Disclaimers: I don't own Hannah Montana or anything else related to the show. I'm just using them for the purpose of this fictional tale. I promise to give them back safe and sound. If you can, please review. If not, then I hope you at least enjoy reading this. Now, on to the story!

BURIED UNDER SAND

"Okay guys, that was a great rehearsal! Same time tomorrow. Don't forget and don't be late. I'm talking to you, Matt!"

I pointedly looked at my band's lead guitarist and pretended to give him a stern look. He turned and gave me a mock salute from where he was standing in front of my drum set, just off to the right and holding the neck of his guitar in his left hand. I couldn't help but break out into a smile as I made the motion of throwing the drumstick from my right hand at him, not actually doing so. He flinched and half-ducked, which caused my smile to grow even wider.

He straightened himself out and said, "Geez, Lilly! Just kill me with that thing, why don't you!"

I raised my eyebrow, the smile never leaving my face. "Matt, I didn't even throw it so stop acting like such a drama queen."

I glanced at the watch on my wrist, seeing that it was already 5:30. I put my drumsticks down and stood up from the stool I was sitting on. As I stretched out my back and legs, the other members of my band, including Matt, put up their instruments in their respectful places in my garage, where we have been practicing almost everyday for the past 3 months. We haven't done any gigs or received any offers to play anywhere yet, which was fine with me. It's mostly been just us hanging out and having a good time, getting used to the idea of playing as a group.

The idea of starting a band came from Oliver Oken, my boyfriend who I've been going steady with for 7 months now. Actually, the whole band thing started out as a joke between us. I've been playing the drums since I was 14 (I'm now 18) and while I'm not trying to come off as bragging, I'm pretty darn good at it. Oliver, on the other hand, can't play an instrument even if the fate of the world depended on it. He has a great singing voice though and I love it whenever he sings to me. It just melts my heart and I fall in love with him all over again. I can't help it. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.

Anyway, one day we were sitting down at one of the tables next to Rico's Surf Shop with our best friend, Miley Stewart, and Oliver made a crack that he and I should start a band, that way we wouldn't be left in the shadows of Miley's alter ego, Hannah Montana. Laughing, I dismissed that thought as being silly, not able to see it ever happening. Miley piped up just then and said we should go for it. Oliver could be the singer and I could be the drummer. She, or rather Hannah, knew of some guys who played guitar and bass and if we wanted, she could ask them if they wanted to join us. Oliver and I exchanged glances, silently agreeing with our eyes and turned back to Miley, giving her our approval. About 2 weeks later, Matt Smith joined us as the lead guitarist, along with Jay Harris, who would play rhythm guitar, and Sean Jenkins, a bass player.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I felt a hand snake its way around my waist, finally settling on my right hip. Already knowing who it was, I smiled and looked up into Oliver's soft hazel eyes, twinkling from the lights in my garage as he stood next to me. "Can I help you, Oliver?"

He just smiled and gave me a gentle kiss on my left cheek. "I'm just admiring how beautiful you look right now."

My heart soared and I turned in his grip as I put my arms around his neck. He moved his hand from my hip to the small of my back and put his other hand there as well, clasping them together as he pulled me closer. I leaned my head upwards, closing my eyes as our lips met in a soft, slow kiss. I could hear the others making gagging noises and without breaking the kiss, I removed my right hand from its grip on Oliver and stuck out my middle finger as I gave them the Hawaiian "good luck" sign. This got them to start chuckling, but they stopped with the gagging sounds. As I brought my hand back, I gently pulled away from the kiss and looked into Oliver's eyes again, not releasing him from my hold just yet.

I turned my head to look at the other members and said, "Okay, okay, show's over! Now get on out of here. I know you guys have something better to do than stand around watching us making out. At least I hope you do…"

Jay threw his hands in the air in submission. "Alright, we can take a hint." He turned to Matt and Sean. "You guys want to go get something to eat? I'm starving here." Getting a nod from each, Jay turned back to us and said, "Okay, we're outta here. See you tomorrow, Truscott. You too, Oken."

