Disclaimer: I don't own Hannah Montana, or anything related.
Miley pressed her fingertips to her temples, trying to block out the sound of the blaring television from her spot at the kitchen counter. She looked at the assortment of open books occupying a majority of the black granite surface, and then at her laptop, where she was taunted with an opening paragraph and nothing more.
Whirling around on her chair, Miley clenched her jaw and said, "Can you lower the volume? I'm trying to write a paper."
Her request was met with three blank stares. Exhaling through gritted teeth, Miley glared at Jackson, gesturing at the television with her eyes. "Please," she stated as an afterthought, with a forced smile plastered to her face. Maybe if she could pass as polite, her younger brother might actually concede.
The blonde girl at the far end of the couch began reaching for the remote on the coffee table in front of them. "Sure." Lilly's eyes landed on Miley and smiled as she blindly groped for the remote. However, Jackson quickly snatched it off the table.
"Dad told you not to wait 'til last minute to do your homework," Jackson said smugly.
Too distracted by her heart thumping rapidly in her chest, it took Miley a moment to register what he had said. She tore her gaze away from Lilly, who was glancing between the remote Jackson sported like a trophy in his hand, and the table, her eyebrows furrowed adorably.
"My paper isn't due 'til next Wednesday," she said sweetly, raising her shoulders and fluttering her eyelids.
Jackson's smirk faded just a tick. "Why're you doing your homework down here, anyway?" He glanced at Oliver and Lilly. "You always do it up in your room."
"Oh, please, like you actually care." Climbing off the chair, Miley stalked forward, and snatched the remote from his hand.
"Hey!" he protested, clambering over the armrest, in an attempt to retrieve the power of the remote control. However, Miley had already lowered the volume to a more appropriate setting and was ripping the back latch open. She removed the two batteries inside and shoved them in her jacket pocket.
Miley took an exaggerated deep breath and her eyes fluttered shut, as though she were savoring the new lack of sound and easy victory against the younger boy. Jackson glared as she dropped the remote onto the vacated couch square. "Don't bring me down with you when you're seventeen and need a hearing aid," she said as she walked backwards towards the kitchen counter.
"What makes you think I won't just raise the volume on the tv?" he asked, ignoring her previous statement.
Oliver and Lilly simply ignored their sibling argument and turned their attention back towards the old action movie they were watching. Every now and then, Lilly would glance over at Miley, but then quickly look away when she saw the older brunette doing the same thing. Miley could not ignore the light feeling in her chest every time this happened. Thankfully, it did not inhibit her ability to win a fight with her dense younger brother.
"Because I'm the one who drives you to school every morning." It was clear Jackson caught the subtle threat in her voice. Not only did Miley drive him to school every morning, but her dad also made her drive him all over town. If Jackson wanted to hang out with Oliver and Lilly at the mall, she always had to drive him and then pick him up. Frequently, Miley would have to drop her own plans, or push them back to bend around Jackson's schedule. She never grew used to it; quite the opposite actually, the more it happened, the more irritated she was, especially since he never even thanked her. Why should she have to put her life on standstill for her ungrateful, inconsiderate little brother. Often times, Miley wished she was the youngest of the pair; maybe then Jackson would know what it felt like to be a personal chauffeur.
The more Miley toyed with the idea of what if she had been the younger sister, the more she wondered if life would have been better that way. Would it be her sitting on that couch with Oliver and Lilly? Would it be her who was best friends with Lilly? Would she still feel the same way about the younger blonde as she did now?
Jackson had struck a strong friendship with Lilly the year they moved to Malibu. Miley hadn't really thought much about her then; she had always been Jackson's amusing, skater girl best friend, who she enjoyed spending some of her spare time with between her own friends, school, and Hannah Montana obligations. It was only that past September, when Jackson, Lilly, and Oliver entered their freshman year of high school that Miley finally began to notice her in a different way. However, she did her best to ignore those feelings, even now, nearly three months later. It wasn't because Lilly was a freshman, or Jackson's best friend, or because they were both girls; it was because Miley already had a girlfriend.
Half an hour later, Miley was still sitting at the counter, typing rapidly on her laptop. She was almost half finished with her paper now. To her disappointment, Lilly had followed Jackson and Oliver upstairs shortly after Miley took the batteries from the remote. She found it much easier to concentrate on her assignment, however, with Lilly out of the room. Jackson had spoken the truth earlier when he said Miley always did her homework in her room, but she had brought her homework downstairs when she heard Lilly come over. Of course, that wasn't what she told herself; she repeatedly told herself she was only working downstairs because a change of scenery might help her concentrate better, that Lilly had nothing to do with it.
"Hey, Miley," Lilly greeted, offering a quick smile before burying her head in the freezer, no doubt looking for something to eat. It never ceased to amaze her just how much the blonde could fit into her stomach.
The left corner of Miley's mouth rose into a toothless grin. "Hey," she said smoothly. She allowed herself a quick glance at Lilly's backside before guiltily tearing her eyes away. The brunette always felt awkward whenever she checked out the other girl; maybe because Lilly had no idea she was even doing it. "What're ya'll up to upstairs?" she asked curiously.
Lilly emerged from the freezer holding an ice cream bar in her left hand. "Video games," she answered, grinning at Miley while she unwrapped the ice cream. "But I got hungry."
"You're always hungry. Last night you ate half of my half of pizza," Miley teased. After closing her laptop, she leaned on its surface and crossed her hands.
Lilly stuck out her tongue, and Miley reflexively bit her lip. "You offered." She took a huge bite.
"You went through your share so quickly I thought you were going to attack me for mine. I was only protecting myself from your savagery. You would've come out on top in 'Lord of the Flies,'" she joked. Miley's eyes drifted over the blonde's flowing, loose hair; she always liked it when Lilly wore her hair down.
