Better In Time
Summary: Jake is back and really changed. So Miley decides to give him another chance. But what happens when there's more sides to this new Jake then anybody saw? And who will be there to protect Miley from the truth? Jiley, Moliver, Lackson.
Chapter 1: Return
Miley Stewart sat on the warm sand, picking it up in her hands then letting it run through her fingers. It had been early that morning when the teenager had gotten his call. He said he was back in town. He was taking a couple of months off to be normal kid. Just like her.
'Normal' was the last word Miley would have used to describe Jake Ryan. 'Outgoing', maybe, self-preserving', yes, 'eccentric', most definitely, but 'normal' seemed like quite a stretch for him. It had been nearly ten months since they broke up, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened since: She had gone out with Trey, Hannah had gotten her Diamond, and even Oliver had had a girlfriend for a whole month. And now Jake was coming back, asking to meet her on the beach? At their old spot? What had brought this on?
"Miley?" A soft, familiar voice said through the trees. Jake Ryan emerged from the softly blowing palm trees. He looked the same, and yet, something about him had distinctly changed. He had the same shiny golden hair, the same blue-green eyes, the same charming smile of perfectly white teeth. But somehow, he looked more mature, more grown up. Like he was really trying 'the whole normal thing'.
"Jake," Miley said, getting up and staring at him. "How...how are you?"
"Great," Jake said, stepping towards her. He put his arms out, inviting a hug. Miley hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward and gave him a quick squeeze. "How've you been, Miley?"
"Pretty good," Miley said, pulling herself away from him. "So why are you here?"
"I thought this would be a good spot," Jake said, his eyes searching her face, as though he was to memorize every angle, every curve, every line of it. "It always was."
"I don't mean here, here," Miley said, gesturing to the beach. "I mean in Malibu. What happened to that TV show in London?"
"I'm taking a couple of months off," Jake answered. "My character is off attending a summer internship program at a private investigator's office in L.A."
"But why are you taking time off?" Miley asked, desperate for a real answer. "I thought this show was getting you crazy international fame?"
"It was," Jake replied truthfully. "It still is. But I wanted to come back. I needed to come back."
"Why?" Miley asked.
"What's with the third degree, Miley?" Jake asked softly. "I thought you'd be happy to see me."
"It's not that I'm not happy to see you," Miley said bashfully. "It's just you tend to bring a storm of trouble with you every time you come through here."
"I assure you my intentions are pure," Jake said, smiling. "I just wanted to see my friends again. I wanted to see you."
"Oh, Jake," Miley said. "You know we can't...not after..."
"I'm not here to beg you to take me back," Jake assured her. "I'm just here to spend time with you. And Lily. And Oliver. And all my other friends from my days at Seaview. I want to show everybody that I'm not the ego-centric superstar that I used to be."
"You were never..." Miley lied. "I mean...not that...well maybe...no..."
"You never were a good liar," Jake said, grinning.
"I guess not," Miley said, laughing softly. "So you've really changed, huh?"
"I'd like to think so," Jake replied, taking a seat of the soft beach and looking out at the setting sun. "Spending the last few months in London really got me thinking, you know? Being in a country where everything is so different from what I'm used to. With all these people that I don't know. It got me thinking. It made me realize that even if I wanted to go home, I didn't really have anybody to go home to. I didn't really have any friends because of the way I acted."
"Oh," Miley said, sitting down next to him. She had had no idea that this was how he felt. He had seemed a little more grown up the last time he was here, but they couldn't really be friends because of Miley's jealousy problem. She was sure she had gotten over that now. Could they really be friends this time around? "Well, you've got me."
"Really?" Jake said, looking at her happily. "Even after all we've been through? With your secret, and Mikayla, and my big head?"
"Your head looks pretty normal-sized now," Miley joked, pushing Jake's shoulder. "And Mikayla didn't get a Diamond on the Parade of Diamonds, now did she?"
"I forgot to congratulate you for that," Jake said. "I knew Hannah would get one before me."
"Really?" Miley asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well," Jake replied casually. "The old Jake would have been appalled by the fact that you got a star before him. But right now, I'm glad you did."
"Wow," Miley said. Maybe he has changed. "You want to go and find Lily and Oliver?"
"If that's where you'll be, I'm there," Jake said, looking into Miley's eyes.
