I don't own Hannah Montana. Never have. Never will.

"I want to be the only hand you need to hold."

Winter was her favorite season. Most say they love it because of Christmas but to her, winter was much, much more than a religious holiday where you receive gifts. It was the only season of the year that brought beauty to the world. Lily Truscott thought a few years ago that going up to Vermont for her holiday break would be boring, cold, and bitter. Instead, it brought a complete new feeling of thrill, excitement, and warmth. Winter was Lily's favorite season.

"It was really nice of your mom to invite us up here for the holiday, Lily," said Lily's best friend, Miley Stewart. She was sitting in the back of the van, her legs stretched out in front of her and a book lying neatly in her lap.

Lily, who was sitting across from her, grinned. "It'll be nice having someone my own age to be around." She pulled her eyes away from the window and looked at Miley than at a pile of blankets nearby. "Though, I have a feeling Oliver is going to stay in the cabin most of the trip."

Miley giggled as she patted the blankets. "He should be up right now." There was a muffled noise coming from it and Miley raised and eyebrow. "What?"

At that moment, the blankets moved to reveal a very tired looking Oliver Oken. His jaded hair was a mess but his beautiful eyes were bright and vibrant. "I said, I'm up, mother."

Lily laughed as she watched Oliver shift so that he was facing the two of them, his head towards Lily and his feet at Miley's end. "You've been sleeping all day."

Oliver shrugged as he looked up at Lily. "When will we be there?"

Lily looked back out the window to see the sky was slowly starting to darken and she looked back down at Oliver with a smile. "In about three hours."

Oliver groaned and hugged the blankets closer to his body.

"You have five blankets, Oliver," Lily sighed and shook her head. "How come you're not hot?"

"How come you're not cold?" He asked.

"The heater's on."

"It's still cold." Oliver shrugged and moved his body so that his head was now resting on Lily's lap. "And you're going to be my pillow."

"You're going back to bed?" Miley asked as she picked up her book. "You're boring."

"I'm not going back to bed," Oliver bit back as he closed his eyes. "I'm just comfortable and there's not really anything else to do."

"Whatever," Miley shook her head and went on to read her book.

Lily just shook her head as she began to run her small fingers through Oliver's hair. She gazed outside the back window once more, a smile upon her lips.

"You'll go ice skating with me, right Ollie?" Lily asked out of nowhere.

"Mmhm…" Oliver just mumbled, too light headed to really speak. The feeling of Lily's hands running through his hair not only made his heart skip but it soothed him. It wasn't much longer until the back of the van had fallen silent once more and feeling of Oliver's light breath's had fallen on Lily's leg. Seeing Miley engrossed in her book, Lily decided not to say another word as she looked back outside, getting lost in her thoughts once more.

Winter was more than just the holidays. It was beauty and with Oliver, it was so much more.

Her Hand in His

"Ow, Oliver!" Lily looked up from trying her skates and turned her attention to her friend since preschool. He was standing not to far from her, his winter coat clasped tightly shut around him. He was grinning at her and in one hand he held a snowball firmly. "What was tha…"

Lily was soon caught off again as a snowball came flying at her once more, this time from behind. She turned around to see Miley standing there with a half smile. "I love you." she smiled.

"This is so not fair!" Lily exclaimed as she finished tying her skate. "It's two against one!"

"Nuh-uh!" Oliver exclaimed and threw his snowball. Lily automatically ducked, knowing it was aimed for her when in reality, it was aimed for Miley. "I didn't throw the first one."

Lily stood up and she raised an eyebrow at Oliver. "Really? Than who did, Michael Jordan?"

Oliver shrugged. "Maybe."

"Either way, it doesn't matter," Lily smiled. "I'm going skating." She made her way to the pond,
Miley and Oliver close behind her. It has been two days since they arrived in Vermont and not a dull moment has passed by since. They group had just about done everything there is possible to do in Vermont in the just the past few days but in the end, they didn't mind having to do it over again for the next five days they were going to be there.

"You know what I noticed?" Oliver asked, skating next to Lily. "I have yet to see anyone on here skating besides us."

