I'm really bad at introductions just to let you guys know(:

Prologue

A girl walked into her house, expecting it to be empty. She only needed one step to see it was not. In fact, it was far from it. Her Mom sat on the couch, her siblings scattered and aunts and uncles all over the place too. Her stomach twisted and she felt sick looking at the people, wondering why they were there. Everyone looked up at her entrance. Her mom's eyes were puffy, her sisters filled with sorrow. Her brother… he didn't even make eye contact.

"What's wrong?" the clueless brunette asked, coming back from her sleepover.

"She was closest to him," her mom whispered, so she couldn't hear.

"Tell her, Honey," her aunt then advised.

"Miley…" she trailed in the voice the girl had heard so many times before. Enough to know bad news was coming. Enough to know she wouldn't like it.

"What Mommy? You're scaring me."

"Last night, when you were at your friends, late at night, there was an accident," she began, the tears reforming at the memory. "A car was driving and slid on black ice. Each driver… Each driver died."

"Who was it?" she asked, now worried, smile completely faded as she scanned the familiar faces. She realized who was missing, she realized why too. "Where's Dad?"

She was panicking, her mother wanting to not tell her, she didn't want to be the one to break the girls heart in a million pieces. Miley didn't want to know the answer just as much as her Mom didn't want to tell her, but it had to be said.

"As I said… There was an accident last night and your father," she choked on her own words. "He died."

The grown woman burst into tears. She didn't want her only husband to die. She loved him. She really really loved him. At least enough to produce five beautiful children with him, five children whose hearts were now broken along with so many more adults.

"No," the girl failed to believe the truth. "No, this isn't, this isn't right. It can't be. He was here – last night! He was here! I remember! He was here before I Left!" she cried. "No. No. No." she kept repeating, shaking her head. An older woman came over and wrapped her arms around the smaller teen.

"It's okay," she shook her little sister soothingly. Miley just pushed her off however, going up to spend the rest of weekend up in her room, with a few bathroom breaks, a couple stops for food, and some phone calls to her best friend Mandy who was also the only one she would talk to that entire weekend. If people knew that this would become how she lived maybe they would have cared more about that weekend. Maybe they would have tried to get more involved. Maybe, they could have stopped her future, and Miley never would have disappeared. But then again, then this story never would have began.

The Beginning

The two girls walked into school side by side, looking as they did every other year. Only this year, it was different. Nobody knew it yet, but it was different by far. This year, the social queen from last year was stepping down from her throne, leaving her crown open for others to fight for. She no longer wanted to do it, the reputation was something she couldn't handle. She simply didn't want it. She refused to get hurt anymore and if that meant giving up her friends, then so be it.

And the girl next to her, she was the only one who knew how hurt she was still from the tragic day three months ago. It was her last day of school, her friends had a slumber party. She went home after and found out she had lost her hero forever.

"Will you be okay?" Mandy asked her. The girl nodded silently, and you could hardly tell she was popular last year never mind was capable of talking. Her face was blank and you saw the fear in her eyes along with stress. "Be strong, okay?"

"Okay," she squeaked out.

"I'll be checking on you," she comforted her friend. They were in two different grades, but Mandy lived right down the street. They had met when they were only four, becoming friends in an instant. Everything was so simple back then, no boys, no friends, no drama, talk about the perfect life. Yet, all she could remember was wanting so badly to grow up, to be in high school. The only thing she couldn't remember was why.

Mandy walked Miley to her locker but only that far, then went in her own direction. The sophomore opened her locker and it was only moments before she was crowded around by old peers.

"Miley!" a shorter blond by the name of Kandace ran up. It was her best friend from last year and everyone knew it. Funny how many things can change in the matter of three months. She should have known things should be different this year though, I mean why else would Miley ignore every phone call, text, IM, email and visit. "I missed you! Where've you been?!"

"Around," That was her reply, that was the best reply she would manage to say. It was quiet, you could barely hear it, no emotion in her voice.

"Are you mad at me?" she furrowed.

"Hey, Miley!" Another came up. "What's new?"

Miley shrugged, pushing her way through the people. "What's up with her?" a few people exchanged that very question, her previous best friend staring on after her, giving her a worried look. Out of all these looks though, one boy in particular wondered the now famous question. You wouldn't think he would, after all, this particular boy was her ex-boyfriend, the one who was on the top of the list for boys in the grade, not to mention going out with an ice queen who hated her. He was rather popular, had many friends, which was probably why he had found it so easy avoiding her, trying to forget her. He never could but, he could try.

"Joe, what's wrong with her?" a curly haired fellow asked.

"I – I don't know," his brother stumbled. This girl was his friend, or at least, he thought it was her. The girl he used to know was never this quiet, he hadn't seen her smile once yet, and it troubled him. He didn't know what he would do without his Smiley, he didn't know what anyone would do.

-xox-

"You okay, Miles?" her best friend came up.

"Fine," she whispered.

"Please don't tell me you've been like this all day," she moaned, getting only a shrug. "Miley, you need to talk to people, you aren't gonna have any friends…"

I wonder if Mandy would have said that if she knew that was exactly what Miley had wanted.

Just then the royal ice queen herself came over to dampen the mood, this was the point in which Mandy saw just how much Miley had changed.

"Hey, heard your man got a new girl. Are you sad, he finally found someone prettier and more talented than you?" She laughed, flicking her black hair back behind her, waiting for an insult in return. She did not get one though, instead, Miley flicked her hair over part of her face, continuing to look straight ahead, but not saying a word. As soon as a quite confused Selena was out of ear shot Mandy started to speak, whisper yelling.

"What's wrong with you, why didn't you say anything back?" She hissed.

"I don't know," Miley shrugged. "I guess I didn't want to."

"What-"

"Hey, Ladies," Joe interrupted.

"Hey Joey," Mandy greeted. Miley lifted the corners of her mouth to show she acknowledged him. The older girl nudged her but all they had was a staring contest.

"Wha-"

"Where's Nick?" Mandy asked, interrupting whatever the boy wanted to say.

"Library," the two friends watched as she rushed off.

"So, Miley, what's up?" Joe tried for what seemed like the billionth time to get her to speak to him, but no such luck, as she shook her head weakly and walked away.

So, first chapter. Tell me if you like it. Continue? Boring? Suggestions?