I watched as they opened the garage door and walked outside, closing it behind them. I released myself from Oliver's hold, going to the garage door and making sure that it was closed securely. After making sure it was good, I turned back around and caught Oliver's gaze from across the room.

Smiling at him, I was about to say something but before I could, he opened his mouth and said, "Before we start making more plans for the rest of the day, I told my dad that I would help him clean out the attic after band practice. You don't mind, do you? I kind of feel bad about just leaving you like this."

I started to laugh quietly, shaking my head. Seeing the look of confusion on Oliver's face, I went on and explained to him. "No, of course I don't mind! It's kind of funny because I was going to tell you the same thing. I'm meeting Miley down at the beach. We plan to just hang out for the rest of the day."

I walked over to Oliver and took his hand, pulling him to the door near the back left of the garage that was adjoined to the rest of my house. I opened the door and tugged him inside after me, stopping momentarily so he could shut the door behind him.

As we reached the front door, Oliver asked, "Did you want me to give you a lift to the beach?"

I shook my head and replied, "Nah, but thanks anyway. I'm going to use my skateboard to get there. I haven't been on it in so long and I miss it a lot. It'll feel good to ride it again."

Oliver smiled at me as he opened the front door, stepping outside. He turned around and gave me a hug. "Have fun and be careful. Tell Miley I said hi."

I hugged him back and said, "Don't worry, I will. To everything you just said."

Oliver pulled back slightly and leaned down, giving me a quick peck on the lips. He looked into my eyes one last time and smiled, finally pulling away and walking to his car that was parked in the driveway. I stood there at the door and watched him as he climbed in, turned the car on and threw it into reverse. Before pulling out completely, he turned his attention to me and waved goodbye. I waved back and continued looking on until he drove out of sight. Sighing in happiness, I closed the door and made my way upstairs to my room.

I opened the door and made a beeline for my closet, where my skateboard and protective gear were. I sat down on my bed as I put on my elbow pads, kneepads and helmet. Grabbing my skateboard, I quickly walked out of the room, closing the door behind me and heading down the stairs. My mom wasn't home yet, so I wrote her a note saying where I would be and left it on the small table next to the door where she always put her car keys. I walked outside, making sure to lock the door before I left.

Tossing my skateboard on the sidewalk, I got on and gave myself a starting push, harder than I should have. Almost instantly, the board shot out from under me and I fell to the ground, landing hard on my back. Muttering to myself and groaning from the slight pain, I finally managed to sit up. It had been a good, long while since I last rode my skateboard. I should've known that I wouldn't be able to pick it up again so easily. This was certainly going to be a fun trip just trying to get to the beach. Oh well. This would be good practice for me so I could get used to the fun of skateboarding again. As I sat there and thought about it, it occurred to me that I didn't really know why I suddenly gave it up. It just sort of…happened.

My mom never liked it. She always claimed it was too dangerous and that I could seriously get hurt if I wasn't careful. I would just shrug it off and tell her that she worried too much. Of course, it didn't help that every time we got into those conversations, I would usually end up going home with a new injury the next day, whether it be minor or major. As can be expected, it would spark yet another "serious" conversation with my mom about the dangers of skateboarding.

My friends were more understanding, seeing as how a lot of them shared the same interest in the activity as I did. Oliver enjoyed it also, but he was way clumsier than me and only skated sporadically. He said he would much rather watch me any day of the week. I think the only reason he did it was so he could check out my butt whenever the chance arose, without the fear of getting caught staring. Not that I would have minded, but still.

And then there was Miley, my best friend in the entire world. She had followed a lot in my mom's footsteps when it came to skateboarding, saying it was dangerous. The only real difference was that Miley wouldn't bring it up as often as my mom had, saying that if it made me happy, then she would be okay with it, even if I chose to continue doing it when I turned 80 years old.

