A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys! I love the feedback. Here's the next chapter!
Previously On "Vanished":
"Hey there."
She turned around to see the figure in front of her. Miley revealed a light and tender smile.
"Hey you."
"No…but I just – just – I just want to go home!" she exclaimed. Miley tried to run away put before she knew it, her arm was grasped.
"I'm surprised at you, Miley." The voice was harsh and menacing. Miley tried her best to cry but her mouth was covered. "You really outta have figured it out."
Her heart was beating fast and she tried her best to breathe through her nose. The voice once again whispered into her ear, "bye bye, Hannah."
"Lilly? But she's only a school reporter. You can't kill her!"
"I'm killing you, aren't I?"
She nodded her head. "No, apparently I am."
I could not concentrate today. It was not just because of math. I learnt to start concentrating in math over the years. I could not concentrate because I thought that my friend was not just ill but nobody would believe me.
Justin looked at me with amusement as I bit my pen. "You do know you're supposed to write with those, right?" he whispered to me.
"Shut up. You know why I'm frustrated."
"Yeah, but you don't have to be. Miles is probably just ill, without a care in the world."
"She's gone for a week now, Justin," I stated, in a matter of fact attitude. "Something must be up."
"You are too worried for your own good."
"I am not!"
"You think everything is worse than it seems."
"Because it usually is."
Okay, so I'm just telling a little lie there…okay…a big lie. I am never right about these things. As soon as I started on the newspaper is was a fifty/fifty chance of it being what I actually suspected. First was the case of the cafeteria staff. Turns out, they were not involved in any drug scam. From then on, it continued. I never wanted to admit I was wrong in the past, because I wanted so badly to trust my gut feeling. Clearly though, my gut feeling did not know what it was doing to save its life.
"Lilly…" If anyone knows that it was total shit, it would be Justin. Justin O'Connor was my boyfriend of one year. The longest relationship I had ever had and the best boyfriend at that. He never cheated, never missed a date and/or event and knew exactly what the word "no" meant; accept when it involved what movie to watch. And secretly, I always loved the boring flicks he picked out in the end.
"Okay, but you have to admit, I have got it right once in a while." It was true. My suspicions about the cheerleading mafia were right. Okay, so in the end I got a story about how the squad shortened their skirts after it was checked by the school so that they won the eye of the judges at competitions. Oh yeah, I got kicked off the squad a couple of years ago for refusing to go through with their plan to prank the mascot. Oliver was our mascot.
A lot had changed actually. Where I left you, things were innocent. Me, Miley and Oliver lived without a care in the world – our worst problem being keeping Miley's secret. But she gave that secret up when she was looking into the future. I hate thinking about the future; it's so daunting.
So back to how it's changed. First: it's no longer me, Miley and Oliver. It's now: Me, Miley, Justin and Amy and in a different clique: Oliver, Ashley and Marco. Yes, Ashley. This isn't someone new. This is the Ashley who I wished I could throw down a well. However, she's changed. Amber moved to New York so Ashley needed a new life and friends. There she met Marco and they became friends. How Marco put up with her was always a mystery. Then when me and Miley stopped talking to Oliver, he went off to them too. It's as if it was a formation of the rejected.
You probably want me to rewind to where I said that me and Miley weren't talking to Oliver. It was a long story, which frankly I never really understood. It was around two years ago when we were fifth teen…
"Keep this." I threw my top into one pile and then stared for a few moments at my skateboard. "Don't keep that."
I looked back at sorrow at the lonely board in the pile which was soon going to be thrown out. It was nothing wrong with skating, I had just grown out of it. I needed to be a bit more girlie, if I was ever going to get Justin O'Connor's attention. I tried being "me", but it just was not working out at all!
"Lilly," called my mum from the bottom of the stairs. "Miley's here for you!"I saw Miley come into my room, trying her best to keep her emotions at bay. However, when my mum had gone, tears were pouring out of her eyes. By the time I got near her, I could have sworn I saw a small patch of water – which, if it was there, was hopefully due to tears.
