April 15, 2007
Miley sat in her bunk on the bus and looked at the picture of her and Nick that she had taped up. She started to tear up as she thought about him. She missed him, in so many ways, and she just wanted to hear his voice. But he hadn't called since the little "I love you," thing and she didn't want to bother him.
She had seen him at the Easter Egg Roll. Until she walked out onto that balcony, she had even forgotten that he was going to be there. She wanted to stay a little longer to see what would have happened, but she also didn't want to push it, so when her mom told her it was time to go, she happily obliged.
Miley was back on the road now, but she was almost done. Only 2 more tour dates and she'd be able to go home. She was ready to get back into her own bed, in her own room. She hadn't had much privacy since she had been on tour and she was ready for some quiet time.
The bus stopped and Miley wiped her face off. Braison pulled back the curtain to surprise her and tell her they were at the venue.
"Miles!" he yelled at her before he saw her face and realized she'd been crying. "What's up?" he asked, concerned.
"Nothing," Miley said in a soft voice, rubbing her face again.
"Doesn't look like nothing," Braison said and climbed up into Miley's bunk.
"I'm just ready to go home," she said and sighed. Braison reached out and grabbed her hand. She laid her head on his shoulder and took a few deep breaths.
"I think we all are," he said and patted her hand a little. "Don't be sad over him, Miles."
"Wh-what?" she asked and looked up at her younger brother.
"I'm not stupid. Nick's cool, but he's not worth this," Braison told her.
"I just want to talk to him," she said and looked down at the floor.
"Then call him," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"It's not that easy, Brais," Miley tried to explain, but it was useless. She started to tear up again.
"Don't you dare!" he said and pushed her up. "Now come outside with me and get some fresh air," he said as he jumped off the bunk and turned back around to pull her down.
"Fine," she said and rolled her eyes as she jumped down and laughed. "Lemme get my shoes."
Miley put on her Uggs and tucked her purple pajama bottoms into them. She threw her hair back in a quick bun and followed Braison down the steps on the bus and out into the dry Arizona air. It was a little windy, which made Miley a little chilly, until Noah came up and jumped on her back. Miley spun around and carried her around the bus a few times, acting like a horse.
"Miley!" yelled Erica, one of her dancers. Miley put Noah down and walked over to Erica and Mandy.
"What's up?" Miley asked.
"It sucks that this is like, the second to last night we'll be together!" Erica said.
"I know, but we'll hang out once we get back home," Miley said and hugged Erica and then looked at Mandy.
"Besties!" they yelled at each other and grabbed hands before hugging. Mandy and Miley had become pretty close on tour, spending a lot of time together can do that to people. Mandy was 20, but a really good friend and the age difference didn't really matter to either one of them. They loved the same things (shopping, dancing, etc.) and Miley always did act older than she was anyway, so it really wasn't an issue.
"Miley, sound check!" Tish yelled at Miley.
"Be right there!" Miley yelled back and turned back to her dancers. "I'll see you guys later! Love you!" she said and kissed each one on the cheek before running off in the direction of her mother.
--
"Could you possibly have fit any more food on your plate?" Nick asked Joe as he sat down. They had stopped for an early dinner in Georgia at a buffet, which were always Joe's favorite.
"Probably, but I didn't want to look like a pig," Joe said.
"Oh no, we wouldn't want that," Kevin said and rolled his eyes as he stuck a bite of macaroni in his mouth. Nick grabbed his piece of pizza and pretty much inhaled it. He loved home cooked meals, even if it was made in mass quantities. Garbo came and sat down next to Nick, who was sitting across from Kevin, who was sitting next to Joe.
"Do I want to sit across from him while he's eating?" Garbo asked, even though he already knew the answer to that. He'd eaten with Joe too many times to know that it wasn't a good idea.
"Probably not," Nick responded and Garbo moved to the other side of Nick. Kevin Sr. came and sat across from Joe, the only soul in the whole restaurant brave enough to do so.
