On the first day of summer, Miley woke up to the feeling of something shaking her and yelling her name in her ear. She kicked her best friend Nick gently in the stomach and rubbed her eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"Eight." His cheery voice confused her. How could anyone be that happy at eight o'clock in the morning?

"Nicholas. It's eight o'clock and it's summer. What the hell are you doing here?" she asked.

Nick shrugged and sat down on her bed. "I was bored so I came round here. Your mom let me in. She gave me pancakes too! They were good."

"Don't I get pancakes?" she asked.

"Nope. I ate them."

Miley whacked Nick over the head. "OW!" Miley glared at him.

"I want pancakes, asshole. YOU ATE MY FREAKING PANCAKES!"

Nick glared at her. "Gosh, you sure aren't a morning person. There's some more downstairs."

Miley shoved him off her bed and practically ran downstairs to the kitchen. She hopped onto a stool at the counter in the middle and smiled at her mother.

"Mommy? Nick said there's pancakes. Can I have some?" she asked sweetly.

Her mother shook her head with a smile on her face and sat a plate of pancakes in front of her daughter. "I knew you'd be down as soon as he told you. You never could stand it if he got something you didn't."

"So true," Nick said as he walked in. "By the way, your daughter is extremely violent. She really needs to become a morning person like myself."

Miley glared at him as she chewed. He was really annoying when he was happy.

Miley's mother smiled and shook her head. "Always has been. Just ask Jackson." She picked up a pile of laundry and walked out to the back room of the house.

"What's got you so cheery this morning anyway?" she asked.

Nick looked at her with a smug smile on his face. "I, my friend, have got a date tonight with a gorgeous girl," he replied.

Miley started laughing. "No, seriously. What's up?"

Nick looked at her seriously. "I am being serious. I have a date with Selena tonight. Ask Joe. He hasn't heard the end of it."

Miley shook her head. "How the hell did YOU get a date with SELENA? I mean, you don't exactly seem like her type. And she certainly doesn't seem like yours. Don't you normally go for the type with an actual brain?"

"I go for hot, sweetheart," Nick replied, patting Miley on the shoulder. "Don't be jealous, Mi. You'll find someone eventually."

Miley laughed. "I don't need a guy to be happy. Unlike you, I can go two days without making out with someone. Plus, I don't ogle guys every second of the day like you do."

Nick smirked. "Sorry to break it to you, but I don't ogle guys, Miles."

"You know what I mean, smartass."

"Miley, come on. Please be happy for me. This is Selena I'm going on a date with. Do you know how many guys would KILL to get a date with her? I'm one of the lucky ones. She's the hottest girl in school. So can you please just TRY to be happy for me?"

Miley sighed. "I am happy for you, Nick. I am. I just ... I don't want you to get hurt. Like you said, this is Selena you're going on a date with. You don't know the things people say about her in the locker rooms in gym class. She's a whore. She'll date you for a week and throw you away like garbage. I don't want you to get hurt. Nick, you're my best friend, you know that. Just promise me you won't fall for her too hard just to get your heart broken."

Nick smirked. "Listen to you, being all soppy."

Miley hit him. "Are you being freaking serious? I was being a good best friend and you call me soppy!" She turned back to her pancakes and continued eating.

"Aw, Miles, come on, I was kidding!" Nick hugged her from the side. "You know I love you." He pinched her cheek like an old woman, only for her to swat him away.

Nick smiled. "And I know you love me too, bestie!" When she didn't reply, he squeezed her side. She squealed and turned to look at him. "Hurry up and eat, fat ass. I'm taking you to the beach."

Miley raised her eyebrows. "And why would that be?"

"Well, Joe got dumped the other night. He said to get you and Demi to meet him there because you two are hot and apparently it would make him feel a lot better to see the both of you in bikinis."

Miley laughed. "We are not letting your brother stare at our bodies just because his girlfriend broke up with him."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, he doesn't really care about seeing you. He just wants to see Demi. You know how he feels about her. Look, I didn't tell you this, but the reason Sam dumped him is because she thought that he was a bit too friendly with Demi. She told him that she didn't want to come in second best all the time, so she dumped him," Nick replied.