"Stop watching me eat," Lilly complained, blushing, her mouth full of ice cream.
"Sexy," Miley deadpanned.
Lilly shrugged, still blushing. "I try," she mumbled, her mouth still full. Swallowing forcefully, she yanked open the refrigerator door and retrieved a bottle of water. "So what are you up tonight? It's Friday night, after all…" she trailed off, staring pensively at the label on the bottle. "It's Friday night!" Her eyes glowed, as though this was the first time she had realized this. "Why did Jackson accuse you of doing your homework last minute then?"
"I've got Hannah things all weekend," Miley said. She allowed her eyes to stray towards Lilly's chest for a split second when she leaned down over the counter across from her. The brunette was inwardly thrilled Lilly knew about her Hannah Montana secret. So few people knew about the secret, which made it seem special when she confided with Lilly.
"Are you staying in tonight, then?" Lilly asked.
Eyes narrowing just a tick, Miley wondered if she was just imagining the hopeful flash in the other girl's eyes. However, Lilly's expression remained politely curious, so Miley decided to let it go, feeling somewhat disappointed.
"Sorta." Miley fiddled with the silver ring on her left middle finger. Her eyes darted from Lilly to the clock behind her, and she cleared her throat. "Mikayla's coming over in a little bit," she admitted.
"Oh…"
Miley's head jerked up and she scrutinized the other girl's face. There was no doubt in her mind now; Lilly was clearly disappointed, and, upon further inspection, slightly hurt too. The brunette felt her stomach drop and she desperately wanted to bang her head into a wall. However, a spark of hope still ignited in the middle of her chest.
"I thought you guys broke up…" Lilly trailed off. She was staring hard at the melting ice cream bar in her hand, frowning.
Wetting her lips, Miley awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "We're, uh, we're trying to work things out," she said carefully. She did not miss the frown deepen on Lilly's face. Her heart raced.
Lilly was quiet for a moment; she took a sip of her water. Her eyes were looking everywhere except at Miley. "Didn't she cheat on you?" she finally asked. To the older girl's mild surprise, she sounded angry.
"It doesn't mean she doesn't deserve another chance." Miley carefully measured the expression on the blonde's face. She knew she should stop talking about Mikayla, as it was clearly upsetting Lilly, but this was the perfect opportunity to see if the other girl might feel something more for her than friendship. Miley knew if she had this same conversation with Oliver, he would not even blink an eye.
"Would she give you a second chance if you were the one that cheated?" Lilly asked heatedly. She didn't wait for a response. "No! Miley, you deserve better than that."
Chest swelling, Miley was glad Lilly wasn't looking at her, or else she would have most likely misread the broad smile on her lips. The truth was that Mikayla probably would not have forgiven her if she cheated. Her girlfriend was prone to holding very powerful grudges. However, Miley still clung to the other girl, despite how much she had hurt her. Mikayla was capable of being a great person when she wanted to.
Miley opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the front door banging open. Extremely irritated at having been interrupted, she spun around in her chair, preparing to rip whoever barged inside without even a knock a new one. Her fire disappeared, however, when she saw Mikayla making her way through the living room. At the same time, Jackson and Oliver were thundering down the stairs.
"Hey, Miles," Mikayla greeted at the same time Jackson said, "C'mon, Lilly, Oliver's mom is taking us out for Chinese."
Warm arms enveloped Miley's torso, and she melted into the body, forgetting Lilly was standing right there. Mikayla pressed her lips into Miley's, giving her a long, slow kiss. "Hey," Miley said dreamily, incoherent from the kiss.
An exaggerated gag sounded from across the room. "That's disgusting, Miles," Jackson complained. He held his hand to his mouth and gagged again. Miley glared at him. "C'mon, Lilly."
Miley's heart dropped to her stomach. She glimpsed the scowl on Lilly's face before she trailed across the living room toward her two best friends, her shoulders slumped. Mikayla pressing their lips together again was not enough to distract her this time. She felt incredibly guilty for upsetting Lilly, but for all she knew, the blonde might just hate Mikayla. Just because she was so passionate about the subject of Mikayla cheating on her, didn't mean Lilly liked her. The middle of chest ached at that thought and she forced herself to get into the kiss.
"Let's go upstairs," Mikayla whispered hotly into her ear. Miley shivered and moaned when she felt the other girl's tongue lick down the rim of her ear before taking the lobe into her mouth. At least Mikayla knew how to make her feel good.
"You just got here, though," Miley said, gripping the younger girl's waist underneath her shirt.
"I haven't seen you all week, baby." Their lips met in a hot, passionate kiss. "We'll talk later when your dad's around to make sure you keep your door open."
Miley hesitated, and Mikayla's eyes flashed with irritation. "Okay," she conceded, her heart twisting at the sexy grin her girlfriend gave her right before smashing their lips back together.
Miley wasn't sure this was the best way to use their time if they wanted to work things out. However, the first step to going back to the way they used to be was by giving in to Mikayla's sexual needs. She would be in a really good mood afterwards, anyway.
As Mikayla led them clumsily up the stairs, Miley found her thoughts straying back to Lilly. The fact that the younger blonde might actually like her back didn't seem so important now that Mikayla was there. This was who she was meant to be with, not Lilly. In the long run, Lilly would probably end up with Jackson or Oliver, anyway.
Maybe if she had been the younger sister, she would have been Lilly's friend from the start, and maybe it would be her in Mikayla's spot right now.
Unfortunately, Miley would never know.
A/N: I'm not sure if I'll be continuing this. I was sitting around last night and suddenly wondered what it would be like if Miley was the older sister, and what she would be like if she had never been best friends with Lilly. It would be something worth continuing to explore. Let me know what you think!