A/N: I adore moliver, but only if it's done right. I'm sorry if either Miley or Oliver is OCC. I felt Miley got too mushy at points and therefore out of character, but I didn't know how to fix it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hannah Montana. The title of this fic is a song by Playradioplay!
I'm a Pirate, You're a Princess
By: KStar
"Friendship isn't a big thing – it's a million little things."
-Anonymous
From Oops I Meddled Again...
"I'm in love with you? What kind of excuse was that?" Miley demanded as she and Oliver walked up the beach back towards Rico's.
Her best friend scowled at her. "Well, you didn't exactly give me a lot of time to think of anything," he snapped indignantly. "Besides, Becca bought it, and it was better than that whole mind reading thing. You're lucky I came up with what I did!"
Miley glared right back at him. She felt ridiculous, mostly because she was walking around in a chicken suit, and she decided to channel her embarrassment into anger. "Can you imagine what Becca is going to tell the entire school Monday morning?! That I'm madly in love with Oliver Oken and that I'm a creepy jealous stalker!" she shrieked.
Oliver pouted. "What did you want me to do? Tell her you're Hannah Montana?" He crossed his arms childishly and muttered, "Besides, it's not like I'm the plague. What's wrong with the school thinking you're obsessed with me?"
Miley obviously had hurt Oliver's feelings. Guilt wormed its way through the anger, and the girl tried to think of something to right this. "Because that would just be awkward. You're my best friend. Friend. We had this discussion already remember? Back when you found out the truth about Hannah?"
"I guess," Oliver shrugged still moping.
"Gah!" Miley yelped in exasperation. "Oh sweet niblets, Oliver! What more do I have to do for you?! I am dressed in a freaking chicken suit!"
Oliver didn't reply. Miley turned to look at him only to find a huge, leering grin on his face. "You know, Miles," he began. "I think yellow feathers suit you."
"Shut up, ya donut!" the girl snarled, slapping him on the arm. Her cheeks were tinted pink. Oliver rubbed his arm and gave her a sour look. A gradual silence descended on the pair. Miley chewed her lower lip and wrung her hands, or yellow chicken wings. "Hey, um, Oliver? Do you really like Becca?"
"Sure, she's nice," Oliver said, shrugging. He didn't sound half as excited as he had been the other day after his first date with Becca. Miley frowned and looked back at him.
"Are you dating her because you like her as a girlfriend or because she liked you first?"
Shifting uncomfortably, Oliver pursed his lips and didn't look at Miley for awhile. The two friends usually didn't talk about stuff like this. Finally, he mumbled, "I guess she likes me a lot more than I like her." He paused. "The thing is no one has ever expressed interest in me like that. I might be Smoken' Oken, but the ladies don't seem to notice. I've never had a girl like me before."
"I like you."
Oliver's lips curled up, but it was a sad sort of smile. "Yeah, I know."
"The hardest part about being friends is loving you so much."
-Windefire
From The Idol Side of Me...
Riiipppp!
Oliver's gaze swept over each of the divas in turn, eyes cold and deadly serious. Gone was the goofy donut everyone always knew him to be. He held up the popularity list the girls had passed out earlier that week and waved the two halves. "I don't care if you've got some list you two made up that says who's popular and who's not," he began. "I am not going to make my life miserable just so I can hang out with the so-called cool people because some piece of paper says so. I can sit with whoever I want and I can be friends with whoever I want.'
Amber and Ashley stared at him in surprise, surprise that quickly turned to contempt. "Watch it, Oken," Amber warned, saying the boy's name as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. "You just might join the hillbilly and skater punk on the bottom of The List." She smirked threateningly and glanced sideways at her partner in crime. The girls shared matching evil grins, touched their fingers, and made sizzle noises with their tongues.
Oliver, though, simply smirked as well. "That's fine with me," he replied good-naturedly and effectively wiping the grins off divas' faces. "Miley and Lilly are my best friends. I'd rather stand with them and be called a loser than suck up to you two. Each of them is twice the girl you two will ever be." He tossed torn halves of the list on the ground, causing the girls to jump as the paper thudded near their feet. Then, he turned and walked back to a shocked Miley.
"What was that all about?" Miley hissed softly, but she couldn't keep from smiling.
Worry flashed in Oliver's eyes. "I don't know. What was I thinking?" he moaned dramatically then tried to glance back at Amber and Ashley, but Miley gripped his arm and kept him focused on her. "Maybe we shouldn't hang out awhile." There was a bright grin on his face that didn't fit his words and Miley saw right through his act.
"You're the best, Oliver," she whispered. "Even if you're a donut." The two friends marched off, arm in arm, never looking back.
"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
-Walter Winchell
From Cuffs Will Keep Us Together...