"Come on guys, I'm not that messy," Joe said, a kernel of corn hanging from the corner of his lip. Nick laughed a little and went back to his food. Soon, Nick's steak arrived. He always ordered steak when they went out, even if it was at a buffet. His eyes got wide as he saw how big it was couldn't wait to dig in.
"Watch yourself, Nick. Make sure you--" Kevin Sr. started to say but Nick interrupted him.
"Adjust, I know, Dad," Nick said, slightly annoyed as he grabbed the tiny remote out of his pocket and programmed his Omnipod so it would compensate for the steak. Nick knew when he needed to adjust and add insulin now, but his parents still harped him about it. His brothers did every now and then as well, and it was hard sometimes. Nick knew how to take care of himself. He knew his family meant well, but it got hard sometimes, the way they babied him about it.
The rest of the lunch/dinner went fairly smoothly. The rest of their band joined them and everyone had a good time just hanging out and eating. Other than Joe's excitement about the peach crumble that had just came out and therefore spitting most of the food he had in his mouth back out onto his plate as he vocalized his excitement for the dessert, of course.
They all got back onto their busses and traveled to the venue, which was only a few miles away. They had an interview lined up with a local radio station at the venue and then they would do their sound check, have a meet and greet, perform, and then back on the bus they would go.
Nick had been pretty busy the last few days that they had been back on tour. He hadn't really had a chance to call Miley, although he had meant to. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her. It wasn't him that wanted to end the relationship, so he couldn't just tell her that he wanted to get back together.
At the interview, the boys were having a pretty good time. They were all sitting on the stage and had set up a few microphones so they could talk into them.
"So, we've been though how you got started and that you are really brothers," the interviewer, Freddie, said, "how about your personal lives? Any girlfriends? All the ladies out there are dying to know."
"I'm single," Joe said quickly.
"And why's that?" Freddie asked.
"It's hard to have a relationship on the road. Too many things are going on and a lot of girls don't understand that," Joe explained.
"What about the two of you?" Freddie asked Kevin and Nick.
"Things are good for me right now," Kevin answered.
"What does that mean?" Freddie asked him.
"It means that I'm happy with how things are going. Things are working out in the relationship department," Kevin said and handed Nick the microphone.
"I'm also single," Nick answered, "like Joe said, having a relationship on the road can get pretty complicated, and it really helps when a girl can understand out hectic schedules, but that's rare."
"Looks like I got an answer out of all three of them!" Freddie said and continued with the interview. Nick, however, was distant for the rest of the time. It was rare to find someone that understood their schedules, but Miley did. Her problem was her jealousy, not the time.
The interview was over before he knew it, and they started their sound check. Nick did well, as always. That was one thing that he didn't have a problem with. He always played amazingly, no matter what was going on in his life. Music was the one thing he could turn to in his times of need and he didn't let much affect his playing ability.
The meet and greet was next. It was fairly small, since the venue was also fairly small. They loved meeting their fans, but sometimes they were tired and just wanted to get it over. But who could blame them? Crazed fans who cried when they just saw the brothers could get a little old, but they loved it nonetheless. They were fortunate for the fans that they had and always tried to meet as many as possible.
The meet and greet was over and the guys went backstage to get their guitars, and Joe's tambourine, of course. They stood around back for awhile, warming up and getting pumped for the show. Joe ran around a little bit and Nick stretched out with Kevin. Their band was ready to go on and when they got the signal, they went out on stage. Now it was just the three of them. They'd be there for about five minutes, while the band made sure everything was working properly and such.
"Phones," Kevin Sr. said as he held out his hand for the boys to give him their phones. Joe and Kevin each reached in their pockets and handed them to their father. Nick did the same, and just as he was about to give it away, it vibrated, signaling he had a text message.
"Hang on," Nick said and held up a finger as he check the message. It was from Miley.
"just wanted to let u kno i was thinking bout u. have a good show," was all it said. Nick's eyes got wide and then closed tight when he was finished reading.
"Who is it?" the eldest brother asked. Nick sighed.
