Title: Rise Up to Face it
Fandom: Hannah Montana
Pairing: Miley/Lilly
Rating: G
Words: ~1350
Disclaimer: This is a work of art, not intended for profit or offense. I own no rights to the subjects.
Note: This is in retaliation for what the Hannah Montana writers have done to my favorite characters. Lilly is not just a sidekick, Oliver is a cute guy but a baaaaaad boyfriend, and for eff's sake, I'm sick of Miley's obsession with boys and clothes and buying things. She's getting an ego, and I don't like it.
Senior year is fast approaching, and things have changed.
Of course they've changed, Miley really shouldn't expect things to stay the way they were in grade school, or freshman year for that matter.
She's noticed a great decline in the number of scraps and cuts she's had to clean and bandage for Lilly in hard-to-reach areas. Noticed a great increase in the amount of makeup Lilly wears on average, her diminished hat collection, the way her skateboard wheels are rusted on the inside, causing them to squeak annoyingly whenever Lilly drops by on occasions she doesn't wanna use her car. Which, again, are rare.
She's noticed the way Oliver has grown up, with his conditioned hair and suddenly great singing voice (post-puberty). But in some ways he's still the same. In most ways, actually. He still needs a guiding hand to get him through various social crises involving girls or bullies or secrets; needs Miley's advice on how to not mess things up with Lilly, which she has noticed have been happening much more frequently.
She's noticed how every time Lilly goes back to him, Miley feels a smidge of disappointment.
Rubbing sunscreen on Lilly's back as they spend an early summer morning on the beach a few yards from her house, Miley notices how things are different. The sand used to reach farther, all the way down to the pier. Now... its been eroded, washed away, up the beach to collect in a more unfortunate spot, taking up wave space from the surfers. She notices how there are more fences along the beach, how they keep moving out, trying to capture more of the public sands as "private property." She's noticed how the pollution from the city is steadily turning her sunsets an even deeper shade of red, which is both awfully romantic and terribly frightening.
But right now, in the warming glare of the 9 o'clock sun, she notices how Lilly shivers under her touch, which had become less a friendly chore and more a ghostly caress as Miley got lost in her thoughts. Refocused, she digs a bit harder, rubbing the lotion more effectively along Lilly's spine, then her fingers dip beneath the thin string of her bikini, and play there. Miley is kneeling down behind Lilly, and moves up so that her bare knees touch the back of Lilly's much shorter boardshorts.
Lilly leans forward to give Miley more room, but from her beach bag lying next to her, Oliver's ringtone sounds. Lilly answers but her voice is soft. Miley tries hard not to eavesdrop, but she's battling herself because, hey, they're both her friends, and it's not like they keep secrets from each other (minus all those previous secrets and white lies). She can't hear Oliver over the sound of the ocean lulling back and forth nearby, but she can feel Lilly's sighs and when she holds her breath. She feels her shoulders slump, and sees her head shake before she hangs up.
"Ollie says 'hey'," she supplies, her voice chipper but they both already know the conversation wasn't pleasing. Miley goes back to rubbing Lilly's shoulders, even though the sunscreen has already seeped into them.
"Something happen?"
"No… it's more like something won't happen."
Miley stays quiet, lets Lilly finish after she sighs. "He's doing some more vocal work with his coach tonight, so our date is off. And like, that's totally fine and everything, but it's been a few weeks since we've had a date-date, not just a movie or the beach or Rico's."
Lilly turns her head so she can flash a lopsided look at Miley. "This girl likes free dinners at fancy restaurants, ya know?"
Miley offers an apologetic smile, "Yea, I know. I remember well your fondness of shrimp cocktails." Lilly smiles softly.
It grows quiet between them; but like the sound of the ocean, something is building, and it's about to crash over.
Miley braves the coming deluge and reaches for Lilly's hand – un-calloused and smooth, her nails recently manicured. Her light caresses over the skin attract Lilly's attention and eyes.
"When did all this happen?"
"Monday? At the beauty salon? With you?" Lilly tries to lighten the mood. Tries to play her role. Miley won't have it this time.
"I mean, what happened to the skater chick Lilly? The surfer? The cute tomboy?" Miley can see the side of Lilly's face scrunch up, perhaps in other retort. Miley interrupts, "I mean, you're gorgeous and I love this shade of coral pink on you, but I gotta say, I kinda miss the helmet hair." To emphasize her point Miley fluffs a hand through Lilly's highlighted blonde locks.
Lilly touches her hair too, and looks down at the sand. After a moment she quietly admits, "I wanted to be what you wanted."
Miley's throat tightens, as does her grip on Lilly's hand.
"I didn't want you to change."
"You changed first - I just adapted," Lilly responds.
Miley holds her tongue. She knows she's changed. Of course she'd notice it. All those torrid love affairs with famous boys and school boys and bad boys and boys, boys, boys. Hannah's confidence had infused itself into Miley. She became accustomed to being wanted, adored, sought after, even when the wig was off.
Hannah had finally gotten to her, to the point where she had forgotten herself. But even when she was sent back home, Lilly was there to support her. She came to her when she called, assumed the Hannah mantle herself, and although the accent wasn't quite right (was miles away from 'remotely similar'), the skirt and the Jimmy Choos fit perfectly.
Suddenly Miley feels like the worst friend. Like, sure, she's been there to help Lilly pick up the pieces after breakups and Oliver's Ollie-poops (must everything have a cutesy nickname with these two?), but she hasn't really been there for her, not nearly as much as Lilly's been there for Miley. Suddenly she wants to let Lilly know that she's not just a sidekick. And she never should have been.
Miley wraps her arms tight around Lilly. Her knees open so that she envelopes the girl from behind in a warm embrace. It's time she acts like a friend.
She whispers quietly next to Lilly's ear as she rests her chin on the girl's shoulder. "I think Oliver is the wrong guy for you." Miley tenses for an argument, but it doesn't come. Lilly doesn't even react for a few seconds, but then her chest deflates and her head turns away from Miley.
"I know."
"…But I want you to be happy."
"Miley… You make me happy."
It's rearing up in front of them, grows taller and more menacing as it blocks out the sun. It's the moment of decision, to get into position and try to ride the powerful fall, or duck beneath and wait for air.
Miley leans forward to hug Lilly closer, pressing her face against her best friend's soft cheek. "… then… stay with me."
And Miley feels like she should have noticed what happened next on that deserted stretch of Malibu beach at 9 a.m. But it's hard to say who initiated the kiss.
Lilly turns her head just as Miley lifts her's from it's resting spot, and their lips brush. Not a moment after, pressure is added and it feels like her stomach is dropping, and she holds tighter because she might fall away. It's not until they pull apart does Miley notice the soft tingling in her lips.
They share a smile. They've survived. And now that it's over, it's weird how they thought it was scary. The rush was exhilarating, and it now calls them back for more. Another wave builds up and crashes, but the second kiss is easier than the first; more controlled, but just as exciting.
They exhaust themselves in the sun and surf, until it's late afternoon and they return home. They've got more obstacles rising up, and these are much bigger than they're used to, but that feeling of accomplishment from overcoming the first wave bolsters their courage.
~fin~