"I am not getting my nails painted hot pink."
Miley sighed in exasperation and scowled up at her best guy friend. There was a look of pure disgust on Oliver's face as he peered around the nail salon. He was miserably embarrassed about this whole thing, and Miley had gotten an earful the entire way there about how Oliver was a guy and guys didn't do stuff like this and Miley should just make up with Lilly so he didn't have to suffer. Miley was sick and tired of people bringing up that two timing, no good backstabber. Any amusement she might have gotten out of Oliver's predicament was overcome with irritation.
"You don't have to get hot pink, Oliver," she snapped, gesturing to the two three-story trays of polish. "You can pick whatever color you want." Oliver just crossed his arms and glared at her. Miley sucked in a breath and resisted the urge to smack him. Why was he being so gosh darn unreasonable? Turning to the tiny vials of nail polish, she rummaged around until she found a simple clear shade. She held it up to her unruly friend. "What about this one? It's called 'buff.'"
Oliver didn't move. His eyebrows knitted further as he offered the polish a quick glance. "It's awfully shiny, Miley," he grumbled.
The hand holding the polish curled into a fist. Miley turned her back to Oliver and mumbled, "If you're having such a horrible time with me, then go ahead and leave." She hoped her tone was hateful enough to conceal her hurt. "Go find Lilly. I'm sure you'd rather be hanging out with her anyway!"
Silence. Miley chanced a glance behind her, afraid of what she might see. Oliver, though, stood rooted to his spot staring at her shamefaced. The guilt hung heavy in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Miley," he said quietly. "I...I like hanging out with you. Really I do." Miley pursed her lips and stared at him skeptically. Oliver sighed and attempted a weak smile. "Miley, I wouldn't rather be anywhere else than right here with you. I promise," he added sincerely. They stared at each other for several seconds, and slowly Miley's lips curled into a small smile.
"Oliver, I-" Miley began, but was cut off by a falsely cheerful voice. "Hello. What color you pick?" one of the nail salon's Korean workers asked in cut up, thickly accented English.
"You so owe me a whole plate of hot dogs after this," Oliver muttered. He snatched the polish in Miley's hand without looking at her and held it out to the woman then puffed up his chest and deepened his voice. "I'll take this one. Buff. Because that's what I am. Buff and manly and...buff."
"While everybody shakes my hand, you hold it."
-Nick Zeigler
From That's What Friends Are For?...
Miley coughed, almost stumbling down the stairs. "What is that smell?!" she whined, plugging her nose and searching for the stinky culprit. "Did Jackson leave his dirty laundry downstairs again?"
No one replied. Miley entered the kitchen where the odor was almost overpowering. That's when she spotted Oliver Oken sitting out on the back porch, arms wrapped around his knees and head bowed morosely. She staggered to the back door, and, upon opening it, gagged as the smell was even worse outside. "Oliver," she choked. "How can you stand...oh my gosh darn...it's you! You reek! Did you roll in something before coming over?"
"No," Oliver pouted. "It was a bet." He sighed and hugged his legs closer to his chest. Miley waited and finally her friend explained. "Rico made a bet with Jackson and me that if we didn't shower as long as the water was out at his house then we would win free hot dogs for a month. But Rico lied to us because the water was never out and there was a swimsuit photo shoot at the beach today and...the girls..."
"Oliver, you are so stupid sometimes," Miley muttered, no longer following the boy's rambling. "Do you boys only think with your stomachs?" Oliver didn't say anything. Against her better judgment, Miley sighed and sat down beside him. She frowned, thinking. "That's funny that I didn't even know this was going on. I mean, Daddy was making Jackson sleep outside but I didn't know why."
Eyes on the beach, Oliver said quietly, "Lilly told me Jake was back in town...again. You probably had too much going on with him." His tone was bitter, but Miley didn't notice.
Just the mention of Jake Ryan sent shivers up Miley's spine. She really didn't want to be thinking of him right now and what he could be doing with Hannah's sworn enemy. She sagged her shoulders in defeat and stared at her shoes. "Jake's dating Mikayla. We're trying the friend thing."
"Oh." Oliver paused. He was unusually tense beside her, and Miley got the funny feeling that he was mad at her about something. "How's that working out for you?"
Miley bit her lip. "Not too well," she admitted sullenly.
"I could have told you that."
"What's your problem?" Miley snapped, eyes narrowing. "So Rico tricked you and my dumb brother...don't take your lousy attitude out on me! I'm not exactly having the greatest day here!"
Oliver turned to look at her. His eyebrows were bunched over his angry dark eyes, and his mouth was twisted into a tight line. "Jake Ryan is a jerk," he all but snarled. "But you go gaga over him every time you're around him, and it's disgusting." Miley opened her mouth to protest, but suddenly the anger washed out of Oliver's face, and he just looked sad. "And then he hurts you. Maybe not always intentionally, but in the end, he never leaves without breaking your heart."
