Chapter two: Competition
With the hot sun bearing down on the back of her neck, Lilly twitched nervously as she stood in line with other competitors waiting to check in for today's competition. A bead of sweat formed and slid itchily down her back, tempting her to wipe it away, but at the same time, she didn't want to draw attention to herself. The skate park was already more jammed full of people than she had ever seen it, between skaters, competition officials, sports reporters and spectators, the crowd seemed to her to be enormous, and while she had grown used to the attention she received as Hannah's best friend Lola Luftnagle, she wasn't prepared for receiving the same amount of attention for being herself.
To make matters worse, Oliver for some reason had decided that today was the day to get hyped up on caffeinated beverages and attempt to drive her mad with inane conversation, only half of which she was actually listening to, the rest of her attention being equally divided between waiting for the seemingly never ending long line of competitors to move in front of her, something they seemed to be doing at a snail's pace, and trying to ignore the sensation of what felt like a thousand curious eyes bearing down on her. If she hadn't before, now she could truly appreciate what her best friend went through all the time. Again she found herself wondering how Miley did it, if she had to put up with this amount of attention all the time she would truly go insane.
"Think she's watching?" Lilly had tuned in again to Oliver just in time to hear him mutter that, and while normally she would know exactly who he was referring to, while feeling the countless spidery eyes of the spectators on her back, today was not one of those days.
"Who?" Lilly snapped, glaring over at Oliver for not being more clear.
"What do you mean who? You know who." Oliver said, eyeing her with a look of disbelief, as if he couldn't believe he had just heard that word come out of her mouth. "Miley." he clarified, stretching the name out as if he was attempting to sink it into her subconscious.
Lilly rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the irritation she was feeling with him. She knew he was trying to be helpful, chatting her up in his attempt to keep her calm. It wasn't his fault that it wasn't working. Blowing out a breath of air in an attempt to keep herself from exploding, she answered his question. "Well she said she would if she could, but you know what her schedule is like when she's on the road." Lilly said, trying to keep her voice low so the person standing in front of her wouldn't overhear the conversation.
Oliver nodded his head, sagely. "Yeah, first she has to get away from Anna-hay." he blurted out, rather loudly, as if the guy in front of them wouldn't be able to figure out that subtle piece of Pig Latin he had just spoken. Lilly cringed as the guy in question looked back to stare at them.
'You doughnut! Why don't you just blurt it out to the world? Miley Stewart is Hannah Montana!' Lilly thought, glaring heatedly at Oliver, before turning to meet the other guy's curious stare. "Hah! He's just kidding." Lilly put a fake, happy grin on her face as she attempted to wave the guy off. "Such a kidder." She repeated, smiling through clenched teeth as she punched Oliver hard on the shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?" Oliver said, looking wounded as he rubbed his shoulder. The guy in front of them, apparently deciding this was not worth getting involved in, turned back around studiously ignoring what was going on in back of him.
Lilly gave Oliver a 'You idiot' look but chose not to comment on it any further. If she didn't watch herself, she would be the one blurting out Miley's secret. Instead, she tried to get rid of him before he could drive her any crazier. "Isn't there...I don't know...something else that you could be doing right now?" Lilly asked, stressing the word else. 'Besides bothering me!' her inner voice growled, though she refrained from saying it out loud.
Oliver held his hands up defensively in front of him, as if he were fending off a ferocious tiger. "Touchy, touchy." He grinned, earning another black glare from Lilly. Looking around the crowded skate park, Lilly knew when his eyes landed on a group of girls standing around chatting, waiting for the action to start, by the sparkle that lit them up and the grin that spread ever wider on his face. "As a matter of fact I do. Time to go spread the old 'smoken Oken' charm. Catch ya later."
Lilly shook her head as she watched him go, then shook her body out, trying to shake her aggravation out with it as her thoughts turned to Miley, wondering just what she was doing right at that moment.
