Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot!

Chapter One

Tuesday - October 27th, 2010

My bedroom – Dallas, Texas

I can't sleep.

Close your eyes.

I can't read your text with closed eyes, smartass. I'm not psychic.

Good to know you haven't lost your wit.

And that's meant to make me sleep how?

Call me.

It doesn't take longer than a minute for my phone to start vibrating in my hand.

"You just hate me so much, you can't let me get one decent night's sleep, can you? It's 1 am."

"Sorry." She apologises, her voice lacing with fake remorse.

"You're a pain in the ass Miley Ray but I obviously can't let you become an insomniac."

"Of course not, then you'd be responsible for the bags under my eyes getting darker." She teases.

"Of course." I shake my head at her. "Okay, now listen good, okay? No talking." I expect her to talk back but as always she is unpredictable and for once, remains silent. "Are you lying down?" I wait for an answer but quickly realise I told her not to talk. I chuckle. "You'll be the death of me, Stewart. Alright so lie down, let your body sink into the mattress." I do the same, letting my head sink into the pillow. "Try to imagine what life would be like if you had everything you wanted."

"Imagine if you were on a beautiful island, in one of the most expensive hotels in the world. You have a big, wide bed for you alone."

"Why can't we share?" She muses out loud.

"Miley!" I scold. "I said no talking."

"This isn't working, Nick!"

"Well maybe if you shut up it would." I huff.

"Okay, okay, fine." She sighs dramatically.

"So imagine it's the comfiest bed in the world. You sink into the soft mattress and your body completely relaxes."

"Nickkkk!" She whines like the big baby she is.

This nightly routine we've had going for as long as I can remember isn't working anymore. I realise, not without mixed feelings, that I am losing my edge when it comes to putting Miley sleep.

Little did I know how big of a turning point that moment was.

"I'll be there in 5." Is all I say as I pull a pair of jeans over my boxers and t-shirt over my bare chest.

...

Thursday – November 3rd, 2010

Miley's bedroom – Dallas, Texas

"I can't believe she actually did that!" Miley buries her head against my shoulder in the sole purpose of muffling her laughter from her sleeping family members. Our nightly conversations take all sorts of wild turns, the present one being about one of Miley's favourite tv shows. A loud yawn escapes her lips when her body finally stops shaking with her uncontrollable giggles.

"Go to sleep." I instruct, my voice stern. I feel her shake her head beside me. "Miley-"

"I don't want to." Remember how I said she was a big baby? Well, this was exactly what I mean by that.

"You have to." I let out a yawn of my own. "We have school tomorrow."

"Don't care." Her voice is muffled by the pillow against which she insists rubbing her nose against because it smells like me. Don't ask.

I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Mi?"

"Mmm?"

"Come here." Against my better judgement, I let her crawl into my arms and snuggle against my chest.

Okay, I know what you're thinking... we're friends. Some would say best friends... We probably shouldn't be this comfortable about sleeping in the same bed, let alone sleeping in each other's arms.

But... why should I deny myself of the luxury of having her in my arms every night? It gives me an odd sense of security and it simply makes me happy to know I can help her with her sleeping problem by just holding her. It's not like she is asking me to climb the Mount Everest.

My best friend needs me, what else am I supposed to do? Send her to a shrink? Well that might be the reasonable thing to do. But nothing is reasonable when it comes to Miley. Reasonable is not part of her vocabulary and it has slowly slipped out of mine. I am supposed to be the reasonable one here... Blame her for rubbing off on me.

"You're all hard." She complains after a moment's silence. I groan as I shift, attempting to make her more comfortable. "Stop moving."

"I thought you weren't comfortable?" I chuckle into the darkness.

"I'm not." She sits up abruptly and presses her fingers to my stomach. "Have you been working out?"

"No more than usual."

"You weren't this hard yesterday."

"Mi, you don't get abs over night." I shake my head, smiling amusedly. She can be so absurd sometimes. Well... not just sometimes; most the times, really.

"Here, roll onto your side." She does as told, leaving her back facing me. "Now lift your head." I slip my arm under her head and bring my body close to hers so I am spooning her, her head resting on my bicep. "Better?"

"Perfect." Is all she whispers before I hear her breathing slow down and her body relax against mine. I smile to myself as I look at the odd ball of femininity curled up in my arms. She is one of a kind...

She's infuriating.

She's annoying as hell.

She's demanding.

She needs a lot of attention. And by that I really mean all my attention. God forbid I don't listen to her rambling for half of second...

In my defence, she does talk a lot. There's only so much attention a guy can have... especially when that same girl keeps you up at night. I do need my beauty sleep, you know? How do you think I manage to look this good? Okay, okay, I know I sound like every other typical jock that's out there. Which I'm not. Well... I would be if it weren't for her. She somehow manages to keep me in check. Again... don't ask.

She's smart and witty.

She doesn't get offended when I tease her and express just how much of a pain she is. In fact, she seems proud of herself.

She has the biggest heart. How do I know? Her heart broke to pieces when her father left her, her mother and her siblings... Three years later she still can't fall asleep without feeling the guilt weighing on her chest...

Point is... she's got a big heart, something you won't find out unless you're as close as we are. And even then... she tries to hide it from me. But lucky, or unlucky – depends how you see it, really - for her, I know better.

She's brutally honest and it's a big part of her charm.

She's beautiful. In and out. From head to toe. Every inch of her is beautiful in my eyes.

And I'm in love with her.

Something new and random... I honestly have no idea where this is going... it could be a story. It could be a one-shot or two-shot... Don't know, really! I guess it all depends on you ;) Lemme know what you think!

xoxo