Came up with this one-shot in the car today. It just spilled out, like ink on paper. I've been dealing with these feelings for awhile and it feels pretty good getting them out in the open. My original idea involved Zac Efron and Miley Cyrus but I changed it to Troy Bolton and Miley Stewart in the end. Don't wanna break the FF rules or nuthin. Good day! ;)

Miley sighed loudly and flopped down next to me.

Her frustration filled the dressing room like a thick fog, swirling around me, squeezing my middle until it was hard to breathe. I gave a small, concerned smile and raised my arm along the back of the couch. She slid over into my embrace and rested her head on my chest.

My thoughts went right back to the years I've missed. So much has changed, I'm afraid I might be losing my little sister.

Why did I let go? Was it really selfish of me to leave and pursue my own career? I did leave her, but it was in the care of our capable parents; or so I thought. In the few weeks I've been back home, I see that was not the case.

I see that my parents and I have different thoughts on what's age appropriate for my sister. There's nothing I can say to change what they've already let infect her mind but maybe—suddenly she spoke into my shirt, interrupting my thoughts.

"Why does everyone still treat me like a child, Troy?" I put my free hand on her head in an attempt to soothe her emotions, but she wiggled out of my grasp. She stared back at me, searching my face. "You don't still think of me as your baby sister, right? I mean I'm practically eighteen."

"Yes you are," I admitted, softening my features. "But you don't have to be in such a rush to grow up. You'll get there ... eventually." She turned away, anger and embarrassment reddening her cheeks.

"You don't understand what it's like. Boys get to just 'up and leave' when they hit the big one-dash-eight but we girls," she absent-mindedly gestured to an imaginary group of females, "have to stay home; we're stuck in some kinda limbo in between teen and adult because our parents are too afraid to let go." She faced me defiantly. Her jealousy struck me like a slap in the face, but I swallowed my defensive pride.

"I've never experienced what you're feeling but it sounds like this has been on your mind for awhile."

She stared down in her lap. She looked so tired and almost, scared. Again I was fighting an impulse to just pull her close and never let her go—but that was the worst move I could make at this point. And I wasn't willing to push her further away.

I yawned loudly. Her head jerked up sharply, as if my sleepiness was a sign of boredom meant to insult to her.

"Maybe we should talk about this in the morning. It's been a long day, huh?" I suggested warily. She stood swiftly and glared down at me, arms crossed.

"We talk about this now or … or never!" I was tempted to laugh at the unintentional pun but I realized this was not the time.

"Okay," I said letting her control the situation.

She squared her shoulders and continued, "And you have to be honest and STOP talking down at me!" She was increasing her volume with each word. Fight or flight kicked in and I needed to get to the point for both our sakes.

I stood and side-stepped her, moving in the direction of the door.

"You're right, Miley." She nodded because it was exactly what she wanted to hear but as I continued her smile began to fade. "I'll be brutally honest okay? I don't like what you're becoming. This," I pointed at the leather outfit hanging on the door, "is not the way to prove 'you're growing up'." She dropped her hands to her sides and balled them into fists.

"You're just like Mom and Dad!" she yelled, stomping her foot. "Why can't anyone just let be who I am!"

"You're not this, Miley … some kind of sexy vixen? That's not my sister!"

"How would you know, huh? You've been away for a year filming your new 'coming of age' movie. You forget all about me and now you wanna come back and act like you still know me? Well, think again." She turned toward the vanity and sat down in front of the mirror.

"I may have left to chase my own dreams but I never stopped thinking about my family, about you. I called but you were always busy. I'm sorry, okay? I can't believe I was so selfish; I know you would never do anything like that," I said, letting the sarcasm solidify her air supply until she choked on it.

She paused in the middle of applying a fresh layer of blush. She eyed me as if deciding whether I was serious or not. Seeing I was, she threw the brush down and walked up to me.

"This isn't about you. It's about me—"

"Always has been," I cut her off. I stepped even closer and used the height difference as an advantage. "Who are you Miley, huh?" I said, lowering my voice to a normal level.

She blinked fast and hard, desperately trying to hold her ground. I searched her face honestly, afraid for a moment that I might have been wrong all along.

Maybe she really was someone else. Maybe she wasn't the little sister I left behind so many months ago. Maybe she never was or would be. But I found it, that light glimmer in her eyes, that same look that had graced my sister's face countless times. She kept blinking back her tears until one slipped out and rolled down her cheek. But I pulled her into a hug before she could walk away again. She gripped the back of my shirt tightly.

I whispered in her hair, "What happened to us, Miley? Who are we now?" She shook her head silently and I stroked her head. She didn't need to answer because we would find out soon enough.

I'll always be her big brother, just as she will always be my little sister. I was gone for too long but I'm here now. We'll work it out.

"We can fix it."

"Together."

My thoughts exactly. Based on true-life events ... loosely based. Very loosely. ;P