-HM-
"Joining us live today after an enormously successful and energetic concert last night right here in our very own city of Philadelphia, Hannah Montana. Thank you so much for being here today, Hannah." Hannah smiled pleasantly over at the perky, blonde television commentator who looked much more fresh and alive then she herself felt at that moment as she struggled to keep her own exhaustion from showing on her face.
"It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me." Hannah replied, keeping the smile on her face. Done with the pleasantries, the mid-morning reporter jumped right into the interview, slinging a string of questions at Hannah who luckily had heard most of them at least a thousand times before and so was able to answer them almost by rote.
While the half of her mind that was Hannah Montana continued to answer the reporter's questions, the rest of Miley's mind drifted back to the events that had occurred early that morning, or more importantly, the emotions she had felt during and after the phone call with Lilly. The amount of loneliness that had sprung up during that call had surprised her with its intensity, the great burning ache that had been left in her chest after the call had finished, robbing her of her appetite and leaving her nibbling unenthusiastically at her food, had her wondering just what she was feeling. While it was quite natural to miss Lilly, she shouldn't be missing her quite this much. It was almost as if she...but no...that's impossible...she mentally shook her head, shoving the thought away as she had done for the rest of the morning. It was ridiculous to even think about. Lilly was her best friend, nothing more.
"So...Hannah, I'm sure all of the young men out there in our fair city would love to know the answer to this question." The blonde reporter smiled impishly at Hannah, bringing Miley's mind back to the interview. Leaning closer, as if they were two confidant's sharing a secret, the reporter asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"
'Think's she's being cute!' Miley thought to herself, mentally rolling her eyes at the question while outwardly keeping her Hannah Montana persona in place. "Sadly, no. I don't." Hannah answered simply and truthfully. Feeling her mouth going dry, she reached for the bottle of water that had been provided to her.
She was in the middle of taking a much needed sip when the reporter's next question caught her completely off guard. "Girlfriend?" Miley choked, feeling the water painfully searing her nostrils as it went the wrong way. Distractedly, she heard the reporter hastily cut to a commercial break while she tried to cough up the water that had interjected its way into her lungs. Waving away the stage hands that had rushed up to the set to help, Miley continued to cough until the irritated spasms that wracked her chest settled down and she was able to breathe easier.
"I am so sorry. I didn't realize that question would have such an effect on you." The reporter apologized, a curious look taking over the blonde's face while she watched Hannah regain her composure. 'Hit a nerve with that one.' She had time to think while Hannah continued to breathe in and out slowly. 'Interesting.'
"Fine...it's fine." Hannah managed, continuing to cough a little. "I just wasn't expecting that." she said, by way of explanation, hoping against all hope that her little snafu wouldn't get all blown out of proportion, but also smart enough to realize that anything that she did in the public eye could and most likely would be blown out of proportion, leaving her to wonder now how she would deal with it if and when it did.
"Are you able to continue?" The reporter asked, still eyeing Hannah with a curious gleam in her eye.
Miley nodded wordlessly, preparing herself now to doing damage control.
-HM-
Lilly breathed a sigh of relief as she finally reached the check-in table. It had been a long wait and she was anxious to get this part of her day over and done with. There was nothing that she hated more than waiting in line. "Name?" The attendant asked, looking up at her with a decidedly bored expression plastered all over the woman's face.
"Lilly Truscott." Lilly replied, watching patiently as the woman went through a pile of papers with a list of names typed neatly on them. Long, agonizing minutes later, the woman finally spotted her name among the names of the other contestants and grunted agreeably. She began handing her a bunch of forms, which included a list of rules and regulations that she had to follow in order to compete, safety disclaimers in case of accidents happening on the course, etc.
"You skate last." The woman informed her as she handed her the numbered decals for the back of her helmet and jersey that would identify her apart from the other contestants. Nodding silently, Lilly wandered away from the table feeling the anxiety swimming in her stomach increase. Skating last could be either good or bad depending on how you looked at it. It would give her time to watch the other contestants, letting her size up her competition to see if she even stood a chance here. On the other hand, if someone skated exeptionally well it would increase the pressure, knowing that she'd have to skate her best in order to defeat that person. Either way, she was looking at a long, gruelling day here at the skate park. Still, that would leave Miley time to finish whatever she was doing in Philadelphia and get back to her hotel room to watch Lilly skate. Lilly was grateful for that much at least.