Not too far up the beach, in that exact moment, Oliver Oaken was busy stuffing his face with a chilli-cheese dog at Rico's Beach Hut. Lily Truscott was also there, deep in conversation about cars with Miley's older brother, Jackson. Oliver looked out at the water and wondered what Miley was doing right then. Maybe brushing her long, beautiful hair, or preparing for one of Hannah's amazing shows, or maybe, just maybe she was thinking about him too. Oliver could distinctly remember the moment he first realized he was in love with Miley Stewart...
"So, you were Hannah in the limo when I was upside-down?" Oliver asked, still in shock.
"Yeah," Miley replied.
"And backstage when I was hanging out of the window?" Oliver pondered.
"Yep."
"And when I hid in your bass drum and rode on your tour bus all the way to Phoenix?" Oliver rambled, not thinking about what he was saying.
"You did what?" Miley asked, surprised.
" Nothing!" Oliver quickly replied. He couldn't believe it. He had spent two whole years loving Hannah Montana, worshipping the ground she walked on, but the whole time it was really Miley? He looked at Miley; really looked at her. She did have the same cute little nose, beautiful eyes and perfect face that Oliver had loved to look at when she was Hannah Montana. And when he thought about it, he had always felt like he had known Hannah, like she was someone he had already met. And here she was. As beautiful and wonderful as ever. But now, she was real.
"Oliver?" Lily said, pulling Oliver out of his flashback. "Hello? Earth to donut!"
"What?" Oliver asked, turning around to face his friend.
"I asked you if you knew what Miley was up to this afternoon," Lily repeated. "Jackson said that she got a call this morning then just took off."
"I don't know," Oliver replied, turning back to look at the setting sun. Suddenly, as if she had been called, Miley walked up the beach. She looked beautiful as the day's last sunbeams kissed her hair, illuminating her smooth skin. The sight of her made a knot form in the pit of Oliver's stomach.
The knot was quickly replaced by what felt like a fiery rock when Oliver noticed who his true love was with: Jake Ryan, Zombie Slayer/Inter-galactic Bounty Hunter/major pain in the...
"Oh my god!" Lily squealed. "It's Jake!"
"I noticed," Oliver grumbled.
"Hey Lily!" Jake said, giving the baffled blonde a hug.
"Hi Jake," Lily said, looking over at Miley with a look that clearly said Oh my gosh why didn't you tell me about this earlier?.
"Oliver, my man!" Jake said, putting his arm in the air, waiting for Oliver's high five. Oliver paused for a moment before grudgingly slapping Jake open fist with his own.
"So what brings you back in town?" Lily asked. "I don't remember reading anywhere about any new movies from you..." She grabbed a gossip magazine from the beach shack and flipped through it.
"I'm here on vacation, so to speak," Jake replied, sitting down next to Lily.
"So when are you leaving?" Oliver inquired, his voice laced with jealousy.
"Oliver!" Miley said, glaring at him.
"What I meant was," Oliver said, changing his tone for Miley's benefit. "For how long do we have the pleasure of your company?"
"I'm not sure yet," Jake answered. "As long as my friends want me here." He looked lovingly over at Miley, who had taken a seat on Lily's other side. Jake suddenly rose from his seat. "I'd really love to stay and hang out with you guys, but I promised my grandmother I'd take her out to dinner and a movie tonight. I'll call you tomorrow, alright?" He waved at Miley then was off towards the street.
"Oh my gosh, Miley!" Lily yelled, slapping her best friend on the arm.
"Ow!" Miley said, rubbing her arm.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me about this before!" Lily said.
"It's no big deal," Miley said. "It's just Jake."
"I don't think so," Lily said. "Did you see him? He was all 'taking a vacation from being a celebrity' and 'taking his grandma to the movies'! He's grown up and...I can't believe I'm saying this but...mature!"
"I know," Miley said almost dreamily. "He's really changed, huh?"
"I still think he's the same jerk he was seven months ago," Oliver said bitterly.
"I don't," Lily said. "Are you going to give him another chance?"
"Oh, I don't know," Miley replied.
"Well, either way, I think this is a good occasion for new shoes!" Lily squealed happily. "Let's go!"
Miley and Lily scurried off. "Chicks," Jackson said, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah," Oliver replied absentmindedly.
"Oh my god," a passing girl said to her friend. "Did you just see who was here? Jake Ryan! He is soooo cute!"
Oliver sighed loudly and dropped his head onto the table.
This was going to be a long week.