A/N: One of those lame crap love quote inspired stories.
"If you can't get someone out of your head, then maybe they are supposed to be there."
Moliver, naturally. And it isn't set in their freshman year. It's their senior year and like, the school year is starting. It's probably going to be long because that always happens and I just don't do the chapter thing.
Disclaimer: Don't own Hannah Montana. I think I would kill myself if I did. And I don't own "Without Love" because that song is just so brilliant and catchy and I looovvveeee Hairspray. I don't own anything I'm using in this story except the plot.
You could say she had a mental disorder. Almost the opposite of ADD, where instead of not paying enough attention she had the tendency to pay too much. In this case, she was stuck on one boy. And his name was Oliver Oscar Oken, resident trolley.
That's right, you heard me. Somewhere inbetween all the concerts, the crazy fans, our other relationships and our everyday lives I, Miley Stewart, have fallen for the Smokin' Oken himself, and I'm not too afraid to admit it.
…To anyone but him, that is.
Not that I'd need to tell many people, seeing as Lilly was the one who told me how I felt in the first place, and then Aunt Dolly was the one who gave me the line that set it all into motion.
But I hear my feelings for Oliver were pretty obvious, even before I knew what they were.
Since the beginning of senior year, Oliver had been acting a little funny. And not in his usual "funny, ha-ha" way, either. It was more of a… "What aliens abducted Oliver and switched his brain around?" kind of funny.
It all started with The Becca Thing. Because that was all it was, at first.
Basically, Lilly and I had nearly suffered from joint heart attacks when Hannah received another e-mail from Becca saying she liked Oliver. Again.
Well, what she really told us was that she "felt a little something more" if we "Catch her drift". Or something.
The e-mail came at the end of June on my second week of tour, which was only my second week off of school. I left the day after finals.
Only this time, since I was on tour and Oliver wasn't here (his mom didn't feel comfortable with him staying with two girls his age for two months) I had to hold my breath and actually advise her this time, and hope for the best.
The best came in the form of an e-mail from Oliver saying that Becca had asked him out…
And he'd said yes.
And that's when everything changed.
Granted, in the years of friendship Lilly and I had with Oliver, we had managed to teach him how to (subtly) cut someone out of the circle. Of course, I know the signals when I see them since Lilly and I created them ourselves, but I let it slide. At first.
Suddenly his e-mails stopped coming so often. He'd call me less and less, and never find time for me in his schedule. Mind, he only did this to me. He still e-mailed/called/contacted Lilly everyday.
He told me it was because with his newfound relationship that he didn't have enough time to daily talk to both of us, so he called Lilly over me.
So I mulled over what could possibly make him so busy—besides the obvious—and came up with nothing.
"I'm sure he'll come around soon, Miley. Just like always."
That's what Lilly told me, and I couldn't help but agree. Oliver did always have the tendency to pull away from us at the beginning of new relationships—but usually it was both of us, not just one.
Then he told me it was easier to talk to one of us and let the other pass the information on, and Lilly's name was first in the address book.
But then I started wondering if there could be ulterior motives to it, and had Lilly ask him, casually of course, over the phone one day.
She put him on speakerphone so I could hear his answer, "Well, I figured that she wouldn't have as much time on her hands to reply since she's always busy with Hannah stuff."
Which was, actually, a plausible excuse. Sometimes, I admit it, my calls were cut short with him or I had to finish an e-mail later in the night because my duty as Hannah called… But that had never bothered him before, and this had been going on for 3 years!
Something about his excuses didn't ring true, and I was going to find out what it was!
It was here, I can say as I'm looking back, that I first realized my increasing use of the name "Oliver" in my head, and the decreasing amount of "Miley" in his.
"Come on Miley, you know everything will be fine once we get home, so chill." Lilly really was a greater friend than I could've imagined. I mean, I complained about The Oliver Situation almost the entire tour.
I felt the bus come to a stop, and Lilly and I shared excited looks. Finally, the tour had ended with 2 weeks of free time to spare before school started and we were seniors.
Though I got off the bus first with an excited wave to Oliver, he didn't move a muscle until Lilly came out behind me. She sent me a nervous glance as he jogged up in the parking lot and hugged her. "I'm fine" I mouthed to her.
And then Oliver started shooting out questions about the tour and how it was staying cooped up on the bus for 2 months. I missed most of them as my own furious questions deafened me to the world.