-HM-
"Worst interview ever." Miley groaned as she sank into the soft plushness inside the limo, closing her eyes as she rested her head back against the seat. She felt the seat shake with Robbie Ray's weight as he settled into the limo beside her.
"Come on darlin', it wasn't that bad." her Daddy said, apparently trying to cheer her up.
Miley shot him a look of outright disbelief. "Not that bad?" Miley mimicked. "Dad, I choked on live TV...literally." Not to mention the question that had caused her to choke in the first place. Miley couldn't believe the nerve of that reporter. Even though she had worked hard in the last half of the interview to control the damage her little coughing fit had done she knew the press wasn't going to just let it go. They tended to be vicious that way. She could see the headline on the latest gossip magazine now. 'Does Hannah Montana have a secret girlfriend? Check inside to find out.' Just thinking about that made her shudder.
"Come on, Miles. You've been in this spot before, it'll blow over. You remember that time you were going on the Taylor Kingsford show, but you came back from camping with a bad case of poison oak and you had to create that brand new dance right up there on stage. Now, what was it again..." Robbie Ray trailed off as if he had to think up the answer, but from the smile on his face Miley knew he didn't have to think too hard about it. "Oh yeah, I remember now. " He said, his words emphasized by his slow, southern drawl. "The Scratch dance."
Miley rolled her eyes at the remembered embarrassment. "Or what about that time the press thought that Hannah Montana was dating Jackson and you had to break up with your brother on the 'wake up it's Wendy' show?"
"Is this trip down embarrassing memory lane supposed to be telling me something?" Miley asked, just wishing her daddy would stop dredging up moments in time that made her cringe.
Apparently taking pity on her, Robbie Ray got to the point. "Just that you got through those other times just fine and you're gonna get through this one. Just give it some time."
"Yeah." Miley sighed, turning her attention out the window, staring disconsolately out at the city as it passed by her view. It was easy for him to say, he wasn't the one who was going to have to live with all of the rumors that would quickly be spread by her snafu at the TV station. It was going to be a publicity nightmare she knew, and right now all she really wanted to do was go back to her hotel, flop exhaustedly down on her bed, and forget about everything by watching Lilly skate.
-HM-
'All the way up, all the way down, holding my breath, letting it out...want it my way, I do what I do, I know what I like and baby it's you...' Lilly bobbed her head, lips moving silently along with the lyrics of the music being pumped into her ears from the headphones of her ipod, as she lost herself and her case of nerves with the beat of her new favorite song as she waited for her turn to skate, which would be a long time in coming seeing as the number of people that were scheduled to skate before her were too numerous to think about at the moment. While normally she would be listening to Hannah, right now that would just make her miss Miley all the more so she had decided to give this new artist a try and had discovered that she wasn't half bad.
Stretching, she happened to glance over where Oliver seemed to be having some success chatting up an attractive looking red haired girl. 'At least, he hasn't been chased away yet.' Lilly thought to herself as she saw the girl laugh at something Oliver was saying. Oliver caught her glance and flashed her a thumb's up sign. Grinning, Lilly winked back at him, then shook her head in amusement. True he was a doughnut, but he was her doughnut, well, her's and Miley's.
Turning her attention back to the competition, she watched the next competitor in line begin his routine. The guy was good, she realized very quickly as she watched his performance, feeling her mouth slack open as he pulled off some amazing stunts, seemingly effortlessly, and she realized she'd have to pump up her routine even more to make fourth. The competition here was just that good. Swallowing hard, she found herself wishing that Miley was here, her spunky friend always helped to keep her confidence up.
-HM-
Miley let herself fall backwards onto her bed, groaning as the soft mattress cushioned her fall. Shutting her eyes for just a moment, she almost surrendered to the siren's song of sleep. 'Lilly.' The thought jolted her back into alertness like an alarm clock going off next to her ear would have. Sitting up, her heartbeat beating a staccato in her chest, Miley grabbed for the remote control, turned the television on, then found the sports channel that was broadcasting the skateboarding competition in California, then sat back against the headboard, pillows cushioning her back, and settled in to watch it.
