EDIT: THIS IS NOW CHAPTER 3 WITH THE COMMENTS FOR CHAPTER 2.

A/N: I'm PISSED. I can't seem to think of what to write. I want so badly to get into the heart of this story, but fuck, it almost seems like this chapter goes off and deals more with thoughts than actions. And I'm pretty sure reading about a full week at school will be boring. Well, whatever. I updated. Whoop-de-fucking-do.

crazy4cyrus: Yes, I will keep writing. I don't know how long I'll be able to deal with the lack of momentum before I finally scream and rip my hair out, but I'll at least keep writing.

merc: Glad to see you're following this one as well! :)

Morbid Crow: Ehehehehe...We delve a little bit into that in this chapter, actually. I'm trying to give away little hints and details without saying anything outright.

MileyNick611: I will not reply about Never Give In. The story is concluded and thus requires no more commentary on my part. About this story, however, I'm glad you're interested. Yes, all will be revealed soon. Next chapter will be a cliff-hanger, though. Chapter 4 should give light to everything.

BigBMarie: Glad. Means I'm writing the way I intended. ;)

No, I'm not replying to reviews or comments about Never Give In unless someone specifically demands them of me. As much as I love my readers, I think the sequel should be focused on more than its predecessor. Hopefully I don't disappoint.

Thanks to everyone for the +watchies and the +favies! I'd go through and do names, but I'm a little slammed for time right now. You know who you are, though, so try not to bite my head off. :)

Chapter 3: Misery and Mystery

Two weeks had gone by. And Miley had received another letter signed RJS. She was starting to get fairly unnerved at this point.

I know that I've not given you a clue as to who I am, but you know me, and I most certainly know you, Miley. It's been a long time since we saw each other. It's difficult to predict what the future will hold between us. I know that I eagerly await our reintroduction.

As a hint, no, I am not the infamous homosexual rapist Jake Ryan. I loathe the man and would probably kill him on sight if I ever met him. Stay strong, Miley. If his release date was two weeks ago as planned, be on your guard.

RJS

Nothing could be gleaned. It was almost like the author had no intention of being revealed, or of revealing itself. Miley shivered. She didn't like the feeling of uncertainty she got from these letters, the feeling that her whole world was about to be flipped on its ass and dragged through the dirt. That thought scared her. It was the last thing she needed was for her life to change drastically again. She'd already been blessed with Lilly, who as of yet knew nothing of the letters. She hoped nobody found out about them, but she kept them folded and hidden away from the world.

It scared her. This could very easily be some old pedophile out to get her, just the same way Jake had been. But Jake had been gay. He had used Miley to try and convince them both otherwise, but he had admitted it in court for the record on that fated day at the end of June. Miley had been stunned out of speech that day. Jake himself looked shaken. Overall, not a good day for anyone.

Memories resurfaced. All the work she'd done. All the torture she'd put Lilly through, followed by the full year of attempting to reconnect with Lilly and straighten her out and normalize her within society. And, despite incredible odds and her constant struggle to speak, she had done it. Lilly had become one of the smartest, most studious students on campus, had brought her grade-point average up to nearly match her mentor's, and still had time to surf or skateboard freely on the weekends.

But even Lilly failed to take her mind off the unnerving feelings she'd been experiencing. She knew this person, she knew this person, yet she couldn't put a name or a face together to form a human. Frustrating. Scary. God, how she wished she knew. He could be watching her at any given moment.

Her blood ran cold. She did an involuntary check of her room, eyes flicking around frantically before settling. She sighed. This must be how schizophrenics felt. Under constant watch. Racing minds. Thoughts that jumbled and bounced off one another. Fuck.

She remembered the first time she'd been reintroduced to Lilly the previous year. Bittersweet, really. Lilly hadn't been happy to see her and had only put up with her long enough to learn what she needed to before finally losing it and growing angry at the brunette. Miley couldn't blame the girl; she had tortured the blonde-haired girl in grade school every day whenever possible, and had broken the blonde down to nothing by the end of it.

What if she'd never reconnected with Lilly?

She wouldn't be happy. Neither would Lilly. But was she happy? She had a house, a loving father, and a very devoted and protective girlfriend that she could turn to. But did that make her happy? Did she have everything she'd been looking for? What if Lilly decided she couldn't be devoted to Miley anymore? What if Miley couldn't devote to Lilly? What if one of them died? What if one of them moved away? Was Miley happy? Could she deal with what could come of it all? Or was it all a waste of time, just some confusing tangle of misery and secrecy?

Fuck.

No. She had happiness. She had Lilly, her little golden-blonde ball of sweet, summer sunshine to turn to every day. The girl could light up a black hole with her smile. Miley had nothing to fear. Lilly would never leave her, and she would never leave Lilly. Simple.

Right?

Miley sighed. She had to be in love with Lilly to some degree else she wouldn't have fallen for the blonde so easily. But what if Lilly was a hopeless case? She was prone to attracting those. Mikayla had been the prime example.

Mikayla.

Miley gulped. Mikayla had been her only other girlfriend besides Lilly. The dark-haired latina had caught her eye immediately and they'd decided to dive into their relationship without so much as a forethought. Miley hadn't said no, either. They were great together and they knew each other's habits and moods to the tee, with two small problems: Robbie disliked Mikayla with a mild forwardness, and Mikayla had been diagnosed with a terrible mental disorder.