Why is he ignoring me? Why isn't he at least ignoring Lilly too?
I was about to throw a fit when I stamped it down. It wouldn't do any good if I treated the situation like I was in grade school, and not almost 18.
The most I'd gotten out of him in the hour of being back was a nod and a "Hey, what's up Miley?" which was so impersonal coming from him that it…Well, it hurt.
Lilly must've sensed that I was kind of freaking out, because she pulled Oliver near the bus to ask him what was up. He looked uneasy for a minute (not that I was spying), then he smiled.
"What're you talking about? How am I acting any different than usual?"
Oh, if I ever get my hands on that boy…
"Oh, come on Oken! You've been cutting Miley out since the tour started, and you're still doing it in person! It isn't that I don't like talking to you, but I know that this is what you usually do with Miley. So what's up?"
"Don't worry about it Lilly, alright? It's a little complicated right now, but I'm handling it. And…Miles, you can come out from wherever you're hiding now, because that's all anyone is getting out of me tonight!"
Dangflabbit! Foiled again! When did that boy get so smart?
So, really, when you're in a situation like that, what choice does one have but to attempt to hide further in the shadows?
While this cut off my actual view of them, I could hear their smiles.
"You want to play hard to get? Fine. You know you can't hide from me!"
I held down a snort and substituted it with a silent eyeroll while quieting my breathing. I waited a few minutes, then took a step backwards into… Oliver!?
"Gotcha!"
"Eeeeee!!" I screamed as I fell down. "How did you find me so fast?!"
It's surprising how much dignity you can muster up when you've just fallen flat on your back. I can imagine how impressive I looked, plopped in the middle of the parking lot demanding information.
He smiled at me mysteriously and my heart melted.
…Wait, what?!
And before I even had time to process my own thoughts, Oliver had hauled me off the ground and swung me around.
Someone had been working out while I was away!
"I missed you, Miles." He said quietly into my neck, where he was currently pressing his face.
We had slowed to a stop, and I threw my arms around him in a tight hug.
"I missed you too, Oliver." I matched his tone and volume, resting my face in his shoulder.
While the following silence was quite comfortable, I found myself wanting to fill the silence.
"So, um, how's Becca?"
He stiffened and put me down.
"She's uh, great. Just peachy. We're doing pretty well. Tomorrow is our two month anniversary!"
Now he wasn't even looking at me.
"Hey boy, I'm down here!" I stood on my tiptoes and still didn't quite reach his chin, waving my hands futilely in front of his face. It didn't matter, because whatever I'd said or done had put Oliver back in that remote land where Miley wasn't welcome. He started muttering excuses so he could leave, hollered a bye to Lilly and took off without giving me a second glance.
I was completely gobsmacked. I could feel my heart freezing over. And when Lilly walked up to me a minute later, she asked me the question that I was thinking myself.
"Oliver, what's happened to you?"
"So, what, you asked him about Becca and he just left?" Lilly asked while stuffing more nachos in her mouth. It was the next day and we were at the beac.
I nodded and grabbed for a slice of pizza.
"I don't know what's wrong with him, but I hope he sorts it out soon. Oh my God-" I saw Oliver and Becca totally making out in the corner of my eye and started choking on my bite of pizza.
Lilly looked freaked out and started pounding on my back.
"Miley? MILEY!! Does anybody know the Heimlich?!"
A random stranger who turned out to be a nurse ran over and popped it out, but that didn't stop me from passing out right after.
Choking takes a lot out of a girl!
I woke up to someone dumping ice water on my face.
"That's COLD!!" I croaked. My throat kind of hurt from where the food got stuck.
I opened my eyes to see a worried Lilly, Oliver and Becca and strangers looking down at me. How comforting, everyone knew Miley Stewart can't swallow food properly. Great!
"Miley, are you alright?" Lilly looked super concerned.
"How long was I out for?" I tried sitting up but got super dizzy. "Ergh… My head hurts."
"That's probably because you landed on it when you passed out." Lilly pointed out, her face clearing of worry a bit. "And you've been out for like, 10 minutes!"
"Oh my God, really? That long!? Just because I choked on a stupid piece of pizza?"
It dawned on me that it wasn't just me and Lilly, and I turned to thank the nurse who performed the Heimlich on me.