Thinking about Miley, my mind shifted back to reality as I remembered that I was supposed to be meeting up with her. I shook my head slightly and got up from the ground, wiping dirt off my pants. I looked around for my skateboard and spotted it hiding halfway in a small bush that lined a part of the sidewalk. I made my way over and slid it out with my foot. Carefully, I tried another push-off, this time with more success. Before I knew it, I spotted the beach in the distance. By now I had become reacquainted with skating and I was actually doing some minor tricks on the board. It turns out that it did come back easy for me. Once I got the hang of it, it was like I had never forgotten, almost like riding a bike.

As I neared the beach's edge, I decided to try out one of my more major stunts on the board. Unfortunately, I hadn't caught on quite as much as I'd thought. I didn't nail the landing right and the next thing I knew, I was facedown in the sand.

"Oh my gosh, Lilly! Are you okay?"

I felt a pair of hands grabbing my right arm, trying their best to help me up. I slowly got to my hands and knees, grimacing as I tasted sand in my mouth. Spitting some out, I leaned back until I was fully sitting down, my legs spread out in front of me. Noticing that there were still hands on my arm, I looked up at the owner and met Miley's concerned eyes looking back at me.

Not letting go, she knelt down beside me and asked again, "Lilly, are you okay? That looked like a bad fall."

I just gave her a sarcastic look and said, "Oh yes. I'm just fine. After all, the only time I ever come here is to try out the sand smoothies!" To make my point, I spit out the last bits of sand that I managed to dislodge from between my gums.

She just smirked at me and tugged on my arm. "Well, come on. Let's get you cleaned up a bit. Sand is definitely not your color!"

Rolling my eyes, she helped me get to my feet. For the second time today, I wiped myself clean until I could no longer see any traces of sand anywhere on my body. I straightened up and looked back at Miley, who was giving me a questioning look. "Why were you on your skateboard anyway? I thought you had forgotten about it."

I shrugged at her statement and walked over to the aforementioned skateboard, lying just a few feet away from us. I picked it up, inspecting it for any damage as I said, "I just felt like skating again. I miss it a lot and it felt pretty good while I was on my way over here. It made me feel…free and like I could do anything in the world if I put my mind to it."

I heard Miley mumble under her breath, "Yeah, except that last thing you did…"

"What was that?" I looked at her, raising my eyebrows as I waited for her response.

"Uh, nothing."

I took a step closer and continued looking at her. She glanced at me and shifted her weight uncomfortably. "SO, how about we finish cleaning you up? I bet you're just dying to get the taste of sand out of your mouth!" Turning away from me, she began to quickly walk towards Rico's stand. I just stared after her amused and let out a small laugh, stopping short as an unknown grain of sand flew to the back of my throat, forcing me to cough instead.

By the time I caught up to Miley, she was already at the counter, talking to Jackson as he handed her 2 bottles of water. I went to one of the tables next to the stand and put my skateboard down on top of it. Sitting in one of the chairs, I began taking off my pads and helmet as I waited for Miley to come back. I set them down next to the skateboard and turned my attention back to the stand. Miley and Jackson finished the short conversation they'd been having and she turned around, smiling as she walked towards me. She sat in the empty chair to my right and handed one of the water bottles to me.

I waved to Jackson and he responded by winking his eye at me. Cocking my eyebrow at his choice of action, I opened the bottle of water and poured a decent amount in my mouth, closing it as I swished the cool liquid around to try and get any leftover grit washed out from hidden places. Miley was watching me with slight intrigue, which turned into a look of disgust as I opened my mouth and spit out the grainy water into the sand next to my chair.

"Lilly, that's disgusting! Couldn't you have done that in the bathroom?"

"Nope! I didn't feel like getting up and for crying out loud, it's the beach! It's not like the ground isn't going to get wet anyway." Proud of my answer, I gave her a smug grin.