Lily nodded. "It's like I said, there's no one around here our age. The adults prefer to ski more than ice skate."

"That's fine," Miley smiled and grabbed Lily's right hand. "More for us, right?"

Miley than pulled Lily with her, skating rather fast. Lily yelped as she was pulled away and held out her other hand for Oliver to grab. When he did, Lily felt as if a lightening bolt shot throughout her body. She shivered and held on to his hand tight. It wasn't much longer until Lily felt Miley's hand let go of hers and she felt herself sliding. Letting go of Oliver's hand, Lily attempted to stop herself but failed miserably as she felt her bottom hit the hard ice.

"Ouch," Lily groaned as she looked at Miley. "You did that purpose, didn't you?"

"No…" Miley grinned and looked at Oliver. "I wouldn't do anything like that, would I?"

Oliver nodded and held out his hand as he helped Lily up. "Yeah you would."

Lily pushed herself up off the ground with Oliver's help and she passed a glare at Miley. "You do realize this means war, right?"

After a half hour has passed of the three trying to push each other down, Lily had found herself and Oliver skating alone as Miley went inside to call her dad. They were both silent, skating side by side until finally Lily looked down to notice Oliver's hand out. She looked at it skeptically. "I don't trust you."

Oliver smiled and shook his head. "I promise I wont make you fall."

Lily looked him in the eyes. "You promise?"

"Promise."

Lily smiled at him and then nodded as she placed her hand in his. They were silent for awhile until finally Oliver spoke up. "I can see why you love winter so much," Oliver said, looking ahead. "The snow, the wind… it's really great."

"It's beautiful," Lily smiled to herself. "It's like we're in a piece of art."

"Yeah," Oliver agreed and he intertwined his fingers in with Lily's. "It is."

Lily didn't say anything as she accepted his hand in hers. She felt that if she did, she would ruin what seemed liked a small but romantic gesture. The two stayed like that for quite a bit until the heard Miley running towards them.

"Lily! Dad's coming tomorrow!"

"What?" Lily spun around from where she was at, suddenly feeling a sharp pain run through her right ankle as she fell into Oliver's arms. "Ouch!"

"You okay?" Oliver asked as he tried to bring Lily to her feet. Oliver didn't need to hear her reply as she tried to stand, for she winced and fell back once more into his arms. "Come on, I'll bring you back to the cabin."

Lily nodded as she placed her arm around Oliver for support. Miley quickly ran to Lily's other side to help give support as well, only she didn't need to. Oliver had placed his one arm around her waist and the other behind her knees, bringing her up into his arms.

Lily blushed and was about to say he didn't need to carry her but something deep inside her told her not to. She felt sudden warmth when in his arms and her heart was so light headed. Sighing, Lily hold onto Oliver's neck tightly as she placed her head on his shoulder. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear.

Her Hand in His

Later that evening, Lily woke up to find herself lying on the couch. There, she was wrapped up in a heating blanket and her ankle was in a brace. Sitting upright, Lily looked around the loft of the cabin to see that it was empty and dark. She looked up at the time, noticing it was six and that pretty soon, dinner was going to be ready. Pushing the blanket off her, Lily stood up and limped towards the window. She opened up the maroon curtains for some light and as she did so, she noticed that the window was overlooking the pond where the three of them were ice skating before.

Lily noticed that there were two people skating on the rink, their hands locked tightly and each held a smile upon their face. Lily had never recognized the couple before so when she took a closer look, she felt her heart grow heavy as she recognized the curly brown hair of her friend Miley and the puffy blue coat of her friend, Oliver. She watched them carefully as Oliver spun a laughing Miley around - so carefree and without a worry in the world. Lily gazed down at her hand and suddenly it felt so empty now that Oliver wasn't holding it.

"Lily? Are you up yet?"

Hearing her mother call from down the stairs, Lily quickly closed the curtains shut and tried hard to reach the couch as fast as possible. She barely made it under the covers when her mom appeared in the room. Lily felt her mom hover over her a little as she fixing the blanket and the temperature; Lily couldn't help but feel bad that she couldn't say "I love you," as her mom whispered it to her, kissing her on the forehead.

