Red plastic cups were scattered around the penthouse which was crowded by dozens of college students who had the night off and needed to release much needed stress from the finals, that had ended the day before. Miley and Demi were playing a game of pool with Nick and drinking whatever he had gotten for them from the it was, it was strong and tasted surprisingly good, compared to the look of it, a yellowish brown color.

The three had been inseparable, best friends since meeting at Freshmen orientation for college, and since then, they'd been helping each other survive in the large, crowded city of New York. Demi had had been crazy about Nick since the beginning, almost to the point of infatuation. He had known, but had chosen to ignore it. Meanwhile, Miley enjoyed the single life, as did Nick, but they were still both lonely. However, with Nick always being single, Demi thought he was waiting for her to make her a move.

Music was blasting throughout the party-scene as people danced, fondled each other, and other activities, most of them being illegal. The party had been going on for only a few hours, but was already out of hand, the place was trashed and drinks were spilt. Luckily, Nick being the smart liberal arts student that he was, had put all the valuables away. Though truthfully, he didn't have many valuables.

Nick looked at his two best friends, in the dimmed light, and smiled, they were both beautiful, amazing, and smart people who he knew that he was lucky to have. Demi was gorgeous, her curves made any man gawk, but the best part about her was her smile, it was big, bright, and lit up the room, with more brightness than the ball on New Year's. It could give a starving nation hope. But when Nick looked at Miley, his eyes stopped and cascaded down her body. She was stunning, her golden brown hair with blonde highlights and her bright blue eyes made any woman jealous and men swoon. Out of everything about her though, her best feature was her laugh. Her complete, one-hundred-percent genuine laugh. The one he'd heard only a hand full of times in the past few years.

In the early morning, around three, people had cleared out and Miley and Nick were picking up. Miley was collecting all the cups while Nick swept the floor and wiped off the tables. After an hour or so, they were done and had flopped onto the couch, exhausted. Nick looked at Miley who was playing with the ring that was on her right hand ring finger, something she did when she was either bored or nervous. Looking at her face, he cringed when he saw her eyes, it was faint, but he could still see the glint of sorrow, of depression, something that had been there for two years. The mask always partially fell off when they were together, just with each other.

He took her hand in his and she looked at him confused before sighing and snuggling into him. Taking her hand, he lead her to the bedroom and tossed her a pair of pajama pants and a white tee. She changed in his bathroom and came back in to find Nick asleep on the bed. Turning off the light, she got into bed and laid the covers over them, she rested her head on Nick's chest and closed her eyes, joining Nick in the calm surrender of sleep.

In the morning, Miley awoke with a slight headache and groaned. Feeling someone tap her shoulder, she sat up and looked at Nick who held out an Aspirin and a glass of water for her. She took it and swallowed the pill, drinking a bit of water.

"Thanks," she smiled.

He nodded and held out his hand for her once he got off the bed, "breakfast's ready."

Taking his hand, they walked out of the room and into the open kitchen filled with new appliances, a stainless steel fridge, and maple counters and cabinets. The aroma of eggs and bacon filled the air and she inhaled deeply. Sitting down in a wooden dining room chair that Demi and Miley had picked out, like everything else in the penthouse, she started to eat the warm, mouthwatering breakfast that Nick had cooked before she'd gotten up. Nick sat next to her and took a sip of the hot latè that he'd brewed for the both of them.

A hollow laugh escaped Miley's lips and she shook her head, nudging Nick's arm, "I can't believe you have your own latè machine, Mr. Coffee Addict." She took a sip of it and licked her lips, making Nick chuckled, "you don't seem to be complaining."

"Because it's too good to complain," she laughed shaking her head, "I just can't believe you spent two hundred dollars on a brewer when you're so conscious about money."

Nick shrugged, "if you think about it, it was cheaper, instead of going to Starbucks everyday, you know?"

"How did you get the money to get one though," she asked.

Again, he shrugged. She didn't need to know, he told himself, she shouldn't know. It was safer that way. Better that way. She's been through too much as it is, he thought, she doesn't need to know how I afford this penthouse, how I afford most things that I have, how I take care of my family, she doesn't need to know. But at the same time, while Nick was telling him all of these things, he wanted to tell her because he didn't want to keep anything from her. He wanted to be the man who could save her, who could turn her life around, but with his lifestyle, the one that she didn't know about, there was no way she could do that.

A/N: So, this is my new story. Wasn't sure if I should've updated it so soon, but here's what I decided, I will write a new story and also the sequel to When You Love Someone. However, that might mean that The War Of Love may be postponed for a bit more. Also, I truthfully have no clue where TWOL story is going at the moment. Which I apologize for. I'm not saying it's over, I'm just saying it's on hiatus. Also, Letters To You will be updated soon, hopefully! And to those that I PM'd about my new story idea, well, I'm still debating that one, but this one is set in stone. I know exactly what I want to happen in this one. And I hope you all enjoy it!

Peace. Love. Niley.