Miley jumped off her stool and started walking towards the stairs again. "I can't believe Sam actually said that to him. I don't think anyone's ever been so honest with Joe," she said.

Nick raised his eyebrows. "You think what she said was a bad thing?"

Miley shook her head. "No. It was definitely a good thing. I just didn't think any girl would actually say what they thought about Joe and Demi's friendship. Like, I know all the girls Joe has dated have thought that he was too close with Demi, but I know for a fact that none of the rest of them have ever voiced their opinions on it. I admire Sam for that."

Nick nodded. "So do I, actually. Joe's obviously been with quite a few girls. They all think he spends way too much time with Demi when he's dating another girl, but they all like him so much that they don't want to lose him and so then don't say what they think," he replied.

Miley smiled at Nick. "Aw, listen to you being all soppy," she mocked.

Nick grinned and nudged Miley with his elbow. "Shut up and go get dressed, short stuff."

Miley smiled wider and hit Nick's arm before going upstairs to get dressed. Nick watched her walk across the landing and into her bedroom before sitting down on the stairs and taking out his phone to see he had a text from Selena. He smiled to himself and opened it.

Hey, Nicky. Can't wait for tonight. Pick me up at 8? Love Selena.

Nick smiled wider, texted back a quick 'sure', and stood up. He looked up the stairs and called, "Miley? I'll be in the car." He opened the front door and walked down the driveway to his car. He got in the driver's seat and began to drum his fingers on the steering wheel.

About twenty minutes later, Miley rushed out of the house. She was carrying a bag with a towel, magazine, sun lotion in it, among other things. She had her sunglasses resting on her head and she was tying her hair up into a messy bun. She opened the passenger door and put on her seatbelt.

"I texted Demi and told her we'd pick her up in ten," she said.

Nick nodded and started driving. "Joe said to this morning that he'd meet us there at noon," he replied.

Miley nodded in reply and turned on Nick's radio. A Taylor Swift song came on and she started to sing along. Nick looked over at her with a smile on his face. Miley looked at him and stopped singing.

"What?" she asked, smiling.

Nick shook his head and turned his attention back to the road.

"Nothing."

"Nicholas."

"Just ... you always could sing."

Miley blushed and looked out the window. After a while, she looked back at Nick. "What about you, hm? I thought you were the music man around this town."

This time, it was Nick's turn to blush. "I like music. So what?"

Miley grinned at him. "Come on, Nick. Everyone knows you're pretty amazing. You're great at the guitar and piano. You sing. You write your own songs. That's hard to come by these days."

"What would 'that' be?" Nick asked, smiling.

"Someone who doesn't pay other people to write their own songs. Someone who can actually play their own instrument. Someone who doesn't need their voice to be completely changed by technology."

Nick blushed again. "Miley, I'm not that good."

Miley rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. But every girl loves a musician. Maybe even Selena," she said.

Nick looked at Miley with wide eyes. "You're actually encouraging me and Selena?"

"Uh, no, Nicholas, I'm 'encouraging' you two. I'm just acknowledging the fact that you obviously really like her and so I'm going to accept it, just like you said," she replied.

"Didn't you say she was going to hurt me and throw me away like garbage?"

Miley dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand. "Details, details. Unimportant. What I'm saying is that I'm happy for you." She felt a slight twinge in the pit of her stomach as she lied to her best friend's face. She wasn't happy. In truth, she actually hated the fact that Nick and Selena were going on a date. It made her feel sick, and she wasn't even sure why. It's not that she liked Nick, because she didn't ... or did she? She didn't even know anymore.

Nick looked over at Miley again. He put a hand to her forehead. "Are you feeling okay? Because the Miley I know would never admit that she's actually happy for me for getting a date with Selena."

Miley swatted his hand away and looked at the window. What on earth was wrong with her this morning? She sighed and closed her eyes. "Yeah," she replied. "I'm feeling fine."

Ten minutes later, they were sitting outside Demi's house, waiting for her to come out. Suddenly, Demi's white front door slammed. They turned and looked out Miley's window. Demi was running out of the house like Miley had been. She was carrying her flip flops and a bag. Her hair was in a plait and she had her phone in her hand. She quickly applying her lip gloss with her free hand as she rushed.