As she heard the footsteps fade away downstairs, Lily had opened her eyes once more and gazed up at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts. Oliver hugged Miley before but he has never held her hand. That was something he had always done with Lily and after witnessing them just a few minutes ago, Lily had come to realize that they act completely different when she's not there. It was like there was a whole other side to them. They looked so much happier with her out of the picture.

Suddenly, her heart pounded against her chest at the thought and Lily suddenly felt like she was going to throw up. Suddenly, she heard the door open and there was a commotion of sounds coming from below. Lily heard the stomping of their feet, shifting of their coats, and their muffled laughs, hating every bit of it.

"Is Lily up?"

She heard Oliver speak and it must have been to her mom because seconds later, Mrs. Truscott's voice answered. "No, but could you wake her up, please? Dinner is almost ready and she'll need help getting downstairs."

"Oh sure," Oliver answered and Lily could suddenly hear the light pounding of his feet against the old oak.

Quickly, Lily shut her eyes once more, hoping that maybe he wont wake her once he saw she was "asleep". She heard Oliver walk into the room and she could tell by the loud clunk he placed something (most likely his keys) on the table near the fireplace. Even though he was across the room, Lily could still feel his presence as he moved towards her. She felt the edge of the couch sink in as he sat down and lean in towards her. Lily could feel his eyes on her and she suddenly felt uneasy. Why would he be staring at her?

"Lily…" Oliver spoke her name softly as she placed his hand upon her face. He swiped away strands of her blonde hair gently so that he could look at her face clearly. Lily couldn't help but blush. He didn't question her name, as if he was trying to get her attention. He said it as if he has never said it before. Lily waited for him to say something but he didn't. Instead, he did something she was never expecting him to. He leaned in and kissed her forehead - waiting a few seconds after.

"Lily, this is when Sleeping Beauty is supposed to wake up… even if she is pretending."

He knew? Lily opened up one eye to look at Oliver. He grinned at her and she opened up the other as she sat up. "How did you know?"

Oliver brought his hand to Lily's face and pushed aside a strand of her blonde hair once more, tucking it firmly behind her ear. "I saw you just before you shut the curtains."

"Oh," was all Lily could say. She wasn't sure what to say at this point. So, to keep from embarrassing herself, Lily looked down and began to play with her hands… a nervous habit she found herself getting into a year ago. It wasn't long until Oliver placed his cold hands over her warm hands to stop and get her attention.

"What's wrong?"

Lily sighed. Should she tell him? Should she really be honest with him?

"Nothing," Lily lied as she tried to pull her hands away.

Oliver didn't let her. It only made him tighten his grip on her once more. "You're a horrible liar, you know that?"

Lily bit lower lip and shook her head. "So?"

"So…" Oliver placed his free hand under her chin and brought her face up so that she was looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"I - I…"

"Oliver, I wanted to see if you needed any…"

Lily and Oliver both turned their attention to the entrance of the room. Miley stood there, clothes in hand.

"I - I'll just go take a shower now," Miley looked from Lily to Oliver, taking note that she interrupted something. "Holler if you need help."

"Okay," Oliver nodded and Miley turned to leave.

Lily watched as Oliver watched Miley leave, her blood slowly beginning to boil. "That!" Lily pointed to the spot where Miley was just at. Oliver turned to look at Lily, a little surprised as he was pulled from his thoughts.

"What?"

"Miley… and… and… you!" Lily groaned and shook her head. She yanked her hands away from Oliver as she pulled her gaze away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why didn't either of you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow. "There's nothing to tell."

"It didn't look like that earlier," Lily cried, embarrassed. She suddenly felt really stupid. Groaning, she laid back down and pulled the blanket over her head. "Imf jmsf ssrupid, soffy."

"What?" Oliver let out a chuckled as he fought with Lily, trying to remove the blanket. Several yanks later, he succeeded.

"I'm sorry," Lily sighed as she looked up at him. "I'm just being stupid."