"Miley," he said quietly.
"Why does she do that to you?" Joe asked, a little angry.
"I don't know. Whatever," Nick said and handed his phone to his father. He was trying to ignore the fact that he had been thinking about her, too. He was trying to ignore the fact that he missed her so much. He was trying to ignore the fact that he was in love with her and couldn't even tell her that. However, he didn't have much time to think about all of that, because before he knew it, he and his brothers were up on the stage, getting ready to play.
The music took his mind off of her. He had told himself a long time ago that a girl would never get in the way of his music, and even with as much grief as Miley had caused him, he had yet to let her affect a concert and was planning to keep it that way. He played flawlessly, as always. He winked at girls when they screamed his name, and for 45 minutes he forgot about all of his problems with her.
A concert can only last so long, though, and before he knew it, he was back on the bus, laying on the couch thinking about her. He knew her tour was almost over, and that his wasn't. She was going to be sitting at home and he'd be on the road. Miley would start to get lonely and start to call Nick again, and he just wasn't ready for all of it. If she wanted to make it work, that was one thing, but she wouldn't, she would just want to talk.
Nick needed to write. He grabbed one of his guitars and started to mess around a little bit.
"Want some help?" Kevin asked and grabbed one of his guitars as well.
"Sure," Nick replied and showed Kevin what he was doing. Kevin put a nice harmony to it and before long, they had a pretty good rhythm going.
"What's up?" Joe asked, realizing that his brothers were writing. Garbo and him had been in an intense game of Gran Turismo 4 and hadn't been paying attention. Garbo didn't even have to ask, though, and he grabbed his bass and started messing around with the guys. Joe just sat there and listened, trying to get ideas for the song. Joe started to sing some random lyrics and Nick looked up at him.
"I've already got an idea," Nick told him. Joe backed off and let Nick have lyric rights. However, he noticed that Nick didn't have his notebook.
"You want me to write it down?" Joe asked and Nick nodded. Joe quickly ran to his bunk and grabbed his notebook. He brought it back to the front and sat back down, ready for Nick to start.
"I'm waiting for you right outside, the place we first locked eyes. I feel like we're both loosing sight; we don't get to do this twice. And I wonder, will you care, when I'm gone? And it's done, and I've really had enough. And I'm sorry for the trouble that's been costing us so much. Splitting apart, it's getting harder to tell what you want; so bored with these games, games," he sang as they all continued to play and Joe tried to write it down as quickly as he could.
"You been working on this before?" Kevin asked and laughed at his brother. He was talented, but couldn't belt out a perfect first verse and chorus without working on it.
"A little," Nick said and laughed a little.
"You have a second verse?" Joe asked.
"Not really, just ideas," Nick said as they all continued to play.
"Can I try?" Joe asked.
"Of course," Nick said and Joe took over the next verse. He waited until the melody for the verse came in again and started to sing.
"The last time that I left these steps, was after our first kiss. I wonder why you haven't shown; I'll be leaving here alone, and I wonder," Joe sang and looked at Nick to sing the chorus, which he did.
"Bridge!" Kevin yelled. The bridge is always the most important part of the song and Kevin's favorite part to write. "You have any ideas?" he asked Nick and he nodded and got ready to sing again.
"I'm left in the dark; I never thought you would be breaking my heart. I'm so bored with these games, games," Nick sang and looked at Kevin.
"Short," Kevin said.
"I think the chorus is long enough that it can be," Nick replied and Kevin nodded. They played through the chorus one more time and started working on perfecting it.
"New song?" Kevin Sr. asked them as he walked out of the back.
"Yup, Nick's mind is in overdrive today," Joe replied and they all laughed.
"I can tell," Kevin Sr. said and winked at Nick who smiled back. Nick was glad that he hadn't written the song by himself. He would have probably been depressed for the next few hours about it, but this way, he still got the words out but it was a fun process instead of a sad one.