"What's wrong, Miles?"
I could not hear half of what she was saying. It was splutter…sentence…splutter…sentence…splutter… all we needed was a handkerchief and she could make her own record. However, now and again I heard the name, "Oliver." I could not help but feel slightly in denial. Oliver could never be the cause of Miley crying this much.
"Wait, what did Oliver do?" I tried to get back onto the subject, but Miley just sat on my bed in silence.
She sighed. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."
Even though I really should have not leave it at that, but at that point, I thought it was what was best for her.
From then on, I repeatedly asked her about what happened between those two, but she never told me. And – as a friend – the least I could do was let her keep her silence. I had years ahead of me to finally get it out of her. Well, I thought I did.
I finally arrived home and clambered up the stairs, I ignored my mother ask, "how was school?" I was not in the mood for petty small talk between mother and daughter. I think she would live one day without it.
"Come on," I muttered to myself as the phone rang constantly.
Finally, someone picked up. "Hello?" It sounded like Mr. Stewart, but his voice was strained and rough, as if he had spent the entire day so far either shouting or the exact opposite.
"Is Miley home?"
"I'm sorry Lilly." He sounded even more distressed as he continued, "she hasn't come home."
"All week?" I wanted to cry. I wanted to fall down and collapse and cry till I had nothing to cry anymore. She was missing. For an entire week. I felt embarrassed that I did not know, and I felt ashamed that I only just found out.
"Afraid so."
"I'm sorry."
I did not even say goodbye. I just hung up the phone and bit my lower lip. I had two choices now that I knew this piece of knowledge. Either I just sit down and cry for an hour but I decided to be stupid and took the second choice: I decided to investigate it.
I had collected a group of people. To be more specific, everyone who knew her and was out at the party she went to just before she was guessed to have disappeared.
"Who was last to see her?"
The room fell silent.
"Come on," I shouted. "Surely someone saw her around the time she went missing."
"We don't even know when she went missing!"
I turned my head and saw Oliver sitting there. I had not even remembered inviting him. However, I was not one to kick him out. As well as that, in my rage, I was prepared to fight with him. "I hate to remind you, Oken, but I think it was clear that she disappeared on the Friday night since she had not been seen since then. Not even by her family."
"I'm just saying, we don't know what time. She might have been leaving from the party."
"Are you always such a wiseass?"
"Only when you're a bitch!"
The nerve! You could see why I currently hated him so much now. I tried my best to stay with him but it became too hard and eventually we just ended up fighting all the time. Lucky I got out of that friendship while I could, him being such a dick and all.
"Later, Lilly."
"Bye, Jake."
Jake had actually gotten nicer over the years. He was still acting but his head finally had deflated just that bit. As soon as I called him, he came right over. Bless the guy; I do not think he ever truly got over Miley. And now he never could.
Once everyone had left the hall, I stood there with no more knowledge than I had set out to get. Justin came and put his arm around my shoulder and sighed. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll find her."
"I don't know, Justin. Surely they would have found her by now. You know that the first twenty- four hours are the most important, and look, it's been a week."
"There's nothing we can do."
"I don't care," I replied, sobbing into his shirt. "I'm finding her, Justin. Even if it kills me."
Next Time on "Vanished":
Sergeant Ted looked at Mr. Stewart. "I'm sorry, there is no birth identification or any proof that Miley Stewart actually ever existed. Without this, we cannot set up a case."
I could not believe I was doing it.
"Oliver, I need your help."
"So, I'm going to help you find a girl who hates me. And on top of that – so far as the police is concerned – there is no proof that she in fact ever existed."
Okay, he had a point.
"So first, who can we suspect?"
I ducked straight down as it flew into my window. Oliver stared at me with confusion. "What is it."
"A note."
"What does it say?"
I read it over and over again. Finally I read it out loud, "Don't worry, you'll join her."