"Yeah, and your point?" Oliver agreed. Lily hit his arm and he laughed. "What made you think something was going on between us?"

"You were holding hands." Lily said as if it was the most obvious thing.

Oliver rolled his eyes and grabbed Lily's hand. "You mean like this? I always grab your hand."

Lily puffed out her cheeks and protested. "Yeah, but…"

"Now if I were to hold her hand like this," Oliver intertwined his fingers with hers. "then," he leaned in towards Lily, his face just a few inches from hers. "I would understand."

Lily's breath got caught in her throat as she looked up at Oliver. Her cheeks heated and her heart raced. Was he teasing her? "You never hold her hand." Lily managed to say.

"No, I guess not," Oliver shrugged and pulled back. "I always hold yours."

"Yeah, you do." Lily sighed and sat up. "I want to be the only hand you need to hold." She said under her breath.

"Is that a bad thing?" Oliver asked, obviously not hearing Lily.

Lily quickly shook her head. "No."

Oliver smiled and nodded, giving Lily's hand a tight squeeze. He leaned in towards her and whispered gently in her ear, "Good because your hand is the only one I need to hold."

Lily blushed as Oliver pulled away, his goofy grin plastered on his face. Untangling his from hers, he stood up and lifted her up into his arms. "What are you doing?" Lily asked as she hid her face in the crook of his neck.

Oliver laughed lightly, his chest vibrating against Lily's. "Taking you to dinner, what else?"

Her Hand in His

It was Christmas evening and the trio had just finished eating. Inside, Miley sat by the fire as she talked to her father, Robbie Ray, and her brother, Jackson. Lily's mom was cleaning up the dishes and well, Lily and Oliver? They were outside, just getting done skating. Lily was able to walk on her ankle again and since they were leaving the next day, Lily wanted to try to get in as much ice skating as she could.

"Ouch!" Oliver finished tying his boot and he looked up at Lily, who was grinning from ear to ear. "Why'd you throw that for?"

"Me?" Lily looked around innocently. "It was Michael Jordan. I hear he likes to start fights - particularly snowballs."

Oliver quickly grabbed a handful of snow as he stood up and went after Lily. Lily's eyes widened as she saw him take a leap and she quickly yelped and ran through the snow. It didn't take long for Oliver to catch up to her and as he took hold of her hand, he lost his balance and fell, bringing Lily down with him.

Lily found herself in a fit of giggles as did Oliver and they were like that for several minutes until Lily caught a mouth full of snow. Lily glared at Oliver and grabbed a handful of snow as she sat up, trying to get Oliver back. He stopped her hand and the snow immediately fell into her lap. She winced at the coldness and soon found herself being toppled down to the ground, Oliver suddenly sitting on top of her.

Lily faught against him, trying to get out of his grip but soon gave up, exhausted. Oliver grinned in triumph as he felt Lily calm down. "I win!"

"What?" Lily tried to fight again, only to just fall back down. "Okay, fine. You win. I'm tired."

"Sorry," Oliver leaned in and brushed Lily's hair out of her face. "but I couldn't resist."

Lily snorted and did something she wished she didn't - she looked into his eyes. He was looking down at her like he's never looked at her before and she couldn't place why. He had a look of concern and sincerity. He looked like he was in wonder yet bliss.

That's also when she realized how close they were.

"Lily…" Oliver said her name the same way he did the other day and it sent chills up her spine.

Lily bit her lower lip. "Yeah?"

"You are so…" Oliver thought for a moment. "cute."

That's when the space between their lips no longer existed and that's when Lily felt that everything in her life was perfect. There wasn't a hesitant moment between them and everything seemed so perfect. When they finally pulled away, neither said a word. Instead, they stayed in their position, smiling like idiots.

Lily felt a drop on her nose and as she looked over Oliver's shoulder, she noticed that it was beginning to snow. It wasn't too cold outside and it wasn't too warm. The snow was as white as a blanket and as soft as a pillow.

Winter was beauty and with Oliver, it was so much more. Winter was most definitely Lily's favorite season.