She climbed into the car through one of the open back seat windows and sighed. "S'up, dudes?"

Nick turned and glared at her. "You seriously climbed through Petunia's window? Seriously, Dem? You could have hurt her!"

Demi looked at him with her eyebrows raised. "You seriously named your car Petunia?" she replied.

Nick gave her another dirty look and turned back to the steering wheel before starting to drive again. Miley turned to Demi and grinned. "Hey, Dem," she said.

Demi smiled at Miley and put her lip gloss back her bag. "Hey, Miles. What's up?"

Miley glanced over to Nick and started laughing. "Nicky here has a date with Selena tonight."

Demi, who at that moment had been taking a drink from her bottle of Diet Coke, choked on her drink. Miley reached in and patted Demi on the back. When she got herself together again, she looked at Nick through the rear view mirror.

"You have a date with Selena? When the hell did this happen? More importantly, how did this happen? Isn't she into guys on the football and basketball teams?" she asked, shocked.

Nick shrugged. "I asked her out and she said yes."

"Nick, Demi has a point. No offence, but someone like Selena doesn't just say yes to a guy like you," Miley said.

Nick sighed. "Thanks for all the support, ladies. I love you too."

Miley glanced in at Demi and sighed. "Listen, we're sorry. We just don't see why a dirty rotten whore like Selena would date a good, honest guy like you."

Nick glanced over at Miley and raised his eyebrows. "I thought you were happy for me?"

Miley shrugged and folded her arms. "Old habits die hard."

Nick pulled into a spot in the parking lot across the street from the beach and opened his door. "Forget it. I knew you two wouldn't be happy. I knew nobody would believe that I actually got a date with Selena." He slammed his car door, got a towel out of the trunk, and walked across the street.

Miley looked at Demi and bit her lip. "We messed up."

Demi nodded and grabbed her bag. She slipped on her flip flops and opened the door. "Come on. Let's go talk to him. Tell him we didn't mean to upset him."

Miley nodded. They both got out of the car with their things and walked down to the beach. Nick was sitting on his towel. Joe, who was already there, was sitting beside him. They were talking to each other and laughing.

"They both seem to change their tunes. I mean, Joe's been dumped and Nick was just really offended," Demi mumbled.

Miley smiled and pulled Demi down towards the boys. When they got down, Miley jumped on top of Nick. "I'm sorryyyy!" she yelled. Just then, she realised she was lying right on top of him and he was staring at her. She stared back at him for a moment, then looked away. She really didn't know what was up with her. She got off him and dusted the sand off her.

Nick coughed awkwardly and looked at the sand. "Uh, it's okay."

"Well," Demi said. "You boys coming into the water?" she asked.

She and Miley both pulled off their shorts and shirts, revealing their bikinis. Miley's was wearing a black bikini and Demi's was red.

"Of course we are," Joe replied. He pulled off his shirt and bent down. "Jump on," he said to Demi. Demi jumped on Joe's back. Nick stood up and pulled off his shirt. Miley smiled at him and all four of them walked down to the water.

Joe 'accidentally' dropped Demi into the water. Demi screamed as she hit the cold waves. When she surfaced, she glared at Joe, who was grinning at her. Miley laughed and went under the water. Nick looked around for her. All of a sudden, he felt a tug at his ankles and he fell into the water.

He surfaced and saw that Miley, too, had resurfaced. She was grinning at him, much like the grin Joe had given Demi. Nick tackled her into the water. He opened his eyes in the water and saw Miley smiling at him. He smiled back at her. For a few moments, they were just staring at each other in the water. Suddenly, Nick realised he was still holding onto Miley after tackling her.

Nick quickly let go and surfaced for air. He looked over at Joe and said, "I'm going to get a bottle of water from my car." He quickly left the water and rushed towards his car across the street. He grabbed a bottle of water from the trunk.

He didn't quite understand what was happening to him. He had liked Selena for years. Now he finally had a date with her and he was staring at Miley and feeling ... different around her. Miley was his best friend. He saw her as a sister. He couldn't like her, could he? Even so, it wasn't like she liked him back, right?