"It wasn't a problem, dear, just doing my job! I'm glad you're alright, but I need to be on my way now. Bye!"
And as she left, the crowd dispersed leaving me with Lilly, Oliver and Becca, the source of my choking.
Now that I remember, Oliver hadn't said a word, and it didn't appear as if he was opening his mouth anytime soon either.
As I started becoming more aware of my surroundings I noticed that my left hand was occupied with someone else's.
That someone else being Oliver, naturally. He was covering it up really well, actually. He was bent next to me and kind of leaning over with his knees on either side of my hand. And he still disguised it to look as if he was just bracing himself on the ground.
I took a moment to study him. His long and lanky frame was on its knees and bent over me. Oliver appeared calm, but he's been my best friend for nearly four or five years now. I know him better than I know myself.
Oliver's eyes were worried. He had a little wrinkle inbetween his eyebrows that appeared casual but I knew to be his sign of concern. Plus, his hand was gripping mine really tightly.
Becca didn't look worried at all. In fact, she looked rather bored, and irritated. Which irritated me. I mean, hello, I almost died here! Who is she to be mad?
"Could someone help me up, please?" Typically I still felt like crap. Miley Stewart never makes quick recoveries. When I get sick or hurt, I do it right.
Oliver and Lilly both snapped to attention and lifted me up. Oliver slung his arm around my waist and Lilly put hers under my arm and across my shoulders. They started slowly carrying me in the direction towards my house.
"Guys, come on, I think I can walk on my own."
"Yeah right, Miley, nice try. You couldn't even sit up, how do you expect to carry your body around?" Oliver finally opened his mouth! I kind of fell a little in shock.
"Miley!" Lilly and Oliver shouted in alarm.
"I-I'm okay. I just kind of…Slipped. Maybe I do need help getting home." Lilly rolled her eyes and Oliver snorted.
"Ya think?" Lilly chimed.
"Ollie, I think I'm going to head home. Maybe we could…meet up later?" Becca sounded really suggestive. Or maybe I was projecting?
Hold up…Projecting what?! I think the loss of oxygen, even for that short of a time, caused me to lose some serious brain cells.
"Alright, Bec. Maybe I'll catch you later, but I'm not sure. I'll call you." He reached over and squeezed her arm and smiled.
Oliver hadn't smiled at me since June. What makes her so special?
Or maybe the question should be phrased differently. What makes me so…unspecial?
Is unspecial even a word?
"Unspecial? What're you babbling about, Miley?" Oops. Guess I asked that out loud. Now they probably thought I was crazy, too!
"I er… I don't know. It just kind of slipped out?" I closed my eyes and feigned another slipping thing to distract them.
"Uh, Lilly, maybe we should hurry up a bit?" Oliver suggested. Lilly grunted.
"Not all of us are capable of carrying their friends!"
"Do you want me to carry her then? Because her weight doesn't bother me."
"I- well, sure. If you think you can handle it go ahead!" Lilly sounded kind of suspicious. Suspicious of what, though? I think the oxygen loss really was affecting me.
And that was how I found my self getting carried bridal style by Oliver.
These me/Oliver situations were going to kill me. I survived the choking just to die of embarrassment and shock.
Suffice to say I made a full recovery by the time I got home. By "full recovery" I mean "I was faking it", obviously.
When we walked up the stairs I attempted to leap from his hold and run to the safety of my room.
Typically the moment my feet hit the ground my legs gave out and I would've fallen if Lilly hadn't caught me.
God wants me to suffer. This is the only explanation I can think of as Oliver lugs me into my house and lays me on my bed. Lilly just looks super concerned now, and they're refusing to leave since no one is home.
"Miley, you can't even get up on your own, how do you expect to stay home alone and satisfy your needs without help?" Lilly sounded kind of frustrated, that time.
"When are your dad and Jackson coming home anyways, Miles?" Oliver asked, scrutinizing my room.
I tried to lie. "Later tonight!"
"So then why does your calendar say 'Daddy and Jackson GONE!' with a giant circle around today and the next two days?"
Busted!
"Oh, are you sure that's today? I mean, I could've sworn that was next week…"
Lilly and Oliver turned and gave me disbelieving stares. A girl can try, can't she?
"Alright! Fine! You can stay—"
"As if you could've made us leave." Oliver cut in. I glared at him.