According to the doctor, Mikayla suffered from something known as dissociative identity disorder, which the public knew more to be called multiple personality disorder. If events in her life became too much to deal with, she'd curl up inside herself and let a stronger, more brutal figure come out to deal with the pain and the problem. But when the brutal, matronly figure had learned of Mikayla's girlfriend, she had gone ballistic on the girl and frequently abused the body in horrifying fashions. And as the summer before Miley's freshman year of high school had commenced, by which time Mikayla would have been a sophomore, the latina had been discovered in her bathtub, wrists slashed into X's, water colored blood. Her face looked peaceful for the first time Miley'd ever seen her (having been the first one on the scene), and she remembered kissing the girl on the forehead as she wept over the side of the tub, Mikayla's mother sobbing from the doorway, Robbie talking very sullenly to the police as they responded to the call.

Some said that Miley wasn't a justified, true-blooded lesbian. She disagreed. She didn't look at boys with interest or with reverence. Nothing about them appealed to her. Girls, on the other hand...they were soft and sensual and knew exactly what the other person needed to feel good. It was a sort of natural intuition programmed into one's mind, per se.

Mikayla hadn't ever taken her relationship with Miley to a sexual level. The subject never came up. It was almost as though neither could see the other in that sort of light. Of course, Lilly knew about Mikayla and had comforted Miley for one short day over it, but Lilly was different because they were sexually satisfied with one another. Right?

Wait. Did she ever leave Lilly feeling unsatisfied? She wanted to believe that she didn't. Then...was it possible that Lilly wanted more than what Miley offered? Lilly never seemed to push the issue. Was Miley being a good lover? Had they jumped into the sex too soon? Was it all too good to be true?

Fuck.

Enough of the crap thoughts. They're non-productive and unhealthy. Right. Because Lilly wasn't going anywhere. There wasn't anywhere for her to go anyways. Not that Miley had the blonde trapped...right?

So much doubt, so little certainty. Miley began to feel frustrated with herself for all this. None of it made any kind of rational sense. Fuck. NOW what?

Obvious, really. Talk to Lilly. Find the fuck out what it is she wanted.

But was it that simple? As obvious as it may have been, something didn't sit right with Miley. Maybe...was she trying too hard? Maybe Lilly would reject the conversation? No, she had never rejected anything before, and Miley never felt as if she were trying hard enough. Was she good enough for Lilly, who lived the upper-middle-class lifestyle she'd been blessed to have contact with?

But was love material?

Nothing made sense anymore.

Fuck.

Another week. Another letter. This one was more personal.

I cannot disclose my identity, Miley, else rebuttal and anger take hold. I'd rather you not be angry with me, especially after such a long time. I didn't begin writing these letters to you all-of-a-sudden with no reason: you're seventeen now, meaning you're probably old enough and smart enough to understand what has happened and why I've made the decisions I have. I'm not trying to justify anything, but I hope that you can at least understand. I can't say much in this letter, but I can say this: you will be seeing me soon. Very, very soon. I'm not going to hurt you, Miley. You mean too much to this world for me to be so selfish...of which I have been enough already for all these years.

RJS

Still no clues. Still nothing to go by. Still no idea. It could be anyone, really. Well, anyone who wasn't already dead or long gone, which eliminated her mother, who'd passed away seven years prior due to a sudden fatal neural aneurism. Her brother was God only knew where, and he wouldn't have any reason to contact her. Uncle Earl was dead from a heart-attack. Aunt Pearl was on her way there, too; they'd received a call that her heart was beating erratically and she'd been hospitalized. Aunt Dolly wasn't in the picture; she had her own life and six boyfriends to deal with. Miley never associated with her much. There wasn't anything that she had enjoyed about Dolly. Mamaw Ruthie had passed away when Miley was very young.

He's coming to get you.

Miley shivered. The voice wasn't sounding too friendly and seemed to laugh at her pain, echoing within her own head.

He's going to take you, Miley. It's inevitable. Don't fight fate. Don't try to escape.

Miley worked to ignore the voice. It faded into the background. She shivered again. Feeling very cold and without an appetite, she rolled over to sleep.

The shadow watched from the window once again. It felt heartbroken that it was the cause and effect of everything that'd happened to the family. No, it wasn't malicious. It had no malicious intent. But by the look of pain on Miley's face, it guessed that she'd been remembering her past. Remembering things best left forgotten. The shadow sighed gloomily, gazing forlornly inside. Perhaps it was better left as a memory rather than a sudden, unprepared reality. But now that it had sent the letters, how could it ignore what it'd said? Was it just, then, trying to scare the poor girl?

No. That wasn't the case at all. It wanted the family to be happy and successful. It wanted nothing but the best. Fuck, it would give them the best. Sunday was the day. Sunday afternoon it would appear on their doorstep. It had originally wanted to wait longer, but it felt too much like it was the cause to let the family go any longer.

Sunday afternoon. On the doorstep. It would be waiting, with determination boiling through its veins and a plan hatched in its mind. One way or another, the family would survive.

The fact that the shadow is so bent on this one particular family should be some sort of...clue, I suppose. Anyways, read and review. I love all you guys. ~Kyttin