They wrapped up around one in the morning and arrived at their hotel. It was the first night in awhile that they had been able to sleep in a real bed and they were enjoying it. After Joe's rampage of jumping on the bed, they all settled down. Kevin Sr. got his own room, Joe and Nick were sharing one, and Kevin and Garbo were sharing another. The rest of the band also had rooms down the hall from them. They fell asleep soon after and got a good nights sleep. All except for Nick of course. He was up thinking about Miley; wondering what she was doing and how she was. This was killing him.
--
April 18, 2007
Miley and her family walked into her house and let out a sigh of relief. They were so glad to be home. They laughed as they saw Billy Ray standing in the living room under a "Welcome Home!" banner. He had gotten home from a short tour a few days before they had and apparently had been quite bored and lonely.
"Daddy!" Noah yelled out and Miley was soon to follow as they both ran over to him and hugged him. Brandi was right behind them.
"Hey, Dad," she said as she hugged him and he kissed her forehead.
"Hey, Brais, you doin' alright, boy?" Billy Ray asked as he saw Braison slink down on the couch.
"It's the smell of testosterone. I forgot what it was like," he said breathlessly. It was then that the girls noticed the smell.
"Billy Ray, what have you done?" Tish asked him as he kissed her on the cheek and she looked at him strangely.
"I was out in the yard with the dogs earlier. I guess I just got so excited about you guys coming home that I didn't freshen up after," Billy Ray tried to explain.
"Well go and 'freshen up,' Daddy, you stink!" Noah said and plugged her nose. They all laughed at her as Billy Ray and the rest of the family went back outside to get another load of suitcases off of the bus that was parked in front of their house.
"You girls sure do know how to pack a bus," Billy Ray joked as he made his seventh and final trip from the bus to the house.
"We have to accessorize, Dad," Miley tried to explain and he laughed at her.
"You guys want to go out to eat tonight?" Billy Ray asked. They all looked at each other and mutually agreed that it wasn't a good idea.
"I'd rather just stay in," Brandi told him, "I need some of Mom's fried chicken."
"Fried chicken!" Braison cried out as if it was the greatest thing he'd ever heard before.
"Fried chicken it is, then," Tish said, "We'll have to go to the store though. I'm sure your father hasn't gone yet."
"I'll drive!" Billy Ray said and Tish grabbed Noah's hand and they walked out the door.
"Start unpacking," Tish yelled before the door shut and Brandi, Miley, and Braison all sighed. All they wanted to do was go sit down in their own rooms and relax, but they knew that wasn't going to happen. They might as well do something productive though, so they started carrying their bags up the stairs.
Awhile later, Miley had halfway finished unpacking when she laid down on her bed and started thinking about everything. About the tour, about her career, about the summer, and mostly about Nick.
"Thinkin' hard?" Trace asked her as he walked into the room and startled her. Trace had been away at the cabin for a few weeks while everyone else was gone. The cabin was a place that him and his band rented every so often so they could go and write music and not have any distractions.
"Nah, not really," Miley said unconvincingly. Trace raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled. As he sat down next to her, her eyes grew wide. "What are those?"
"These?" Trace asked and pointed to his newest lip piercings. "Hanna likes them," he told her. Hanna was his girlfriend of 2 years now. It was strange that her name was Hanna as well, but everybody could laugh about it now and then.
"Whatever. You sure are the oddball of the family," Miley joked with him as she playfully punched him in the arm.
"Hey!" he laughed and pretended to be hurt. "Glad to be home?"
"I think so," she said, looking around her room.
"It's good to have you back, kiddo," Trace said and put an arm around her.
"I hope it's going to be good for me, being back here," Miley said, sighing.
"From what I hear, you won't be having any neighbors to distract you for awhile, so you should be fine!" Trace joked with her, but she didn't think it was that funny.
"That's what I'm worried about. He's not here, and I want him to be," Miley said, trying not to get upset.
"He'll be back before you know it, Miles. You guys have something special. Go with that," Trace told her and she smiled at him. The men in her life always knew what to say to make her feel better. "Now get back to unpacking. Mom just got home with groceries and dinner will be ready before you know it."