'It has been a tremendous day out here at the skate park in Malibu, California. The competition here has been nailbiting as all of the competitors here seem to be on top of their game. With only one person left to skate, one of our very own from right here in Malibu, Lillian Truscott, the winners of today's competition, and the person who will be heading on to nationals should be known very soon. Stay tuned as more of the action resumes, right after these messages.'
"Come on...stupid commercials." Miley muttered as the channel cut to a commercial break, before a rapping at her door caught her attention.
"Yeah?" Miley called, jumping up from her bed as she raced to answer the door, hoping to get rid of the person on the other side before the show came back on.
Miley blinked as she opened the door to reveal her father standing there, arm raised as if he was getting ready to knock again. "You ready to go, Bud?" Robbie Ray asked, as he looked around Miley's hotel room and noticed the distinct lack of packing going on there. "Miley come on. We need to get a move on if we're gonna make Baltimore by tonight."
"Not now, Dad." Miley said, making a sound of annoyance as she headed back to her bed. "Lilly's about to skate." She announced as she flounced onto her mattress, bouncing a few times as she settled in.
"That's today?" Robbie Ray asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Yes." Miley dragged the word out, as if the answer should have been obvious.
"I clear plum forgot all about that. Why didn't you remind me, Bud? I wanted to see that." Robbie Ray chastised as he looked down at his daughter, who was spread out over as much of the queen sized bed as she could manage. "Scootch over, will ya?"
Miley rolled her eyes as she scooted out of his way, going back to her previous positioning of sitting with her back against the headboard.
Neither one said a word until the telecast came back on and they caught a glimpse of Lilly, resplendent in all of her skating gear, stretching herself out in the background as she prepared for her upcoming skate, while the reporter talked to the camera. "Skating next, for the first time ever in this state wide competition, Malibu's very own, Lilly Truscott.'
"Boy, she looks more nervous than a fox getting caught raiding a henhouse." Robbie Ray muttered to Miley, who nodded but didn't say a word. She was too busy soaking up the sight of her best friend, who did look nervous to Miley's eyes, but she could also see that gleam of determination Lilly sometimes got when she was adamant about something.
"She's going to do fine." Miley whispered, mostly to herself, as her eyes never left the screen, too captivated by what she was watching to look anywhere else.
-HM-
'You can do this. You can do this. Miley believes in you. You can do this.' Lilly coached herself as she stood on the sidelines stretching out her muscles as she waited for the go ahead. The butterflies in her stomach were now doing a frenzied race inside her stomach, almost making her feel like she wanted to throw up, but she swallowed against the urge, breathing slowly in and out of her nose to help calm her racing nerves.
"Next up, Lilly Truscott from Malibu." Hearing her name get called increased her anxiety, but she forced herself to keep breathing, rolling her shoulders to ease the tension out of them as she walked over to the starting point. Putting all of her consciousness into preparation, she was able to ignore some of the anxiety racing through her, until an official touched her arm.
"Ready?" he asked, making sure she was prepared before he gave the go ahead.
Nodding back at him, Lilly got herself into position. "Go!" Lilly barely heard the order before she was launching herself off of the top of the ramp, preparing for her first trick while she was still mid-air. Now she was only focusing on the performance, her anxiety from before was just about gone, all she could feel now was the wind in her face, the surface of the track, when she actually made connection, and the fire in her belly that was pushing her along.
-HM-
Miley couldn't believe her eyes. Though she had watched Lilly practice more times than she could count, she had never seen her friend quite like this before. So focused, so determined. She had the grace of a ballerina, the ability to defy gravity like an acrobat, and the swiftness of a speed skater making it appear almost effortless as she performed her tricks. Miley knew the number of hard hours that Lilly practiced that went into making what she did now look almost easy. Miley also knew that the tricks Lilly was performing was some of the hardest ones in the books. As good as Miley was at dancing, that's how good Lilly was at skateboarding, and Miley could tell that Lilly was wowing the audience by the amount of shouting and cheering that was resounding in the skate park. Lilly was amazing them all.
