Disclaimer: I own nothing. Hannah Montana and all its characters belong to the Disney Channel. No infringement intended.

A.N. This is unlike anything I've written so far

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain." – Neil Gaiman

Unrequited – (adjective) not returned or reciprocated

Unrequited

On this particular Friday night, Robbie Ray Stewart could be found sitting by the fire lost in a book. The house was quiet, which was a rare thing since three teenagers and endless friends were always going in and out. Jackson, his oldest and only son was on a date with his girlfriend; Lilly, his daughter's best friend slash 'second' daughter was on a date with her boyfriend Oliver, and Miley, his daughter was out with her friends leaving him home alone.

The quiet time was appreciated, and although they lived in sunny Malibu, it was the perfect night to sit in front of a fire and relax. The night just couldn't get any better.

A soft knock caught his attention, and he quickly marked his place in his book and set it down before going to the door. The sight that greeted him was completely unexpected.

"What in the world?"

Miley was sandwiched between Joanie and Sarah as they fought to keep her upright. It didn't take him more than a second to see that she was intoxicated.

"Hi Daddy" Miley said somewhat somberly.

"Hi Mr. Stewart" Joanie said as she handed Miley's purse to him. "Miley had a little too much to drink…"

"So we cut her off and decided to take her home." Sarah said as the two girls walked past Robbie Ray to set Miley down on the couch. Once Miley was sitting quietly, the girls turned back to Miley's father.

"What happened?" The elder Stewart questioned.

"We don't know. Miley said she needed a fun night out, so we went to the bar we always go to and it was my turn to drive." Joanie said.

"Yeah. Miley wouldn't tell us what's bothering her. I even snuck away and called Lilly to see if she knew anything but she said she didn't." Sarah looked to the couch; Miley hadn't moved.

"You were drinking in a bar?" You're only eighteen." Robbie Ray said.

"C'mon, Mr. S, you know how it is; the local bars let the college kids in and we found a safe one that doesn't check id's"

Robbie Ray pinched his nose and nodded his head. "All right. Thank you for taking care of her and bringing her home. Are you girls ok?"

"Yeah, we're fine, just tell Miley to call us tomorrow ok?" Sarah asked.

"Will do. Thanks again girls."

Robbie Ray closed and locked the door and turned to look at his daughter. Even though he couldn't see her face, her posture told him that something wasn't right. At all.

Sitting on the coffee table directly in front of her, Robbie Ray sighed. "How much did you drink?"

Miley, who was blankly staring off into space blinked a few times. "Enough" She said, not really making eye contact. "Enough to dull the pain."

"Pain? Miley, what's wrong? Are you hurt? Sick?"

A bitter chuckle escaped her lips. "I'm not hurt or sick, well, physically anyway. You see Daddy, I'm in love; powerfully and painfully in love. And it's the worst kind of love imaginable."

Robbie Ray reached out and lifted Miley's chin so he could look in her eyes. His chest tightened at the anguish he found along with the tears that were starting. "Worst?"

"It's the worst kind of love because, my love is completely unrequited."

Robbie Ray was speechless. A strangled sob escaped Miley's lips and he quickly moved to the couch to wrap his daughter in his arms.

"I love Lilly, Daddy, since the day I met her eight years ago. I realized I was in love with her when we were twelve, and ever since then my love for her just keeps growing, more than I thought it could. I have all these feelings inside me that I hold back, all this passion that I've kept from her and from everyone for too long and I just can't take it anymore. I want to hold her and kiss her. I want to make passionate, earth shattering love to her until we can't even move, I want to take long walks with her and have a house with a white picket fence and a little dog. I want to have kids with her and travel the world with her by my side."

Robbie Ray soothingly stroked Miley's back and reached for a tissue. Miley's sobs were borderline uncontrollable. "Did you ever tell her?"

Miley shook her head no as she blew her nose. "No. I was going to the minute I got back from filming Indiana Joanie two years ago, but I caught her and Oliver kissing. I ran to my room and busted out crying because I knew then that I didn't have a shot. Seeing her with him… she was happy and I didn't want to do anything to wreck that."

"We share a room now and sometimes we share a bed, and when I wake up and she's in my arms it's the most amazing feeling in the world for about five seconds and then I realize that she's not mine. I have dreams, vivid dreams of my life spent with her, dreams that seem so utterly real that when I wake up I'm confused and disappointed because the dream is so much better than reality. I would give anything to be with her."

Miley put her hands to her heart. "My heart, it hurts constantly. It literally aches and I feel like I can't breathe and I just want the pain to go away."

Tears were welling up in his own eyes as Robbie Ray tried to comfort his daughter. "Sshh, calm down, baby girl please don't cry. Maybe it's not too late to tell her?"

"It is too late. Oliver's planning on asking Lilly to marry him tonight. He wins. He gets to have the picket fence and the mop headed kids and he gets to share his life with her. The love of my life is marrying someone else! I'm so heartbroken."

"You don't know that she'll say yes, hell, they're only eighteen. Miles, tell Lilly, give her the chance to see how much you love her. Don't suffer in silence any longer. I hate seeing you like this. Miley, I had no idea that you've been suffering for so long that it's killing me. Tell her. Give her the option, let her see. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain." Robbie Ray said, he was trying.

Still clutching her heart, Miley looked up into her father's eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. "B-but I don't know if my heart could take getting rejected. It's one thing, loving her from a distance; it's another if she knowingly rejects me."

"But telling her might help you release some of this heartache. Miley, you can't go on living like this, I'm worried for you."

"I'm worried for me too." Miley lost it completely and buried her head in her father's shoulder. Sobs were wracking her body and the liquor she drank was pretty much worn off. "It hurts, it hurts so badly. Make it stop, please just make it stop."

Robbie Ray continued to hold his daughter as she cried herself to sleep. Neither of them realized Lilly was watching from the back door.

...Review? Please?