Because You Live.
Chapter 3.
Miley sat on a rock on the beach. It was their beach. The beach they had been coming to for years. She watched as the waves silently overlapped onto the shore, and the sun slowly began to set. She heard gentle footsteps behind her in the sand, and she turned to see Nick coming closer. He sat down beside her and Miley looked away.
"What happened to us? Everything used to be so perfect. I need you. You're like my oxygen. I can't live without you, Miley," Nick said quietly, and Miley wiped a tear and watched as a seagull flew away with a dead fish in its beak.
"Things change, I suppose. Especially when a girl like Brianna comes into our lives. She took you away from me. I've got nothing left, Nick. My dad's on a business trip with your parents. My brother leaves on Sunday afternoon to go back to England. My mom abandoned us when I was a toddler. And Brianna has you. What is there left for me to be here for, Nick? If you know the answer, then please tell me, because I'm curious as to what the answer is," Miley said.
"Things weren't supposed to change, though. You and me were meant to be together until death. And now, I know it's definitely over. You gave me back the locket that you haven't taken off since I gave it to you," Nick commented, and Miley shrugged.
"I have nothing left to stay in New Jersey for, Nick. I may as well move to England with Kevin, Troy and Jackson. Because I honestly have nothing left in this town. I've been thinking a lot over these past few days. Even before we broke up this morning. And I thought that maybe, all these bad things that have happened are just a sign that we're not meant to be together," Miley said. Nick felt the tears come to his eyes again, and he looked away, and out at the ocean.
"You know I'll always love you. Whatever happens in life. But tell me one thing. This time ... this time is it over for good? Because I don't want to go through losing you over and over. So just tell me. Is this the end for us?" Nick asked quietly. Miley felt tears come to her eyes as she looked at his hand and saw his promise ring on his finger and her locket in his hand. She then glanced at her own promise ring on her finger and twisted it around.
"I think I need to clear my head for a while. I don't know the answer to that question, Nick. You know that when you love someone, then the love never fades. But I suppose that in some cases, it might. In our case, I'm not too sure. Can ... Can I just have a few days to think this through before I make a mistake that I'll probably regret?" Miley asked quietly. Nick nodded and wiped a tear. He slipped the locket into his pocket and took of his promise ring and sat it on the rock. He stood up and looked at her.
"When you make up your mind, let me know. If you forgive me, and if you think that we might have a chance of getting back together, then I'll wear the promise ring. Then if you don't think any of that, then you may as well just keep it. I don't want to break your heart anymore, Miles. I don't want mine to be broken anymore, either. So let me know when you make your mind up," Nick said and walked away. Miley picked up the promise ring and stared at the words that engraved on it.
'MS + NG forever'.
BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL
Nick walked into his house and collapsed onto the couch in the living room, and Joe, Kevin and Troy walked in with his most prized possession: his memory box.
"H-How did you guys get my memory box?" Nick asked and snatched the box off them. He opened it slightly and the picture of him and Miley at the football game stared up at him. He quickly held back a tear that was threatening to fall and looked up at his brothers and friend.
"We found it in your room. If you love her so much, why don't you try harder to get her back? It hasn't even been a day and you're already moping over her. I think around now is the time when you get Brianna off your back and tell Miley that she's your world," Joe said as Nick slipped the locket in sadly.
"I've tried that. She went to the beach. Our beach. And she was sitting on a rock and watching the waves. She ... She told me that she thinks she needs to clear her head. So she's going to take a few days to think this all through, before she does something she'll regret. The question that led to that was when I asked her if it was the end for us. I don't know what to do. She's like my oxygen. I just need to fill the hole in my heart right now. I don't know if I should hate her or miss her. She broke my heart when she broke up with me. My heart's got some issues right now. It's all confusing," Nick said as the doorbell rang, and Kevin ran out and moments later, Brianna walked into the room and sat beside Nick.
"Hey, baby. How's it going? Why did you leave early? Are you feeling alright?" she asked and put her hand to Nick's head, but Nick swatted it away and sprang up. He sat the shoebox on the coffee table and glared at Brianna.
"Thanks to you, my girlfriend broke up with me! Thanks a lot, Brianna! I love her with my whole heart, but now this could be the end of me and Miley! You know, this morning, me and her were kissing and laughing and hugging. Everything was perfect. Then you came along, and you kissed me! And Miley hates me now! She broke my heart, and I broke hers. Do you have ANY clue how it feels to lose the one that you would DIE for?! I love her so much that I would do that for her, Brianna. I would jump in front of ANY bullet or ANY knife or ANYTHING like that if it meant saving her! But now, she probably hates me so much that I probably will never get to hold her in my arms again! All of this crap that I've been going through today – it all leads back to you! I've lost her. The girl of my dreams. And it's all your fault! I hope you're proud of yourself," Nick said coldly and stormed upstairs.