"Mark my words, the two of you will pay!" I growled. My threat wasn't working, probably because they were laughing at me. My anger is unappreciated.
So we sat and joked around for awhile. Every time I wanted to get up for something Oliver would just sling me over his shoulder and carry me to it, and it made me laugh.
Then Lilly said she wanted the princess treatment too, so Oliver threw her over his shoulder too. Then he dropped her on "accident".
"It's not my fault you weigh a ton, Lils!" Oliver joked, rubbing his "aching" shoulder.
Lilly glared at him a lot and gave him the silent treatment for a few minutes, making me the inbetween person.
Before I knew it I literally was the inbetween person because Oliver squished onto the bed on my other side so I was pinned between them.
"This sucks, in case you guys were wondering. I can barely move and now you're making it impossible for me to breathe. I'm going to die here, and my poor daddy will never know how much I love him." I proclaimed dramatically.
I could feel them laughing, and that didn't help my situation much.
"Thanks for caring about my wellbeing, guys! You had this planned out from the beginning, didn't you? I bet you plotted and waited until the day I lost all body functions except talking. You're going to kill me and drag me off to some ditch and Lilly's going to become Hannah Montana and Oliver will, I don't even know what Oliver could gain by having me dead, but he'll do it anyways. Maybe you're going to pay him, Lilly, with the money you'll get from being Hannah. It's not like you can drag me to the ditch with your muscles—this isn't a joking matter, guys! Stop laughing, this is the end of my life I'm talking about!"
I bent my arm and elbowed Lilly in the side so hard she fell off the bed in shock. Oliver took that minute I was preoccupied and started tickling me, then when Lilly got back up she did too.
"Okay, okay, I give up! Just kill me now and get it over with!"
"Miles, we aren't going to kill you! Are friends not allowed to—"
Oliver stopped talking as his phone started ringing. Lilly and I exchanged glances as we heard the yelling coming from whoever called him. His eyes widened a bit and he went straight to apologizing.
"Becca, crap, I'm so sorry! I've been here with Miley all day—yes, I know, I've been here for almost 6 hours. Okay, alright, I'll pick you up in a half hour. Love you too, bye."
He closed his phone and looked at me with an apologetic look. He opened his mouth but Lilly cut him off.
"Just go, Oliver. I can handle Miley for now."
I sat up. "Look, I'm better now anyways, so just go with Becca and we can hang out later or something."
He looked torn, so Lilly shoved him off the bed and dragged him towards the door.
"Goodbye, Oliver!" we chimed as he picked himself up and left.
"Get better, Miley, I'll call you later, Lilly."
And he was gone.
"Becca has that boy on a short leash!" Lilly burst out. "She may make him happy, but if he's not with her at all times she has a spaz attack."
I shrugged. "He doesn't really talk to me anymore. I mean, it's true. That's the first time he's really talked to me since school ended. Maybe he's finally coming back around?"
Lilly smiled at me reassuringly. "Maybe…"
So I spent the next day lying low even though I could walk around and do whatever I wanted on my own, but Lilly wouldn't leave.
After that day time seemed to fly until before Lilly or I knew it school had started. We had only seen Oliver from a distance since that day and he had barely been calling Lilly.
Lilly was getting aggravated with me constantly wanting to figure out why Oliver was avoiding me.
"Becca's his first serious girlfriend, Miley." She repeated to me for the hundredth time in two days. "Maybe he's just trying to sort out his relationships. It's possible Becca's jealous of us, you know?"
I gave her a flat look. "Ya think? Too bad Oliver is talking to you and not me. I'd get it if he was blowing both of us off, but he isn't. Did I accidentally send him come kind of 'I hate you' vibe while we were on tour?"
"Whoooaa, take a breath and calm down. It isn't that big of a deal! Look, it's Oliver, he'll come around like he always does and then we'll be back to normal as if nothing had happened. And, look! Here he comes, we must have Drama together again! Hey, Oliver, over here!"
He didn't even look at us and say hi. He just kept walking to the left of us to sit with Danny, who had shed the dandruff around junior year and spent a summer working out to the point where he was attracting different stares than the disgusted ones from 8th grade.
"I—did you—he DIDN'T!" I rambled out. Ignoring us for so long was so unlike Oliver that I didn't know how to react. Lilly, on the other hand, wanted to take initiative and give him a piece of her mind.