"If you say so…" Miley looked away for a moment, taking a sip from her own water bottle. She turned back to me and asked, "So how did band practice go today?"

"The same. Matt was late, again. I honestly don't know what that boy does for him to be late all the time, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to find out either. Oh! We also have a new song we've been working on. Jay was the one who came up with it. Wrote it out last week. That's the main song we've been playing, along with a few others. It's actually starting to sound pretty good now."

Miley nodded her head and said, "That's good. I'm glad I was able to hook you up with them. I sure know how to pick them, don't I? Miley, how do you do it?" She let out a happy little laugh and broke out into a wide grin.

Noticing that the sun was in the early stages of setting, I lightly smacked Miley's arm with my hand and said, "Okay Ms. Popstar. Pull your ego together and let's go take a walk on the shoreline. The sun's getting ready to set and you know how much I love sunsets. Especially on the beach." Without waiting for an answer, I rose from my chair and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the chair she was sitting in and pretty much dragging her in the direction of the water.

I yelled out over my shoulder, "Hey Jackson! Can you watch our stuff? Thanks!"

Miley managed to catch her bearings and before long, she fell into stride next to me. Reaching the water's edge, we stopped just before the water could touch our feet. I let go of Miley's hand and crossed my arms in front of me as I stared out at the ocean, listening to the sounds of the waves crashing in the distance and the cry of an occasional seagull as it flew by overhead. We just stood there in a comfortable silence, letting the noise of the natural world envelop us. I always feel my best when it came to moments like these: just standing on the beach with my best friend as we let the sounds of nature overtake us, the sun beginning its slow descent into the horizon.

After a few minutes, I glance over at Miley and smile at the look of happiness and content that's plastered on her face as she stares out at the water. I gently nudge her with my elbow. She looks away from the ocean and turns her gaze on me, a warm smile on her face. Motioning with my head, I tell her, "Come on. How about that walk?"

Without saying a word, she nodded and obediently fell into step as we slowly started walking along the shoreline, with her closer to the water. By now the sun had descended a bit more, making its presence slightly known as the faint colors of a brilliant sunset began to creep its way across the sky. I stopped our walk momentarily so I could indulge my eyes in the beautiful sight that lay right before me.

"It's absolutely breathtaking, isn't it?" Miley's soft voice next to me broke the silence that had come upon us. I simply nodded my head as I continued to stare out at the sky, the colors getting brighter and more awe-inspiring with every passing second.

I cleared my throat and said, "Oliver's sweet and I love him to death, but he's not much into the whole sunset thing. That's why I'm glad I have you, Miles. At least I can watch it with someone I care about and who I know enjoys them as much as I do." I turn my head to her and give her a caring smile, which she returned.

Miley veered her attention back to the sunset as she said in an almost shy tone, "I'm glad you're here with me, too. I wouldn't want to be here with anyone else."

Touched by her words, I reach my arms out and pull her into a tight hug, reveling in the sensation of the moment as she hugged back. We stayed this way for a few seconds before I pulled away and stared into her eyes, glad that I was blessed with a best friend like Miley. Life was perfect for me. I had a wonderful boyfriend who loved me as much as I loved him, I had a best friend who I knew I could always count on and who would support me, and now, I was even part of a band. Oh yes. Life couldn't have been any better and I wasn't planning on changing it for the world.

Giving Miley another smile, I turned away from her and started to walk down the beach again. "Come on, Miley. Let's continue on down the beach some more before I have to go home." No sooner did those words leave my mouth when I heard Miley let out a small cry.

"Eeewww! This is SO disgusting!"

Turning back to her, I saw Miley holding out some of her hair with her left hand. Confused, I walked back the few steps towards her. Upon closer inspection, I couldn't help but let out a laugh as I saw why Miley was upset.

"This isn't funny! How would you like it if some dang bird went and left its nasty, drippy white mark in your hair?"