"Fine," she said sarcastically. "Now get out!" she laughed.
"I can see when I'm not wanted," he said and started to walk out the door. "But you know you love me!"
"Whatever you want to believe, Trace," Miley said and laughed as he made a funny face at her and walked out. She went back to unpacking and before she knew it, Tish was calling her down for dinner.
It was a late dinner, since they hadn't even gotten home until after 6 that night. It was almost nine now, much later than any of them usually ate. It was the first time the whole family had eaten together in awhile, and they were all enjoying themselves quite nicely. Until Miley's phone went off, of course.
Her phone started playing music and they all rolled their eyes as she shot up from the table to go and grab it. What they didn't realize was who it was.
"Hello?" she answered cautiously and tried to sneak out of ear shot of her family.
"Hey," the other voice said.
"Umm, hi, what's up?" she asked.
"You texted me earlier?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, Nick, I shouldn't have," Miley tried to explain, but he wouldn't let her finish.
"Don't be sorry. I miss getting those messages before shows," he said sweetly. She missed him so much.
"Oh, well, how'd it go?" she asked.
"Normal. You back home yet?" Nick asked.
"Yup, we just got back a little while ago. We're eating dinner now," she told him.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Go back and eat," he said.
"No, it's fine. I'm not that hungry anyway," she lied and he laughed.
"Yeah, riiiiight," he said sarcastically.
"Whatever," she said and there was a long pause. It wasn't as awkward as it could have been, but it was awkward enough.
"So," Nick said.
"So," she said right back.
"I miss you," he said softly. She wasn't even sure if she had really heard it.
"What?" Miley asked and she heard him take in a long breath.
"I miss you," he repeated, firmer this time. "I know I shouldn't be telling you that, but I just wanted my best friend to know that I miss her," he said. Miley tried as best she could to hold back her tears, but it was useless. They started falling and when he heard her sniffle, he regretted saying anything at all. "Miley, I'm sorry, I just, I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry, please, please don't cry, Miles, stop," he said in one long run-on sentence.
"Nick, it's fine," she told him, wiping her eyes. "I'm just tired," she lied.
"I'm sorry," he said after a moment.
"Don't be," Miley told him. "I, umm, I need to go."
"Okay, and just for the record, I'm so sorry," he said again and she couldn't help but smile at how cute he was.
"It's fine," she told him once more and paused. "I miss you, too," she breathed out and she could feel him smiling on the other end of the phone.
"I'll talk to you later," he said, happier than he was just a few moments ago.
"Anytime," she replied.
"Bye, Miles," he said.
"Tootles!" she giggled out and hung up the phone. She ran into the bathroom and wiped her face off before she walked back into the dining room.
"Are we going to have to make a rule of no answering the phone during dinner again?" Billy Ray asked his family and Brandi raised an eyebrow at him.
"Dad, you're the one that broke the rule last time, remember?" Brandi said and they all laughed.
"Fine, but Miley, come on. No more calls, okay?" he asked his daughter.
"Fine," she said dramatically and sighed before stuffing her mouth full of mashed potatoes and swallowing quickly.
"I think she needed it, honey. Give her a break," Tish said to Billy Ray and smiled at Miley.
"I did," Miley replied.
--
Oh my goodness! I'm so, so, so, so, so, so sorry about not getting this posted before now. I've been so busy lately with school that it's just been insane. Finals are this week, so I won't get another one up this week, but then I'm on summer break so I'll hopefully have more time to work on this. Thank you to all of my readers who still read this and keep up with it. It makes me feel great that you care that much.
Okay, and for the question for this chapter, I'm sure all of you heard about Miley's "photo scandal" (who hasn't!) and all the hype that goes along with it. Tell me what you think about it, anything really about it. It'll be in my story later on, so anything will help a lot. Also, what do you guys think about the leaked photos of her with the green bra/new boyfriend and stuff like that?
Thanks so much guys! I love you all and it means so much to me that you all are still reading it!