A blessing—or a curse, for some—from heaven made today's lesson catching up on expressing emotions. Lilly charged over (there is no other way to describe it) to Oliver and dragged him to be her partner, while I crept behind her and partnered with Danny.
"Why does this exercise require partners anyways? I never understood how having a partner made faking emotions easier." Danny was talking to me, great. I really couldn't listen to him right now, I needed to concentrate on what Lilly was saying to Oliver—
"Uh, Miley? Earth to Miley! We're practicing more emotions than vacancy today, you know." Danny tried to get my attention.
"Look, Danny, Lilly is about to grind into Oliver I can see it, so if you'd just let me listen real—"
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE BLOWING US OFF LIKE THAT OLIVER? We're your BEST FRIENDS and we wanted to TALK and I yelled to CATCH YOUR ATTENTION and you just WALKED AWAY WITHOUT EVEN AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF MY GREETING! What is your problem, huh?! First you totally cut Miley out while she was on tour, and I thought it was like, whatever, Oliver being a donut, but then we came home and you're STILL doing it! Did you burn your last brain cells working out or something? Because—nevermind. Just, I don't know, just forget it. If you don't want to talk to us anymore fine. Your loss and I-"
Lilly finally noticed that everyone in the classroom was looking at her. Her face was beet red and she was breathing kind of heavily, and while she'd been towering over Oliver with her anger before, her shoulders had slumped down and she wasn't talking with any emotion.
Oliver, on the other hand, looked totally shell-shocked. He looked like someone threw him in a wind tunnel and sucked him out really fast.
"Oh, oops. That um, that was loud, wasn't it? Er, sorry. I'll just go back by uh, Miley." She darted to me and threw Danny at Oliver.
"That was pretty intense, Lilly." I was shocked myself. I hadn't realized that Oliver had started ignoring Lilly, too.
"He had it coming!" she blurted angrily, and then calmed down quickly. "And I know it's like he hasn't been ignoring me for that long, but he's totally shoved you out of his life, he totally changes the subject when I start talking about you just so he doesn't need to hear about you—oh. Oh God, Miley I'm so sorry. I didn't realize what I was saying—Oh please don't cry. I'm sure it's just a phase, he'll come out of it—"
"That's what you've been saying since June, Lilly!! And now it's September! September, and he's only talked to me like, three times for real! And he doesn't even want to hear about me? That's just freaking great, 'cause, you know, I had thought our 5 years of friendship might've meant something more to him, but I guess not since he can so easily drop me out of his life!!!"
When I get upset I get kind of shrill. It's not pretty, at all. Daddy says if I really tried I could shatter glass, because my voice gets so high.
"I can't do this I—I feel like I'm going to throw up."
I shuffled out of the room awkwardly and started dragging myself to the bathroom when I felt a hand on my arm trying to hold me back.
I am nothing if not stubborn, so I yanked it out of their grasp—I never turned around to see who it was—with a feeble gurgling sound and I scampered to the bathroom where I promptly flew into a stall and retched up my stomach's contents.
First day of school and I've already let the stress get to me. Joy!
The rest of the school day went by with only a few bumps, which mainly included Oliver and Becca being in most of my classes with me. While Lilly was there too, all I really desired at those moments was to go home and sleep for the rest of history.
My Calculus class had Oliver and Becca in it with no Lilly to save me, and when I first laid eyes on the happy couple I nearly had to run to the bathroom again. I barely managed to keep it together when he kept turning and smiling at her with the smiles he used to reserve for me.
What is up with him anyways? Like is he trying to replace me with Becca and that's why he kept talking to Lilly, or is it some other insane plan to make me miserable?
All I can really say is that whatever it was, it was working. Too well.
It was December now, almost Christmas. I showed up hoping it would serve as a proper distraction, since the whole week of school was just as bad as that first day of school. Naturally it failed, since the third song in was "I Miss You" and that just made me dwell on the situation more.
When the crowd hollered for an encore, I felt like dabbling in something not strictly Hannah Montana. Which is code for I was singing something not Hannah.
"Lancelot had Guinevere,
Mrs. Claus has old St. Nick,
Romeo had Juliet…"
I trailed off because the next line wasn't necessarily something the crowd might take correctly.