"Whoo boy, look at her go!" Miley grinned as her father erupted beside her, his cheers echoing off of the hotel room walls.
"Go Lilly!" Miley shouted, joining her father in his exhuberant excitement, feeling goosebumps erupt down her back as she watched her friend skate. 'She's really going to do this.' The thought flashed across Miley's mind at lightning speed. 'Lilly's going to win this competition
-HM-
Lilly vaguely heard what sounded like the roar of the ocean resounding in her ears. It didn't occur to her until she had finished her last trick and was standing on the lip of the ramp, breathing heavily from her exertions what it really was, thunderous applause.
"Way to go Lilly!" she heard Oliver's shout out from among the sea of spectators and though she couldn't see him, she grinned in his general direction, knowing he'd know who she was grinning for. Shrugging lightly, she waved at her audience, just as she'd seen Miley do at least a million times before. Then, with nothing more for her to do, she'd already done the best she could, she stood there quietly catching her breath while she waited for the judges' decision.
-HM-
Miley was excited for Lilly after seeing her skate, and she waited breathlessly, fingers crossed, for the final results. While the majority of herself wanted Lilly to win for Lilly's sake, there was a part of her, a small, nasty part of herself, one that she wasn't at all proud of, that was really hoping she'd lose. If Lilly won, she'd be going on to Nationals in six weeks, which would mean needing more time than ever to practice, which would mean that Lilly wouldn't be able to meet up with her at her concert in New York in two weeks. Miley admitted to herself that this need to have Lilly with her was selfish, and she wouldn't allow the wish to be made known to anybody, but she couldn't help its being there all the same.
Miley caught her breath as an official looking person broke through the crowd and approached the spot where Lilly was standing. Microphone in hand, the official spoke to the spectators and the television audience watching at home. "The winner of this year's California state skateboarding competition, and representing the state of California at Nationals in six weeks is, Lilly Truscott from Malibu."
"Whee doggies, she did it!" Miley heard her father shout out exuberantly and wished she could celebrate along with her father as he was hugging her excitedly, but all she felt was numb as she watched Lilly's reaction to winning on screen. At first, the only sign that Lilly even knew she had won was her mouth dropping wide open, then she started doing a little jiggly dance right there on top of the ramp, then she was hugging the official while saying thank you over and over again, a happy smile spread all over her face.
"Isn't that great, bud?" Robbie Ray asked, glancing into his daughter's face. For a second he almost thought he saw sadness instead of happiness in his daughter's eyes, and started to question it, but then she seemed to break out of her stupor, a wide grin appearing on her lips as she blurted out.
"Of course it's great! Why wouldn't it be great? She won! Yay, Lilly!" She even did a rah rah gesture with her arm, but still something in the way his daughter was reacting to Lilly's winning bothered him. He wanted to question her about it but he figured now wasn't the time to do so.
"Okay, well, I'm gonna go finish packing. You should start packing yourself. Meet me downstairs in an hour, we really need to get going."
"Okay, daddy. I just want to call Lilly and congratulate her." Miley said, glancing back at the television, where Lilly was still getting congratulated.
"Okay, Bud." Robbie Ray kissed the top of Miley's head, still concerned about her, but not really knowing why, then left the room. Miley's attention was still peeled to the screen.
Apparently, they had decided to allow Lilly some air time, as she now had the microphone and was speaking into it excitedly. "I just wanted to thank two people, both of which I couldn't see my life without and helped to get me to where I am today. Oliver Oken, who was able to be here with me today, and Miley Stuart, who, even though she wasn't able to be here, I know that no matter where she is she's still watching and supporting me. I love you guys." Miley felt tears welling up in her eyes as she watched Lilly hand the microphone back to the official, waved at the audience, then began to climb down from the skate ramp.
"I love you too, Lilly." Miley whispered, as the tears washed over her cheeks.