He gulped down his bottle of water quickly and threw the empty bottle back into the trunk. He looked at his phone, which was sitting in the front seat cup holder. He saw another text from Selena.

Hey, saw on Facebook that you guys are all at the beach. Thought I'd join so I'm on my way down. See you soon x

He threw his phone back into the car and slammed the door. He didn't want Selena to come. He always had a personal rule when it came to girls – They had to get along with his friends, but they shouldn't come to things that he was doing with his friends. He wanted to draw a line between things he did with a girl and things he did with his friends. He didn't even know why. He just didn't really want to be one of those guys who was always doing things with a girl he knew he most likely wouldn't fall in love with or marry. He also wanted to have his own friends if it ended badly. He didn't want to still have to be friends with his ex if someone cheated on someone else or something like that.

He walked back to the beach slowly with his hands in the pockets of his swim shorts as he stared out at the ocean. He noticed that Demi, Joe and Miley and left the water and were now lying on their towels on the sand. Joe and Demi were flirting as Miley flicked through a magazine.

Nick sat down on his towel beside Joe. "Hey," she said.

Demi smiled at Nick. "Hey. You alright? You left pretty quickly. I didn't even know until I heard Miles ask Joe."

Nick nodded. "I'm fine. Just went for a drink. Um, when I was at my car I had a text from Selena. She's on her way here."

Miley rolled her eyes and turned on her side. "What happened to your rule? What, doesn't it apply to Little Miss Perfect?" she asked.

"Miley!" Joe warned.

Miley shook her head and sat up. "No, Joe. Look, Nick, I'm happy for you that you're dating her and all, but what the hell is up with you? You have a rule. You always say that you don't want your girlfriends to hang out with your friends unless you know you'll fall in love with them or marry them."

"Miley, cool it," Demi said.

Nick was getting angry. He shook his head at Demi. "No, it's okay, Dem. I want to hear this. Why the hell does it matter to you, Miley?"

"Because in case you didn't guess, Nicholas, I don't want to be friends with Selena." Miley stood up and grabbed her bag and towel. "So, I'm leaving. I want nothing to do with her." She turned on her heel and walked quickly towards the steps which led back to the main road.

Demi bit her lip and looked at Nick. "Nick, did you invite Selena? Because if you did, why? You know Miley's not fully happy about this. She's really trying to be happy for you, but she doesn't want Selena to hurt you."

"No, I didn't invite Selena. She invited herself. Apparently she saw Joe's Facebook post or something. I don't know." He sighed and stood up. "I should go talk to Miley."

Joe nodded. "Go ahead, bro," he said.

Nick walked across the sand and started climbing the steps. He saw Miley walking along the pavement across the street with an angry look on her face. He was about to run over to her when he felt a hand grab his arm.

He turned around and saw Selena grinning at him. "Hey, babe!" She looked where Nick had been going and sighed. "I saw her too. I didn't know what was going on. I tried to say hi, but she just walked on. I don't know what's up with her."

Nick nodded and glanced at Miley's retreating figure. She was about to turn the corner. It was his last chance to follow her. He turned back to Selena and smiled.

"Let's go back to Joe and Demi," he said.

Author's Note: Hey, guys. In case you didn't see the AN I posted on I'm Yours, I'm back again! So, hi. In case you don't know who I am or this is your first time reading my work, then hi, I'm Charlotte. So this is my new story. The song I got the idea from was Critical from Jonas LA. I don't actually watch the TV show but I bought the soundtrack. If you listen to the song, you'll kind of see how it relates to the story over time. In about the middle, you'll start to see how it relates. There's one line that will relate to the story throughout – Used to have everything figured out but it's different now. It relates because, like, Nick and Miley had everything figured out before. They were best friends, nothing more, nothing less. But now they're having these new feelings and they don't really know what to do, especially because Nick's got a new girlfriend. So, yup, that's how that song relates to this. I hope you enjoy reading it. Please review and tell me what you think. It'd mean a lot to me. Thanks, dudes (:C