Keeping my laughter to a bare minimum, I tried to see just how much of Miley's hair had been targeted. Before I could get too close though, Miley darted from me and started a haste walk to the water. Since we were already close to the edge to begin with, it took no time at all. I watched her with a humorous look on my face as she squatted and began the process of trying to wash out the seagull droppings from her hair. I could hear her mumbling incoherently and I shook my head as I made my way towards her.

I stopped behind her and started to reach out a hand to help when she suddenly stood up and whirled around, taking a half step. I guess she didn't see me there because we collided. Upon impact, she kind of bounced back from me and I could see that she was about to lose her balance. Working through reflex, she immediately shot out her hands and tried to grab onto anything she could get a hold of that would steady her and keep her from falling into the 2-inch water. Unfortunately, that happened to be my wrist and before I knew it, I was being grabbed and we started to fall. My own reflexes had awakened at this point as I instantly wrapped one arm around her waist as the other reached out to try and break the inevitable fall.

We made a small splash as we landed in the cool water, which stunned me for a moment. The sound of Miley slightly gasping for air and mildly groaning broke me out of my stupor, causing me to realize that I had landed on top of her and most likely knocked the wind out of her lungs. Concern etched my face as I eased off of her and sat back on my hands and knees next to her, hovering above her slightly.

"Miley, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to land on you like I did. Are you okay?"

Regaining the ability to breathe again, she simply nodded and rolled to her side opposite of where I was sitting as she attempted to sit up. I crawled around her and sat until we were facing each other, placing a hand on her right shoulder as she finally sat all the way up. She had her eyes glued to the spot of ocean water between us. I bent my head down a little as I tried to look at her face, but she shifted it away from me. I placed my unoccupied hand on her left cheek and gently forced her to face me, but her eyes remained averted from my gaze.

"Miley, please look at me. Are you okay?"

I searched her face for any sign of emotion. Her eyes seemed to dart back and forth as if she was having some kind of internal battle. After what seemed like forever, she reached up to where my hand was still on her cheek and placed her own hand over it, keeping it firmly there. She slowly looked up until our eyes made contact. Even in the twilight of the sky that was beginning to transform the world around us into darkness, I could see a swirl of emotions emanating from them, some I recognized while others I had never seen.

She opened her mouth and spoke so softly, I could barely hear her. "Lilly, I'm so sorry but I can no longer keep this hidden. Please forgive me."

I just looked at her confused and was going to ask what she was talking about, but the next thing that happened was something I had never imagined happening in a million years. Still holding my hand to her cheek, she leaned forward and softly pressed her lips against mine. Before I could respond in any way, I heard an angry voice coming from somewhere near us.

"What the hell are you doing?"

My attention snapped towards the sound of that voice and as my heart dropped when I saw who it was, the only thing that ran across my mind was the look of anger and hurt that was clearly visible in the eyes of Oliver Oken.

Author's Note: Don't worry. There is still more to come. I know that it sounds like the kiss just happened out of the blue, especially when there weren't any inclinations that Miley even had feelings for Lilly, but do remember that it's in Lilly's POV. Up until the end, she's been completely oblivious to any hints or actions that might have led her to think that Miley has a crush on her. After all, she is in love with Oliver and as they say, "Love blinds all." At least I think that's a saying…

Anyway, a side note about the choice of instrument that Lilly plays. To me, it seems that there are too many times when a guitar player becomes everyone's first choice for a main character or a love interest. Yes, I know it's the coolest part of the band (especially with those rockin' guitar solos!), but I felt like a different instrument deserved some praise for once. I like the drums a lot more anyway, which probably makes me biased but I don't care. LONG LIVE THE DRUMS!

Ahem… I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. There's obviously going to be another one, but I'm not sure if this story will end up being a two shot or if I'll wind up putting more than just 2 chapters. It just depends on how the idea plays out in my head. Please review if you can! Thanks!