Lilly just didn't get it. The whole kissing thing. Why was it so overrated? Why did every "popular" girl just have to talk about their latest kiss with their latest boyfriend at school? I mean, what's so big about it all? It's definitely not "magic" like they say it is, Lilly thought. Seriously, what was so big about touching somebody else's lips with your own? Why was it so significant? Lilly sighed.

"What's up?" Jackson plopped down beside her on the Stewart's living room couch. Lilly jumped. Jackson had startled her.

She was waiting for Miley. Miley always took forever to prepare for a Hannah thing--and now, Lilly, with her orange-for-now wig of hair, sat waiting on the couch in a red dress with perfectly round, white polka dots and princess-puffy sleeves (as she liked to call them). Usually, she would go up and help Miley choose what to wear, but today, for some weird reason, she decided to stay downstairs.

"What do you mean 'what's up'?" asked Lilly. He couldn't read her mind, could he? Is it actually possible for someone to be physcic? Lilly internally shuddered at the thought.

"You just sighed really heavily." Lilly looked into Jackson's simple, brown eyes. His long-ish hair was in perfect place, while he still wore his Rico's T-shirt.

Lilly chose to ignore his question, and instead, noticing Jackson's slightly sweaty face, scent of hot dogs and the fact that he was still wearing his T-shirt, said:

"Late shift, tonight?"

"Yeah..." Jackson was still looking at her, a little suspiciously, like he knew something was up. For the first time in her life, Lilly noticed how Jackson's eyes twinkled mysteriously if they were at the perfect angle. For one queer moment, Lilly sat looking in his eyes, seeing her reflection in them.

"Behold!" came a loud voice from the top of the stairway. Jackson turned around, while Lilly tilted her head up a bit. "Hannah's Concert outfit for June 26th!" Miley held her arm out in a pose, while she flashed her famous smile. Her wig was, like her brother's real hair, in perfect place, as the dirty-blond highlights were visible in the light. She sported a ripped at the bottom, fancy, lacy green skirt with a turquiose-and-blue swirls shirt topped with an embroidered jean jacket.

"Great one, Miles! Could be one of the best so far!" Lilly smiled at her best friend, her thoughts of Jackson evaporating.

Miley's dad came in from the kitchen.

"Looks like you know this one's a special night, Miles," he smiled, too, proud of his daughter.

"Yeah, it's a charity concert!" Miley/Hannah was at the bottom of the staircase, now. "And tons of other celebs will be there! It's mainly a Hannah Montana concert, but there'll be a couple other songs by different people including the Jonas Brothers!" Miley recited. "I can't believe how much money will go to the American Cancer Society! Yay!" She kicked up her right leg, enthusiastically. "Plus," she added. "Oliver will be coming. I have the perfect name for him. Lilly," she turned to her BFF. "What do you think of Michael Malone? Don't you think it's a good name?"

"It's perfect," Lilly answered. "When's he coming?"

"Who's coming?" Oliver stepped in the front door. He wore a white rocker's T-shirt with dark, dark blue jeans, one tattered whole just below the left knee. His hair, like everyone else's, was in perfect place, but looked a little rougher than normal. He smiled at Miley and Lilly's wide-open mouths.

"Oliver! Did you pick that out yourself?" Miley and Lilly rushed over to him.

"You look great!" Miley added, her voice surprised. "I mean, your outfit is...great."

"Thanks," Oliver said, blushing a little. Lilly looked from Miley to Oliver, Oliver to Miley.

What's up with them? she thought. Do they--no, they couldn't. She shrugged, this time out loud, and waited for Oliver's reply to she and Miley's question. She would have to listen closely because Miley was...staring at her red high-heel shoes.

"No, I didn't pick it," Oliver said, blushing even more. "My mom did."

Lilly burst out laughing and Miley lifted her head from her shoes. "Your mom's got taste, Ollie!" She smiled and then turned to Jackson and her dad.

"Let's go!" she said.

"Oh my gosh, so fun!" Miley said. Her cheeks were flushed. They were in the car on the way back to Miley's house, where, as she, Lilly and Oliver had decided, they would have a sleepover. "Wow! I couldn't believe all the people who showed up! It was so fun up there! Plus, you guys got to come out and say 'hi.' Wow..." she kept saying.

Yep, Lilly thought. She drank more than enough soda, tonight.

"Gosh, I never thought being backstage could be so exciting!" commented Oliver. His cheeks were flushed, just the same as Miley and Lilly's, all three of whom were in the same attitude: sugar-high.

"Yeah, me neither!" Lilly said, maybe a bit loudly. Who knew soda could be so much like beer?

"Lilly," Miley said, rolling her eyes a little. "You've been backstage a million times!"

"I know." Lilly smiled.

Miley's dad/manager/Robbie Ray looked at the mirror, watching them. A grin was plastered on his face, too. He loved to see his daughter happy. Especially when she was with her friends. Though he'd always wondered about Oliver...

