Author: 781301 (erratic)

Title: Glass Child

Fandom: Hannah Montana

Disclaimer: I don't own Hannah Montana. I'm not claiming ownership for this in any way. You know the drill.

Rating: T for obvious theme issues. It may be moved to M if I decide to get graphic with anything. (-insert ZOMG here-)

Takes Place: I'm trying not to make this very AU (Alternate Universe), but I'm not doing a very good job of it. So basically, Miley is still in Malibu and such, but she's just Miley, not Miley and Hannah. (I hope that made sense!)

Pairing(s): MileyxOC, with some slight MileyxOliver. (What do you call those? MOlivers? MiLivers? Haha. My liver.)

Author's Note: Uh, I'm not a super avid Hannah Montana watcher, so please don't yell at me if I get some facts wrong or whatever. D: Oh, and if it's slightly OOC. Yeah.
Oh! And I'd like to thank my friend JustLikeAGilmore for inspiring me to write a Hannah Montana fic. If you're ever craving some Gilmore Girls fanfiction, check her out. And yes, I'm done with the random pimpage. Whee!

Chapter One: Enthralled

"Don't be over self-confident with your first impressions of people."
- Chinese Proverb

"Ohh, Miley!" Lilly said with wide eyes. "That looks awesome on you! You should totally get it! I bet all the guys will be looking at you!" She and I were doing some last minute back to school clothes shopping before we started back again at the end of the week.

I smiled and twirled around in the pale blue sundress I was trying on. As I glanced in the mirror to my side, I had to admit that Lilly was right. The pale blue matched surprisingly well with my brunette hair and light skin. "You think?" I beamed, twirling once more to examine my backside.

"Yeah, definitely!" Lilly said. She browsed aimlessly through a rack of shirts with witty sayings on them, which was a clear sign she was beginning to get bored of this place.

"Now hurry up and buy it already. I really want to check out that surf shop at the end of the pier." Lilly urged, now moving from the shirts to a row of cheap-looking polarized sunglasses.

"Lilly, if you really want to go, I'll meet you there. I want to check out what else they have here." I was a sucker for girly, summer clothing. As much as Lilly loved cute clothes, I could see she was getting bored very quickly. Deciding to have pity on her, I let her go.

"Okay…" She dragged the word out longer than necessary, obviously trying to make it seem as though she was really considering staying. "I guess I'll see you later then. Bye!" And she was off.

I didn't stay at the boardwalk boutique much longer; it seemed the only cute thing there was the dress I had snagged. I paid for the dress, but instead of changing out of it, I left it on. It was the perfect way to commemorate the remaining days of summer before I was forced back to school.

With the new dress I had just purchased, I decided that I needed to buy some new shoes to match. I quickly scanned the shops and carts for some shoes when something caught my eye. It wasn't a sale, it was a person—a tall, pale guy in his late teens. His dark hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck in a loose ponytail. He was leaning lightly against the side of a concession stand and he was looking straight at me, his piercing green eyes following me intently.

Instantly, I was attracted to him. There was something about him, something slightly mysterious, almost dangerous, that drew me to him. My previous boyfriends had been as dangerous as… well, they weren't dangerous at all. They were all straight A, community service doing, and beyond boring students.

Pretending I was hankering for an overpriced soda, I walked over to the booth he was leaning on. I tried not to make it obvious that I knew the mysterious guy was still staring at me. I tried to suppress a smile; it was both flattering and creepy that a random guy couldn't take his eyes off of me.

"Uh, I'll have a small Diet Coke." (1) I smiled to the cashier as I approached the empty counter. He looked bored sitting there with no customers.

"Sure." He said and sucked up what sounded like a large wad of phlegm through his nose. He wiped his nose and added, "That'll be three dollars."

I couldn't hide my disgust as he grabbed the cup I was planning to drink out of with the hand he had just wiped his nose with. I reached down to my hip where my bag and money were supposed to be, but my bag was gone.

"My purse…" I mumbled, feeling my sides. I looked around frantically, wondering if I had dropped it on the way here or something. I couldn't see it anywhere. Just great; my wallet, phone, keys, and video iPod (1) were in there.

"Three dollars." The cashier repeated in the same bored drawl he'd been speaking in throughout our entire conversation.

I blushed slightly. "Hold on." I said worriedly, futilely looking for the purse I knew wasn't there. "Uhh… You see…"

But before I could say anything more, the same guy who had been watching me stepped in front of me. He placed the money on the counter, took the drink, and handed it to me.

