Hello everyone. I'm glad you guys enjoy Anyting But Mine! Here is a little cutesy one-shot. Enjoy!
An ebony canvas blanketed the night sky as tiny drops of rain splattered on the wet concrete. The wind gusted through the palm trees, whipping his hair across his forehead.
He tightened his stiff, khaki jacket around his body, cursing himself for not wearing a heavier coat.
Who knew Malibu could get so chilly in October?
He sighed, booted a rock and watched it skip across the saturated ground.
He was crazy.
He hadn't been around for two years and was just going to show up on her doorstep at 1 a.m.?
Pausing in the middle of the street, he glanced out at the moon glistening off the thrashing ocean water.
"This is stupid." He breathed into the fierce air and felt his body turn to face the other direction. He took another step, stopped, and turned again. The rational side of his brain had been debating his heart for a while and his heart had finally won out.
Tell her how he felt and let her scoff in his face or turn around, forget about it, and regret it for the rest of his young life.
He had finally gotten the courage to tell her and now he was going to chicken out?
No.
He trudged on against the howling wind and blowing rain.
25th street.
He glanced at the pole and made a right turn.
2nd house on the right.
The moonlight seemed to shine extra bright on her house as he hesitated and darted his eyes to her bedroom window. A small light was glowing against her sheer, white curtains, giving it an eerie almost ghost-like appeal.
He shivered again as a raindrop slid down the tip of his nose and jumped, splattering against the ground.
Closer he came to the beacon that was calling him through the moonlight. He heard his heart thumping loudly in his ears.
He was definitely crazy.
He lifted his right foot and placed it gently in the moist grass of her yard. His left foot followed. His light footsteps brought him just under her window.
Another gust of wind sent a chill up his spine as he watched her curtains waft in the stormy night air.
Her window was open.
He held his breath and listened closely to hear the soft hum of her radio. As the wind blew stronger he heard movement from her room and saw her hands gracefully wrap around the bottom of the open window. Her face parted the white curtains as the moon light illuminated her features.
His breath caught in his throat.
She tugged at the window and growled, "Stupid window."
With that, a name he never thought he would speak again came tumbling out of his mouth.
"Miley…" he whispered loudly.
The tugging at the heavy beams of wood and glass ceased as the young girl poked her head out of the window- her brunette waves falling over the sides of her bare shoulders.
Her eyes grew the size of saucers as she noticed a drenched figure standing beneath her window. She squinted through the falling ran.
"Jake…oh my goodness…what are you doing?" Her right hand clasped over her mouth as she darted away from the window.
Jake was hoping she was running to the front door and not leaving him to stand there in his soaked defeat. He made his way around the house and up the slick wood of her deck and watched in anticipation for the kitchen light switch to flip on.
He pressed his wet face against the glass.
Nothing…
His hands were clenched in sweaty fists.
A light!
His eyes watched the tall, graceful, brunette glide across the living room floor- her robe clenched tightly around her thin frame. Her brunette waves were vibrating against her quick motions.
For the first time in two years, they were standing face to face. Although a glass barrier was separating them, Jake could smell her vanilla perfume.
Miley unlatched the glass sliding door and quietly slid it open. Jake could feel the warm air of the Stewart household wash over his chilly body.
He shivered as Miley stood there, neither of them saying a word.
Jake could not read the stony expression etched across her perfect face. Green eyes met blue eyes.
"Miley…" Jake managed to sputter out as rain dripped off his lips.
She reached out and took a hold of his wet arm.
"You are soaking wet. Come in." The tone of her voice was cold and did not waver.
She exited the room, leaving Jake to listen to the sounds of his heart beat reverberating through the room. She returned with a large beach towel and stuck it out to him.
"Thanks." He said quietly.
She nodded and stepped down into her living room. Her body fell back into her plush couch and a sigh erupted past her lips. Jake followed but didn't dare sit close to her.
"What are you doing here?" Her cold tone broke through the thick tension that was hanging in the air. "I haven't seen you in two years." She rotated her body to face him.
"I know you haven't and I'm sorry for that." His voice was sincere and he noticed Miley's stony expression fade. "Miley, I came here to tell you something."
"Jake, if you've come here to tell me you apologize for leaving and never even calling me then I accept your apology." Miley told him staring at her chipping pink nail polish.
"You do?" He asked in confusion.
"Yes, I forgive you. I…I've moved on, Jake." She brought her eyes to his and noticed the sadness that replaced his usual warm glimmer.
Jake slumped back into his chair. The warm cushion felt good against his freezing back. He took a deep breath.
He was not going out like that.
"Miley, I've done a lot of growing in the past two years and have come to realize how good I had it here. I've come back to have that feeling again and take a break from acting and all that glamour that comes with it. I want to change and I came here…I wanted you to help me do that. I want you to help me change, Miley." They locked eyes and he watched Miley tense up.
"Jake, you had your chance with me. I'm sorry." She replied flatly.
They sat in an uncomfortable silence until Jake stood to leave. He walked closer to where she was sitting and she looked into his piercing blue eyes and looked quickly away. His fingers gently found the bottom of her chin and maneuvered her head so she was once again looking at him.
"I also came here to tell you that I still love you and always have. I was too chicken to face it." With that, his fingers slipped from her chin as his wet shoes took him up the steps and back out into the rainy, dark night.
Miley was dumbfounded. She ran her fingers along her jaw line. A faint tingle remained where he had gently touched her. Her heart was racing as two years of aggravation and heartbreak rolled off her shoulders.
She stood, wrapped her robe tightly around her waist and took off out of the sliding glass door. Her feet carried her quickly down her rain glistened deck and out to her front yard. She saw him walking slowly up the sidewalk- his head hung in defeat.
"Jake!" She called out as his silhouette paused in mid-step and turned to face her. Her bare, wet feet splattered across puddles and wet concrete until she was standing inches from him. "Wait…" She breathed out.
"What?" His face was a confused mix of happiness and defeat.
"I can't let you go again."
The rain and wind whirled around them as the streetlight above flickered. The moon's light illuminated them with a blue glow. October's air was cold against their skin but neither of them seemed to mind.
Jake's cool, moist hand found the side of Miley's face as she leaned into his touch.
"I'm so glad you said that." He smiled widely as their lips met and two years of pent up anger and frustration were erased in one, single, connecting moment.