"They say it takes two to tango
Well, that tango's child's play
So take me to the dance floor
And we'll twist the night away…
Just like Frankie Avalon
Had his favorite mouseketeer
I dream of a lover babe
Who says the things I love to hear
So come closer baby,
Oh and whisper in my ear…."
"I, uhm, that was from the musical Hairspray, if anyone was wondering. I thought you might like it since it's, you know, something different!" I laughed nervously. This was bad, I couldn't get out of my funk and if I wasn't careful I would display too much Miley Stewart behavior.
"Well, folks, I don't know about you but some of us have plans tomorrow! So I'm going to shout out a big sayonara and good night!!"
I smiled and ran off stage, thankful my father wasn't home to question my behavior. I passed by security, giving them the signal that I, regretfully, wasn't going to have time to do any signings. And you may think bad of me, but cut me some slack. I had been vomiting my lunch up everyday for a week. I was lucky to have shown up today at all, really.
I slipped into my dressing room where I promptly closed the door and my eyes while leaning back on it.
Oliver… He was on my mind, all the time. For the life of me I could not figure his motive in shunning me. Was he sick of me? Was he sick of Hannah? Maybe… Maybe he just didn't like me anymore… I sighed. This sucks. All this time I had hoped I might be able to draw up a different conclusion, but that was the only consistent one in all his months of cutting me out. I took a deep breath--
"Miles?"—and had to stifle the scream it came out as.
"Don't do that! What is your problem? Are you trying to kill me? Again? How did you even—nevermind. I don't want to know how you got in here. Probably through the window—"
Oliver had the decency to blush at this.
"—Just get out. I don't have time for you right now." I stalked to my vanity and sat in my chair. I was bone tired and school was supposed to be easy now.
"I'd think you'd know me well enough to know I'm not leaving until you talk to me."
I flew around so fast my wig almost flew off.
"What did you just say? Did you just accuse me of giving the cold shoulder?" I snorted. "That's rich, coming from you. At least I have a real reason to not want to talk to you. It has something to do with when one of my best friends told me only a few months ago that, hmm, what was it? Oh, right! 'But she comes first in the address book and I just don't have time anymore!'" I lowered my voice to a dead imitation of his and then glared.
He was just standing there, taking it all in.
"So, Oliver, I think that you are in the wrong here. Because, lets face it, I gave you chances. The first two times I took it because then you-you hug-er, that is, you talked to me again. The same when I passed out." Feeling my face coloring remembering waking up on the ground, I rushed on.
"You came back…Twice. But that third time, right after, we called for you and you just blew us off. Your best friends, I feel the need to remind you. For Dandruff Danny of all people!"
"Hey, he doesn't have dandruff anymore!" Oliver protested. Typical that he sticks up for someone else when the attack is focused on him.
"Oliver, you have been stuck in my head since that first day Lilly got your daily update and I didn't. And I don't know how to handle it."
"Sure, it's been months since Drama class… But I haven't had a conversation like we used to since June when you and B-" Dare I say her name and ruin it all? I think I will. Maybe then he'll finally leave.
"When you and Becca started dating. That's when you cut me out." He winced. "What is up with that anyways? I mean, best friends forever Oliver. That's what we used to say, right? So what, is three girls in your life too much and you chose me as the weakest link? Is it my accent? Did Becca put you up to it? Is it because-because you don't like me anymore? You're just sick and tired of everything…Of the Hannah?"
And now I was crying. PMSing, probably, but what does it matter now? I heard him shake his head and take a step forward as I swiped my eyes.
A detached part of my hair noted that his hair was getting too long and he was going to need it cut soon. And that his shoulders were super tense. Also, he didn't look too good.
"I—It was none of those things, Mi—er, Hannah. I don't hate you. Not at all. It was, well, partially because of Becca. When we started dating, I just got so worried because every time I talked about you she got this…I don't know, this look and I could tell that when I told her, back in 8th grade that you secretly loved me, I knew she was wondering if maybe you still did…And maybe I returned those feelings."
Oliver wouldn't meet my gaze. Which was fine with me, to be honest. If I looked into his eyes I think I might explode.
"Did you?" What was my mouth doing?? Did I really just say that? I must've, since Oliver looked nervous. Why would he look nervous?
"No, I didn't."
"…Oh." Why was I so disappointed? I could feel tears building up again. I mean, why would I want him to return my feelings?
…Wait, what did I just think?
