Hey everyone. I've had this idea floating around my head for a while. I am currently having writer's block on my other stories and I decided to try another Hannah Montana fic.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hannah Montana
It's funny how everyone wants to either be with me or actually be me. They don't understand everything I've lost to become Jake Ryan. They see the glamour and fame but not the person underneath it all. For years, my identity as Leslie withered away to the point of nothingness and all that was left was this exterior that everyone saw. After a while, it became all I knew and you couldn't see the person underneath of it all because there was no real person underneath. That all changed when I met her though.
As I said before, everyone just saw the fame and glamour, which totally affected the way they treated me. They treated me like I was a god or something just because I was a huge TV star. Everyday at school, crowds of kids would run up to talk to me, wanting so badly to be my best friend or boyfriend. They would constantly ask me to say various lines from my show. The teachers and school administration wasn't any more mature than the students were. All the teachers gave me special treatment in class and would give me an A just because of who I am. You may be wondering: "What's so bad about that?" Trust me, after a while, it's the most sickening thing in the world. I may have been the most popular guy at school, but at the same time, I was also the loneliest.
There was one person who didn't treat me like this though. Her name was Miley Stewart. She thought I was a complete jerk and egomaniac. Normally something like that would insult me, but instead it was extremely refreshing. She made a judgment, correct or not, on who I am as a person and not who I am as a celebrity. As a result, I fell for her. Hard. Arguably more importantly, however, she awakened the Leslie part of me that had been long subdued.
Getting her to like me was probably the most challenging thing I did for quite some time. It was unique because I was fighting two battles: the battle for Miley's heart and the battle and the battle between Leslie and Jake as the dominant personality. Both of my personalities, however, played a role in the first battle. The Leslie part of me apologized to Miley for all the…lets say incontinences that I caused her since enrolling in her school. He was also the one who tried to reason with her and said that I'm not really a bad guy. The Jake Ryan side, however, used some bolder tactics like asking her best friend to a dance to make her jealous or pretending to date my co-star for the same reason. Jake Ryan was also the one who almost blew it (or actually did blow it, depending on how you look at it) by kissing her (when I finally got her to like me) and then leaving her for several months.
My Jake Ryan ego was dominant when I tried to win her back initially. I tried to win her back with expensive gifts that just continued to confirm her belief that I was a complete jerk. However my Leslie ego saved me when I ignored my producer's idea of pretending to date my co-worker as a publicity stunt and admitted on national television that I was in love with Miley. I didn't expect anything to come out of it though. It was more me venting my frustration at my egomaniac Jake Ryan side of me. The next thing I knew, however, I saw Miley walking towards me and then we were kissing. It was the best day of my life because I had my first real girlfriend.
I soon found, however, that being in a relationship with her was going to be harder than first anticipated. I knew for a fact that it was the Leslie side of me that won her over, but the Jake side of me was still by far the more powerful personality. I received a false sense of hope after the first few days of dating her. The Leslie side of me was able to admit that my real name is indeed Leslie. Although she did find it funny at first, she also found it extremely sweet of me to trust her with my secret. She then returned the favor by telling me that she was secretly Hannah Montana. Those two nights were probably the highlight of our relationship because it showed the trust that we shared. Actually, it was more the trust that she and Leslie shared because Jake reappeared the night that I found out that she was Hannah. He appeared after a seemingly innocuous statement by her.
"You're doing better than Oliver. He fainted when I told him", was all that Miley said for Jake to reemerge.
Leslie had total trust in Miley, but Jake Ryan had jealousy problems after that statement. Jake Ryan did not appreciate the fact that he was not the first guy (not counting her family of course) to learn of Miley's secret. To make things worse, I was jealous of Oliver Oken, Miley's dorky, nobody friend who faints. Jake didn't make a big deal of it (or any), but he did take complete control of me for the next few nights. Also, it wouldn't be the last time that Jake Ryan became jealous of Oliver.
A couple days later, I hung out with Miley and her two best friends, Oliver being one of them. I wore a disguise the whole time so people wouldn't recognize me and make a big deal of me. My Jake Ryan personality was still dominant and was trying to act like a normal person, even though I failed miserably. Looking back on that day, Jake became more and more powerful as it progressed. That was because the Jake side of me became more and more jealous as I watched Miley and Oliver interact. She would laugh at the most random things he said and did, even if they were completely stupid and unfunny. Lily, her other best friend, laughed too occasionally, but it was more laughing at him and making fun of him. I swear that they are siblings separated at birth. Jake, being the egomaniac, decided to try to bring the spotlight back on himself by telling the same stories about my previous acting experiences and saying the same famous lines from my television shows.
Miley soon became sick of me and my dominant ego and wanted to break up with me. She tried to get me to break up with her by throwing Jake Ryan obnoxiousness back at me at movie premiere I took her to. However, I completely misunderstood what she was trying to do, which caused her to explode afterwards. She told me that I had no idea what it meant to be normal guy and that the only reason that she didn't break up with me was because she was afraid that I'd tell the world her secret. I was rather angry at that moment so I barged out, seriously considering spilling it. However, Leslie came in just in time and I decided not to and I sent her a letter assuring her that her secret was safe with me and admitting that she was right about everything she said about me. I may have lost Miley that night, but Leslie won a major victory against Jake.