Brianna watched after him and looked down at the shoebox on the coffee table. She picked it up and opened it to see about 20 or 30 pictures of Nick and Miley and about 10 of just Miley on her own. There were a few love letters that Miley had written to Nick. There were tickets to concerts and movies and carnivals and dinners and games they had been to together. There were two plane tickets to Barbados, and there was a 3 page long account of a holiday their families had gone on together that summer. Brianna closed the holiday description and closed the box. She looked up to see Troy, Kevin and Joe looking down at her.
"Tell Nick I'll come back tomorrow to see how he's doing. Whether he wants me to or not. Tell him that I need a word with him tomorrow," Brianna said cooly. She got up and left the mansion.
The boys all watched after her and Troy gulped. He said, "She's hot, but she's the biggest bitch I've ever met."
BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL
The next morning, Miley woke up and stretched. Today was a day off, because it was a teacher's day. She looked at her clock on her bedroom wall above her balcony door and saw that it was 11a.m.
There was a knock at the door, and when the words 'come in' were said, Mikayla, Alex, Lilly, Oliver, Jake, Justin, Joe, Kevin, Jackson and Troy walked in and they all sat in various places around her bedroom. Mikayla sat up beside her in the bed while the others all leaned against surfaces or sat on her bean bag or sat on the floor.
"Nick's been in his room since yesterday. What happened between you two? He came back without his promise ring, and you're not wearing yours. What's up with you two? Did you fix it like I told you to?" Jackson asked.
"I tried. I just couldn't do it. The look in his eyes when I said I needed time to think broke my heart. It made me feel like a murderer. Every word I said, I saw him die a little more inside. I still don't know which way to go. He broke my heart, but I'm still in love with him. Any ideas on what to do?" Miley asked and looked down, and Mikayla hugged her and looked at her.
"Miles, only you can make up your mind when it comes to that question. We can't answer it for you. It's for you and your heart to decide. We are here with you, and we're here to stay, even if we're far away. You know we'll always be a phone call away. Nick's miserable without you, you know. He said you are like his oxygen. You are not alone. That, I promise you," Kevin said, and Miley nodded vigourously as tears began to pour from her eyes.
"I miss him a lot. But I don't know whether to hate him or miss him. He makes me love him. Sometimes when he's around, I feel my heart melt. I feel my legs go to jelly. No, not sometimes. All the time. I think my heart it burning into pieces inside. I'll never love someone like I love him. I need him in my life. But maybe a break would be better for us," Miley said and Lilly smiled at her soothingly.
"Miles, we know you miss him. Funnily, he said yesterday the same thing about you, about not knowing whether to hate you or miss you. He loves you with every inch of his heart. Actually, Brianna came over to the Jonas' yesterday when he got back from the beach, and he started yelling at her and telling her how much she ruined everything for you two. So maybe taking him back is the best thing to do. And put you BOTH out of your misery," Troy said, and Miley smiled weakly through her tears.
"I should probably fix this whole mess out, right? The only problem is, I can't. Because I'm too scared of getting hurt. I always was a chicken, huh?" Miley asked weakly.
BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL
That afternoon, Nick was on his lawn, and he was listening to his iPod. He was carefully listening to 'Patience' by Take That, except it was a version Miley's aunt had made her record. Nick had instantly fallen in love with the version, and because he loved her voice so much, Miley had recorded all his favourite songs and done covers of them, and made them into a CD, which he had loved.
"Just try, And have a little patience," Nick whispered and he ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes as the sun beamed down on him, and he lay back in the grass and turned the sound up on his iPod, and he was laying peacefully until someone kicked his foot. He looked up and saw Brianna. He turned his iPod off.
"What do you want? Did you not get the picture yesterday? I want absolutely NOTHING to do with someone like you after what you did to my relationship," Nick said coldly and stood up. He began walking inside when Brianna grabbed his arm.
"Here's the deal and the rules that come with the deal, got it? You be my boyfriend, and I'll stay away from Miley. I'll keep away from her. Now the rules. First rule. You have to kiss me wherever and whenever I want to. Even if it's in front of Miley. Second rule. I call the shots. I say when it's over and when it isn't. Number three. We wear promise rings to show our love. Rule number four. You are never to speak with Miley again. Those are the rules. Take it unless you want to see Miley in hospital," Brianna growled, and Nick backed away from her, scared.
"You wouldn't touch Miley," Nick said quietly.
"Want to bet?" Brianna smirked.
"No deal. No way am I following those rules," Nick said, and Brianna rolled her eyes.