Oliver looked startled. Did I think aloud again? I grabbed the wig and threw it on my vanity in frustration. Aunt Dolly's words from Thanksgiving popped up in my brain.
'Maybe he's supposed to be there, honey.'
That's what she said, when I said I couldn't stop thinking about him, that is, the Oliver Situation. Lilly accused me of having feelings for him too, back when she got over it and I was still dwelling.
God, they were all right! Every single one of them!
I'm in love with Oliver Oken!!
Oliver suddenly looked very distressed. "What?!"
Oops, not again? What is wrong with me? That's twice in a minute!
"I, well, that is—"
And Oliver kissed me. He slipped one hand on my waist and the other on my cheek and just poured into me. I was on sensory overload. It was chaste and hot and…Wow.
He pulled back suddenly and I heard a groan. Was that me? Oh dear. He smirked when he heard it, and it seemed to bolster his spirits.
"I told her I didn't return your feelings because it was all a lie…I just loved you unrequitedly. Or so I thought, if your declaration a minute ago was true." Now he was totally grinning.
I rolled my eyes and made a protesting noise. "Of course I mean it you stupid boy. Why do you think you cutting me out upset me so much, huh? Now, come back here."
And I tugged him down and planted one on him. Suffice to say I was indisposed for some time…
"Once I was a simple girl
Then stardom came to me
But I was still a nothing
Though a thousand fans may disagree
Fame was just a prison
Signing autographs a bore
I didn't have a clue
'Til you came banging on my door"
Hannah belted out the song, with a fervor not previously seen by fans. I finished it up with a flourish, proud that my fans still loved Hairspray after I sang it that first time two years ago.
That's right, it's been two years since that day when Oliver assaulted me in my dressing room. Two glorious years I might add. He's at UCLA studying in theater. When he gets famous, I plan on revealing myself to the public so I can say I topped the press after years.
"Hannah, stay there, we've got a surprise for you!" Lola whisper/yelled to me from side stage. I threw her an inquisitive glance and she just gave me the thumbs up and gestured to close her eyes.
Suddenly I heard Oliver's—or should I say Mike's—voice booming across the arena.
"Who wants a surprise for Hannah Montana?"
The crowd cheered with more energy than they usually gave me, and I wrestled to stop from peeking.
"Nu-uh, Miss Montana, no opening your eyes!! Piano man, do yo thang!" He hollered.
The notes to a familiar tune came out and he started to sing. Did I forget to mention? Oliver can sing!
"That you're my girl
And I'm your boy
That you're my pride
And I'm your joy
That I'm the sand
And you're the tide…"
I felt him next to me and grab my right hand.
"Open your eyes, Miles." He whispered gently away from the microphone.
"I'll be your groom if you'll be my bride."
And, with a flourish, he pulled me into his side with an arm around me. He bent his head down to mine and whispered.
"Marry me?"
I was laughing and crying all at the same time. One of those happiness overloads, I guess. I pulled from him and winked, leaving him slightly shocked while I sang my reply.
"I'm your girl
You're my boy
You're my pride
I'm your joy
I'm the sand
You're the tide
Be the groom
I'll be your bride…
Did you honestly think I could say no?"
His shocked look turned to the widest grin I'd ever seen and I found myself being dipped towards the stage and heavily kissed. I'd have to be dumb not to respond, so that's how I found myself engaged in a long makeout session.
When I heard the cat calls from the crowd, I pulled back and blushed, signaled him later and turned back to my fans.
"I—well, you guys, uhm…What do I say now?" I giggled and looked back at Oliver.
"Well, folks, you heard it before all of the presses, and live too! I have just become engaged to the hottest star in the world! Sorry fellas, you've missed your chance! Now, if you'll excuse us, I think this concert is over." Oliver finished to appease the crowd, tugging on my hand to pull me off stage.
"Bye everyone, thanks so much for coming!" I flicked off the mic and dropped it on the ground as we rushed to side stage to congratulations from Lilly and my dad and Jackson.
"Eeeeeeeee, Miley, I couldn't WAIT until today, Oliver has been planning this for months and everyone was in on it except you and this is so amazing my two best friends are getting married! Will you name your first kid after me? Please?" She was bouncing up and down on her feet with her hands clasped together.
"We'll talk about it alter, Lils." Oliver cut her off, taking my hand to slip the ring on my finger which I finally had time to look at.