I was soon casted in a new movie. I thought the movie would help me get my mind off Miley. Jake reemerged though when the producers asked me who I would like to be my female co-star. Asking Miley or Hannah rather, would have been awkward considering my character and my co-star's character were lovers. Jake Ryan decided to make Miley jealous by casting her enemy, Mikalya. It worked, but it caused some unwanted animosity and Miley almost ruined my movie as a result. However, she didn't and we made up and decided to be friends. I felt that it gave me the best chance of her taking me back eventually.
Unfortunately, it was too late to get rid of Mikalya and we spent several months filming in Antarctica. When we weren't filming a scene, she spent the whole time either flirting with me or trashing Hannah Montana. Honestly, I understand why Miley hates her. She is evil.
I didn't return to Malibu immediately after filming was complete. In a way, Leslie was scared to go back because Jake would immediately try to win back Miley. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Miley back, but I couldn't allow Jake to ruin the friendship we had. Therefore I took a nice, long vacation in the Caribbean. However, when I returned to Malibu, my worst fears had been realized.
I was walking along the beach thinking about what to say to her when I ran into her and her new boyfriend. Unfortunately, this wasn't just some random guy that she just met. This was Oliver. I knew immediately that this was a huge problem. She looked at him like I've never seen her look at me. However the worst part was that I understood that she knew nearly everything about him and was in love. She loved everything that was great about him and she loved all his shortcomings. I understood that he was the one guy her father wouldn't have a problem with, that he was the guy she entrusted with her secret first, and I understood that he got her in ways that I couldn't in a million lifetimes.
Miley being the nice person that she is, greeted me warmly when she saw me. She even hugged me, which caused my stomach to churn. However, she soon returned to Oliver's side. Jake Ryan was jealous that he lost his girl to Oliver Oken, but Leslie was also jealous, but in a different way. He was jealous that Oliver found someone that liked completely for him and not just part of him. He was jealous that had a true friend in Lily that would do anything for him and vice versa. Miley is the closest person to a friend, and it's a fragile friendship at that. Leslie was also jealous that people treated Oliver for who he is and not just some superficial persona. I remember making fun of him for being a nobody, but I then realized that being a nobody to most of the world can be a blessing. I didn't realize it at the time, but that day was a blessing in disguise. It marked the beginning of the end for Jake Ryan.
Over the next few years, I made a conscious effort to rid myself of everything Jake. Luckily he was severely weakened by the bruised ego that he suffered when I saw Miley with Oliver. I told my agent that I was done starring on TV shows and movies. I figured that if stay out of the public spotlight, the attention that Jake Ryan receives will eventually diminish. I also decided to get an ordinary job. It didn't have to be glamorous or high paying. I had enough money saved to sit on for a long time if I pleased. I just wanted to be normal and do something that I liked. It was Miley who suggested that I should become a theatre teacher. It involves acting, which I'll always have a passion for, but it also involves me helping others look good and shining the spotlight on them.
I still stay in contact with Miley. She has officially retired as Hannah Montana and is now a music teacher back at our old middle school. In a way, I guess I've kind have taken Oliver's place as the guy best friend. She and him are still going strong. They got married a couple years back. I attended the wedding and it was a very bittersweet moment for me. On one hand, I was happy for her and Oliver. You had to blind to not see that they were madly in love with each other. However, on the other hand, a part of me will always love her. She's about 7 months pregnant with a baby boy now. She asked me for a suggestion for a name and all I said was that I didn't want her to name him Jake. I've had enough with that name for several lifetimes.
You may wonder how things are for me now. As I mentioned before, I became a theatre teacher. I actually just finished my first full day. The kids are great and I think I found my calling. I still get recognized as Jake Ryan even though I haven't acted in years. I guess that won't ever go away, but it has steadily decreased. As far as my love live goes, I haven't had a real girlfriend since Miley. I've gone on dates here and there, but nothing has really materialized. It seems that every girl either likes me because she recognizes me as Jake Ryan or isn't interested when she just sees Leslie.
Well that's about it for now. I think I'm the last person in the building… no wait. There's one other person here and she's coming over.
"Hi, I'm Lindsay and I'm guessing you're the new guy" she says as she puts out her hand.
I graciously shake her hand.
"Yeah I'm Leslie. I'm the new theatre teacher", I say.
"I think you'll like it here. The kids are great. Thanks to you, I'm no longer the newbie here", she says.
After a short laugh, there was an awkward silence. I can tell she's studying me, probably wondering if I'm Jake Ryan or not.
"Hey I think I've seen you before", she says.
Oh no. Here it comes. You're Jake Ryan! Say the line!
"Yeah I'm…" I start to say.
"I know who you are!" she exclaims interrupting me. "I saw you at my friend Miley's wedding. You sat in front of me! You're Leslie Ryan!"
Wow. I didn't see that coming.
"How do you know Miley?" she asks.
"I dated her for a little bit, but it didn't work out, but we decided to become friends. She's probably the closest friend I have", I answer.
"I can't believe I never officially met you then. I was Miley's roommate in college. I would have failed out had it not been for her", she said.
"Well I've been away for a while. I kind of had to get away from everything to find myself. Miley and I wrote to each other constantly, but she was the only thing or person connected to Malibu that I kept in my life for a while", I said.
"Oh I see", she says.
"So since it's the first day of school and we don't have anything to take home and grade, do you want to go have dinner somewhere?" I ask nervously.
"Yeah sure, that'll be fun. I just have to go get my purse. I'll be right back", she answers.
I think that things are looking up. Maybe there is hope for Leslie Ryan.
How was it? Reviews are appreciated! :)