds and sits down besides her, "you're not going to eat?"
"I'm not really hungry," Miley answers and stares down at her hands, toying with her fingers.
Nick leans over, placing his bowl down besides her, and they sit in a comfortable silence before he speaks up, "what was wrong earlier?"
"Nothing," Miley answers simply, not daring to look at him, knowing he could see through her the moment she does.
"Mi," Nick whispers, curling his finger under her chin and guiding her eyes to look into his, "that wasn't nothing . . . you were on the verge of tears, just like you are now," he says in observation, sweeping his other hand across her cheeks to catch the stray tear rolling down her face. "What's causing my Smiley to be not so smiley?" he pushes her bangs out of her face, tucking them securely behind her ear.
"I just missed you," Miley whispers, moving her arms around his neck.
Nick holds her in his arms, pulling her into his lap, so that she was straddling him. "I missed you too, Mi. So much,: he breathes against her neck.
Miley shifts back, her pools of blue gazing lovingly into Nick's mocha marbles; her eyes trail down to his lips, but quickly up towards his eyes again, "why . . .?"
"Why what?" Nick asks, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Why did you bring Mikayla?" Miley's voice falters and her attention moves down to the buttons on Nick's shirt.
"She's my best friend—"
Miley feels those words slice through her heart and she winces, biting down onto her bottom lip lightly.
Nick hadn't caught onto Miley's gesture and continues on, "and she's always wanted to come to California and she wanted to meet you, so I thought it'd be a great idea to bring her down, so the two of you could just get to know one another," he smiles.
Miley's expression doesn't change, but she slowly brings her eyes back up to stare at Nick's, "oh," was all she could muster out.
"A-are you jealous of Mikayla?" Nick asks, amusement dancing around in his chocolate orbs.
"No," Miley says curtly, furrowing her eyebrows and turning her head away to look at the bowls of melting ice cream.
"Yeah, you are," Nick smirks as he grabs onto Miley's chin, turning her head to look at him again.
"I'm not!" Miley barks, dropping her gaze once more, feeling overwhelmed with a rush of emotions.
Nick chuckles softly, but feeling something wet hit the back of his hands. He stares down at it, realizing it was a teardrop and soon, he drags his eyes up to look at Miley, seeing the tears fall rapidly down the sides of her face, "Mi—"
"I'm tired. I need to sleep," Miley croaks out, getting off of Nick and backing away.
Nick immediately stands up, grabbing onto her wrists before she could run away like she always did when she was upset, "tell me what's wrong."
"I'm jealous, okay Nick?" Miley cries out. "How do you think I was supposed to feel after anticipating your arrival for days and then suddenly you're here—with another girl—who was also wearing one of my dresses?" she asks, her eyes boring with Nick's. "And if it wasn't the topping on the cake . . . you were holding her hand—"
"It was just a friendly gesture," Nick defends in a dry tone. He quickly regrets his tone of voice at the sight of Miley breaking down in front of him, "I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean to say it like that," he attempts to hold her once more.
Miley shrugs his hand away from her shoulder harshly and wraps her arms around herself, moving towards her bed, "friends don't hold hands with each other," she whispers hoarsely.
Nick bites down onto his tongue, breathing in and out as he clenches his jaw. He walks over to Miley and wraps his arm around his waist. She wasn't giving in, but she wasn't pushing away either, so they were making progress. "Mi," he cups her face in his face, caressing her cheeks in the palm of his hands. He grazes the pads of his thumbs over his cheeks, getting lost in her beautiful eyes, "I love you. I love you and only you . . . I thought you would've realized that by now," he murmurs.
Miley tries to tear her attention away from Nick and towards something else, but he doesn't allow her too.
"Tell me you love me," Nick says.
"I love you," Miley whispers, barely audible.
Nick chooses this as his opportunity to close the small gap between him and Miley, placing his lips over his and kissing her tenderly. One of his hands travel through her lock locks, holding onto the back of her head before he pulls away. Tears were trailing down Miley's face again and he frowns, wiping the tears away from her face, "Smiley . . ."
"Please don't call me that right now. Especially when I feel everything, but smiley," her voice shakes and she pulls free of Nick's hold, moving onto her bed and laying against her pillows.
Nick sighs and climbs onto the bed, settling down besides her, "why won't you just let me in and tell me what's going on?" he cautiously takes one of her hands in his, interlocking their fingers lightly. He brings their joined hands up to his lips, kissing the back of her hand.
Miley can feel the butterflies erupting in her stomach and she fights against a smile, "I have to tell you something," she murmurs softly.
"You can tell me anything," Nick encourages.
"I'm pregnant."
a/n: So, it's like 5 in the morning where I am right now and I really needed to write this chapter up before I lost my idea because I've done that recently with a lot of my youtube stories. So uh, I didn't really go through to see if there were any typos or word mistakes, so there will probably be some if you're reading it, but yeah . . . So, Miley finally fesses up to Nick in this chapter. I'm not really sure what is going to happen in the next chapter yet, but I'm going to try to squeeze in a Mikayla and Miley moment. Hm. Time seems to really fly because it always seems like forever since the last update for this story. Anyways, I'm rambling again. Reviews are appreciated. (: Talk to you all in the next update! Bye.