"Thank you very much. Enjoy your drink." The cashier said, not even making eye contact with us anymore. Apparently, the thing he was trying to pick out of his nose was taking up most of his attention.

"I'm really sorry about that…" I said quietly as he and I walked down the pier, soda in my hand. I didn't know where we were going but I didn't care.

He didn't say anything, he only nodded in response. "My name is Parker." He said, stopping and looking at me intensely.

That look sent chills up my body. "Oh." I said and stopped as well. "My name is Miley." I looked him up and down again, this time focusing not only on his face and his attributes. He looked very out of place at the beach, I realized. He was wearing long, black pants and a long-sleeved dark blue logo shirt. If anyone had bothered to pay attention to two teenagers, they would've noticed that we were very mismatched. However, the fact that we were so unalike only furthered my yearning for Parker.

I know it may sound weird, seeing as how I've known him for less than a day, but I felt as though it didn't matter. It didn't matter if we had known each other for a day, a week, or a lifetime—this feeling was real. It was genuine love at first sight.

"Mmm." Parker nodded once again. He wasn't the most talkative person I had ever met. "So, how old are you, Miley?"

I bit my bottom lip lightly and averted my eyes. "I'm sixteen." I finally admitted. "Soon to turn seventeen, though." I added sheepishly. No way would I have a chance with someone like him now that he knew I was still in high school.

"I see…" He said nonchalantly. He sounded as though he was now turned off. I knew I should've lied! He then added, "So, what high school do you go to?"

Maybe he wasn't as turned off as I thought he was. "I'm a Junior at Seaview High." I smiled, suddenly blushing again for no apparent reason.

"Nice." Parker said, no longer bothering to look at me. He was scanning the crowd, his eyes darting quickly back and forth. His eyes widened suddenly, as though he had found what he was looking for, and a small smile formed on his face.

I cocked my head and tried to follow his line of sight, but to no avail. I almost asked him what he was looking, but I realized that question would only make me seem even more immature than I already seemed to be.

"It was nice meeting you, Miley." Parker said, already starting to walk away. "Maybe we'll see more of each other someday."

I didn't know how to respond. There was what seemed like my ideal guy walking farther and farther away from me. When it dawned on me that it was unlikely that I would ever see him again, I almost kicked myself for missing a perfect opportunity to brighten up my dull life.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't realize Lilly had found me and was standing in front of me, waving her hands up and down in an attempt to get my attention. "Miley… Earth to Miley!" She was saying over and over again.

"Huh, what?" I said, finally snapping out of whatever Parker-induced trance I seemed to be in.

"I just asked you who you were talking to." Lilly said, slightly annoyed. It looked as though she had found something good at the shop because she was donning their gray drawstring bag on her wrist.

"Him? He was no one." I lied. "Just some guy asking me for the time."

Lilly looked slightly suspicious but the drink in my hand caught her attention. "Ohh! Can I have some?" And before I could answer her, she had grabbed the cup from my hands and started sucking it down. I didn't bother to tell her about the cleanliness factor the person serving the drink seemed to be lacking.

"You know… About that guy." Lilly said between sips. "I almost thought you were like secretly dating him… The way you looked at him, it was like you were madly in love with him or something." She laughed. "But we both know goodie-goodie Miley would never do something like that!"

"I promise," I exaggerated the words especially for her, "that I had just met that guy today. I had never seen him before in my life."

"Fine, fine. I'm just saying, though." Lilly shrugged, dropping the subject. Now she was looking for a trashcan to throw away what once was my soda.

"Oh, and I need to check back at that shop I got this dress from." I said, realizing that my purse was still MIA. I blushed as I added, "I think I might've left my bag in the dressing stall…"

Lilly laughed and sighed at the same time. "Miley, Miley. What am I going to do with you?"

I couldn't help but laugh along. "Send me off to live with the wolves, if this continues."

Lilly stopped laughing and said in a mock-serious tone, "I think I might have to." I couldn't help but laugh at that, too.

(1) I'm not sure if I have to add a disclaimer for Coke and Apple's iPod franchise either… But yeah, I don't own Coca-Cola or the Apple Corporation, nor am I planning to anytime soon.

So there we have it… The first installment of what I hope will be a long running fic. Goodness knows I need to write one of those.
And I apologize for the shortness factor. I was planning on Miley and Parker meeting an entirely different way (which was even more boring than this way—hard to believe, right?) but I decided against it in the end.

So R&R and whatnot. I hope to see you all soon!