Miley was struck momentarily speechless. That was oddly insightful for Oliver however much the words hurt. As she attempted to regain a coherent train of thought, Oliver turned away, staring down at his hands like a kicked puppy. "You'll never be friends. Whether you'll admit it or not, you love him too much for that."
Closing her eyes a moment, Miley suppressed a shiver. "Where were you a couple of days ago?" she joked half-heartedly, but neither teenager laughed and the two slipped into an uncomfortable silence.
"You're right," Miley said finally. "Jake's a jerk and an ego maniac and has no concept of normalcy no matter what that big head of his tries to tell him. And even despite all that, I do still have feelings for him." She hesitated then shook her head. "You know you smell worse than Uncle Earl on baked bean night," Miley continued, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Oliver cringed. Suddenly Miley smiled at him, honest and bright. "But Oliver, right now, I'd rather sit on this porch with my stinky best friend than be anywhere with the mighty zombie slayer."
Oliver's lips twitched into a slow smile. "Yeah?" he ducked his head embarrassed. "Thanks, Miles." Then he shot her a teasing grin. "Well I'd rather be here with my lovesick best girl bud than with all those lovely ladies on the beach." He paused. "Although I could use a hot dog."
Miley laughed, and the two friends moved closer for a hug. So what if Mikayla had Jake? Miley had an Oliver and that was a thousand times more important. Oliver's arm draped over Miley's shoulder, shaking her out of her thoughts. Her face pinched and she quickly twisted out of his grip. "Um, maybe the hug can wait until after you've showered?" she suggested.
"A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked."
-Author Unknown
From Joannie B. Goode...
"Oliver."
Miley's eyes cracked open from where she rested against Oliver's shoulder and focused unpleasantly on Joannie Palumbo's irritated face. Miley laced her fingers in Oliver's free hand; his right arm was wrapped around her protectively. Really, she should be the one upset. Joannie was ruining a perfectly good friend moment. Her disappointment grew, when Oliver unwound himself from Miley, and she felt cold from where he pulled away. She tightened her grip on his hand so he wouldn't let go of that.
"Hey Joannie," Oliver greeted. "Are you alright? I saw you take a fall back there." His voice was soft and sweet, gentle and comforting just like when he had been speaking to Miley a little bit ago. Miley instantly resented Joannie for it.
Joannie tensed, her eyes shown hatefully at Miley a moment, but she drew her death glare from Miley and focused on her boyfriend. "I'm alright." It was obvious she wasn't, but it had nothing to do with being slammed around the hockey rink. "Oliver, do you maybe want to go somewhere else? It's getting a bit crowded here." She sent a pointed look Miley's way, and Miley felt Lilly stiffen beside her. Oliver, clueless as always, didn't catch on.
Miley waited for Oliver's reaction, odd despair filling her as she anticipated Oliver dropping her for Joannie. It wasn't really fair for Miley to steal Oliver's attention from Joannie like she was. Oliver was obviously smitten over the other girl, and Miley knew she was just going to have to deal with this. Taking a deep breath, she whispered, "Go ahead, Oliver. I'm okay now." She tried to let go of his hand.
Oliver, though, squeezed her fingers and pulled her back. He stared into her face as if he looking for something and Miley knew he had seen through her lie. He turned back to Joannie, eyes regretful. "Um, maybe later, okay?" he told her. "My friends need me right now."
And there it was. Miley tried not to let her relief show too much on her face. Oliver had chosen her over his girlfriend, just like he had said he would do. Joannie looked shocked and maybe just a tad heartbroken. It made her feel just a teeny bit bad for Joannie. It was obvious Joannie really really liked Oliver and he was rejecting her for another girl, even if that girl was just his best friend. Joannie glanced back and forth between Miley and Oliver, with a look of dawning contemplation as if she had just realized some little secret between the two friends that they didn't even know yet, then scowled and stormed off.
Oliver turned to Miley and stared at her, eyebrows raised. Miley wasn't sure what she should do. A million different things could have happened right then and there, but both friends were sort of clueless with how to react and Miley had never been good with this emotional stuff. She wanted to say how grateful she was, but the moment was already becoming awkward. She felt weird being so mushy around Oliver. She wished she could make this funny feeling in her chest go away. What was wrong with her? So she pushed those unfamiliar emotions into the back of her head and leaned back against him once more. They didn't have to say anything. Sometimes friendship went beyond words.
"Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 'Pooh!' he whispered.
'Yes, Piglet?'
'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. 'I just wanted to be sure of you.'"
-A.A. Milne
So what do you think? Please review!!