"You three did have a good time, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yep!" all three answered.

"Hell-ooo, Jackson," Miley said as they burst through the door.

"Hi," Jackson said. No parties. He had had no parties while they were gone. And by the looks of it, they were the ones who had had the party...and a real big one with that. Plus, it definitely looked like his sister had drank some soda. 4 cans/bottles, at least.

Miley, Lilly and Oliver settled down on the couch. They sat in silence, for a moment, each thinking of the fun of the party, until Miley said,

"Well, I'm gonna go brush my teeth. Does anybody need to come with me?"

"I will! I mean, I do," Oliver stood up. He and Miley went up to the bathroom upstairs. Robbie was up in his room, so that left Lilly and Jackson on the sofa. They sat in silence for a minute.

"Such lovebirds," Lilly said quietly.

"Yeah..." Jackson smiled.

Lilly returned to her previous thoughts. Kissing. She hadn't meant to keep thinking about it, but for some odd reason, thinking of Jackson reminded her of kissing. And Amber and Ashley. Each of them had their own hot sophomore boyfriend, even though each of them, Lilly, Oliver and Miley were all just freshmen. And watching A&A make out with their boyfriends in the hallway? Not a pleasant sight. Lilly sighed again, without meaning to.

"You know what I've always wondered?" Jackson asked, quite suddenly, breaking the silence. Again, he startled Lilly, and she jumped a little, before answering,

"What?"

"What is so big about kissing?"

Lilly stared in shock at him. This was impossible. They could not both be thinking about kissing. That was impossible. No. Lilly didn't move. Her mouth dropped open, as Jackson's cheeks grew pink.

"I mean--"

Lilly broke back into reality. For some reason, seeing Jackson embarressed made her feel sorry for him.

"No, I know exactly what you mean. In fact, I was just...well, thinking about that." Her cheeks matched his in blush-ness, now. The two went into silence, again, but for a shorter time. This time, Lilly broke the awkward silence by saying,

"You know what I've always wondered?" She said it sort of matter-of-factly.

"What?" Jackson asked.

"Well, it's sort of a personal question." Lilly said.

"Shoot."

"Well, how've you felt, being, you know, Miley's brother? Have you ever felt, I donno, sort of...like you're the..."

"The runner-up." Jackson finished for her. He looked down at his hands. He'd always thought that his dad didn't love him as much as Miley. He twisted his hands around, uncomfortably. No one had ever really cared about him seriously. That's right. He was just the runner-up. "No one's ever cared about me, seriously." Jackson stated his real thoughts aloud, for the first time in a long time.

"I care about you."

The words slipped from her mouth like silk. It couldn't be possible, what Lilly just said. She almost didn't believe it herself. She touched her lips to see if they had actually moved...if they had actually just spoken those words. She felt her cheeks. She was doing a lot of blushing, tonight.

"Excuse me?" Jackson said, startled. He touched his ears to see if he had heard her right.

Lilly knew there was no going back, now.

"I really, seriously care about you," she repeated, blushing madly, now.

Jackson stared at her for an eternity or ten. He watched her blue eyes, wanting to read their real thoughts. Her face looked concerned, almost. And he knew, right then, that she really did care about him.

He didn't know what he was doing, but he felt his face moving forward, and his hands moving to Lilly's cheeks. And he felt his lips touch her soft lips, and he couldn't believe it. He had never kissed a girl before. Not ever. And it was amazing. It was the most amazing thing in his life, and it only happened for two short seconds.

Then he pulled back. Lilly's face was completely shocked. She looked at him like he was crazy. And then she did something she didn't know she was doing. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him. She felt his hands on her waist. And she kissed him.

This one lasted longer. Lilly felt his warm lips against hers, and a zinging sensation went throughout her body. She seperated their lips, then went back for more. Again and again and again. Lilly tried all different angles, feeling, faintly, his hands on her body, and strongly, his lips on hers. At first, it was just their lips, and then, like a small snake, really wondering, seeing, pleading, Jackson's tongue snuck out of his mouth and touched her lips. Lilly was kissing, and kissing, now knowing what the big deal about kissing was, and for less than half a second, she hesitated, and then, very slowly, opened her mouth and let Jackson's tongue in. Now she was tasting his lips. She felt his tongue moving around inside her mouth. It was tasting her inside cheeks, and she knew she should "taste" him too. But she didn't mind. She wanted to, she wanted anything, at this moment...All she wanted was to kiss him with all her might. She slipped her tongue inside his mouth and discovered every twist and turn of his teeth and tongue, and then, slowly, Lilly let out a deep moan, as Jackson's hands moved around her body, discovering every part of it. Jackson took her moan as a compliment, and made their kiss more fierce, holding onto her body with strength. He brought his mouth away from hers for one second, to see what she would do, and she said, quietly, "Come back!" and he smiled, and went back to kissing her.

End Chapter