"Fine then. I hope you like hospitals. Because you'll be visiting one a lot soon," Brianna said and strutted away from Nick, and he shook his head in her direction and walked into the house, silently scared in case Brianna meant what she threatened.
BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL
That night, Miley and Jackson were sitting in the living room and watching TV when the door opened and their father, Billy Ray, walked in with his bags. Miley and Jackson jumped up and ran over to hug him tightly.
"I thought you weren't back until Saturday?!" Jackson exclaimed as the two teens pulled away from their father, and Billy Ray smiled at them and hung his coat over the banister.
"Me and the Jonas' decided to come back early. Miles, I thought you had a date with Nick tonight? You two always go out on a Thursday night," Billy Ray said, and Jackson signalled for him to be quiet behind Miley's back, and Miley's eyes filled with tears.
"Honey, come here and tell Daddy what happened," Billy Ray said and pulled Miley into a hug.
"There's a new girl at school called Brianna and she kissed Nick and he didn't push her away or anything and I saw and broke up with him," Miley sobbed, and Billy Ray kissed her head and rocked her in his arms as she sobbed.
"Baby girl, have you tried talking to him about it?" Billy Ray asked, and Miley nodded and said, "I can't do it, Daddy! I can't even look at him, let alone take him back! But I need him like I need oxygen!"
"Sweet pea, I know that right now, it feels like the world's about to end. I felt the same way when I found about your mother and Paul, and when I told your mother to stay away from this family. And it felt like the whole world was crashing down on me. I had lost my best friend as well as the love of my life. I know exactly how you feel. Like the world's against you? That you're all alone in this world with over 6 billion people in it?" Billy Ray asked, and Miley nodded.
"I need him in my life, Daddy. I need him so much it hurts, but I don't want my heart broken."
"I understand where you're coming from, sweetie. But compare how you're feeling to how Nick must be feeling. Some stranger kissed him and then you dumped him. If I were him, I wouldn't be too cheerful. Would you?" Billy Ray asked, and Miley shook her head.
"I need to clear my head, Daddy. I was thinking ... maybe I should go back to England with Jackson for the rest of the semester."
BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL
Nick lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He was considering his options. If he agreed to Brianna's deal, she would leave Miley alone, but he would have to stay away from Miley as well. If he didn't, Brianna may hurt Miley, and he may not even get back together with Miley. Nick sighed and glanced at the picture of him and Miley on his bedside table, and he put it face down on the bedside table and took a deep breath. He snatched his phone and called Brianna.
"Hello?" she said into the phone her side of the line, and Nick sighed and said, "Brianna, it's me, Nick. I've been thinking ... I'll do the deal for one week and see how it goes. One week's all I'm doing until I figure out what I'm going to do. And we're going to mix the rules up a bit."
"Alright then, Nick. Meet me at the park tomorrow afternoon and we get to know each other a bit better," Brianna said and hung up.
Nick sighed and put down his phone. He glanced at his wardrobe, and he saw the shoebox on top of it. He looked at it and took it down. He opened it and glanced at all the memories from parties, football games, sleepovers, and best of all, pictures of when he and Miley were alone in his living room and messing around with his camera.
A single tear rolled down his cheek as he dragged his eyes away from Miley's smiling face in the picture as he saw the lights across the street go on, and he saw Miley walk out her gates, pulling a blue bin behind her. She left it at the gate post and looked around the dark street.
She was wearing a simple white tank top and a pair of grey sweats with flip flops. Her hair was in a messy bun and she wasn't wearing any make-up – and that was Nick's favourite way to see her.
He smiled to himself as she took out her BlackBerry and started texting and smiling to herself. He remembered when he had been the one she had spent all her time calling and texting, and when he had been the one that she stayed up all night to go to the beach with, and to talk on the phone with.
Nick sighed as he watched her walk back inside. He pulled down his blinds, changed, and went to sleep, dreaming of Miley.
BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL***BYL
It was 11p.m, and Miley was the last one awake in the Stewart house when the doorbell rang. She padded over in her flip flops and opened the door, and she froze at the sight in front of her. She glanced between a family picture on the foyer table and the person standing at the door, and her gaze set on the person standing in front of her.
"Hello, Miley."
"M-Mom?"
A/N: Ah, a cliffhanger :P I'm cruel, I know. I always have been. Haha, only kidding! So, remember to review, because remember what I said before! They make me happy! And check out my YouTube series, A Niley Story, and my BFF on YouTube's, xxkraeloveee, series as well, Take A Bow and Surprises Forever. Actually, Krae and I made a joint account. It's called XxKraeDiamonds. Krae made it, and we were thinking about doing a series together, but we need comments or else we won't know!!! So please comment about that, and remember to review this story, and read my others.
Love,
ShoppingAndDiamonds xoxo