"Oh, Oliver, you remembered my favorite stone is emerald!"
It was an oval stone surrounded in diamonds on a thin white gold band.
"Oh Miley, I'm so proud of you." My dad and Jackson were standing there, and my dad hugged me tightly to him. "You take good care of her, Oken, ya hear?" I heard Jackson grumble out. I rolled my eyes at him when he flashed a smirk in my direction.
After my dad let me go, Jackson squeezed an arm around my shoulders and ruffled my hair. "Little Miles, growing up so fast!"
I pulled away from his arm. "I am going to my dressing room so I can speak to my…fiancé, in privacy. It would be appreciated if you gave us some space!"
This time I tugged on Oliver's hand and dragged him into my dressing room. The second the door closed I heard the lock click and felt myself pressed against the door. Oliver had, at some point, taken off his Mike Standley III beard and was looking at me with an intense gleam to his eyes.
"Why, Mr. Oken! Such a surprise seeing you here! Did you sneak through my window again? I thought you got over your Hannah crush back in middle school! I'll have you know I'm an engaged woman now. No more fooling around with fans for me! I'm sorry but I'm just going to have to decline—"
"Miley, take off the wig. I don't feel like kissing Hannah right now."
"Oh, you do know how I love it when you tell me what to do." I almost purred as I slipped the wig off and threw it somewhere behind his back.
The second the wig left my hands Oliver latched his lips onto my neck, doing some very…interesting things to it, if I do say so myself.
I gasped as I felt his cool fingers spread on my back that was still hot from the bright stage lights.
Matters progressed until I found us laying on the couch, Oliver shirtless and some interesting red marks on his neck and collarbone which I'm sure weren't as bad as the ones I could feel on me.
"Oliver, we need to get ourselves together. We've been on here for a half hour! My dad's going to want to—Mmph." And he cut me off with another kiss, one of the kind that was long and lingering and I felt it from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes.
"Miley, we're going to finish this later." He muttered, pulling away and reaching for his shirt. His sentence kind of shocked me. While he never hid that he was attracted to me, he had never been so…eager, before. Or confidant. It was a good change.
I wobbled over to the mirror and made myself presentable, fixing my makeup and hair and adjusting my now rumbled clothes. I heard Oliver pulling on his shirt and splashing some water on his face.
He turned and looked at me, grinning when his eyes lay on my neck. "I was pretty thorough for such a short amount of time, wasn't I?" My hand flew to the throbbing bruises on my neck.
"Where's the concealer?" I ground out. "I can't let my father and brother see me like this! You too! Who cares if they know what we were doing? I don't want them to have visual aids!"
My hands flurried through my makeup, finally coming upon a stick concealer that I knew from past use covered up hickies superbly. I rolled it on, passing it to Oliver when I finished.
I eyed his neck when he finished to inspect how well he did. "You missed a spot." He pointed out.
My hands flew to move my hair away from my neck. "What? Where? Show me!"
His fingers flew out and touched the pulse point just below my ear and I shivered. "Erm, you didn't need to touch me." I flushed and rolled concealer over the now revealed mark.
"I'd think that, by now, me touching you with my fingers wouldn't have much of an effect as you make it seem. Right, Miley?"
If anything I flushed darker and slipped around him to the door.
"When did you get so dirty, Mr. Oken?"
"Well, the trolley hasn't been polished in quite some time, doncha know." Oliver joked. I turned and flashed him a smile, unlocking the door and signaling in my family with Lilly in tow.
You can imagine what happened next. We chatted around the subject until we rode home, and then we decided to start the planning the next day. Oliver and I had decided that we wanted to get married in November of the next year. Everything else we could decide on the way.
I've learned a lot of lessons in life, and I like to think that other than learning to love Oliver (although now I can't imagine a time when I didn't) the most important words ever spoken to me were told to me before I would acknowledge how I felt for him.
Because sometimes it isn't so bad to have someone stuck in your mind all the time.
A/N: Maybe I'll write a sequel that's the wedding. Who knows?
Also, sorry if it seemed kind of holey. The ending of the story just came to me after seeing Hairspray (bet you didn't see that one coming) and I tried to tie it in as best as I could.
And, by the end of the story, Miley, Oliver and Lilly were all 20. I figured they could get engaged/married young because they'd already known each other for so long, you know?