Author's Note: I am quite proud of this chapter because I made the second half of it up on the spot. This is the longest chapter so far with about 3700+ words

Chapter 4

"Miley." Jake grabbed my hand and my gaze tore away from the certificate saying that there was a star named after me. I looked into his green eyes, which made my heart skip a beat.

"I've never so close to anyone before and I don't want there to be any secrets between us, so I'm going to tell you something I have never told anyone before," Jake said seriously. He turned away and took several deep breaths.

"Please don't have a hairy back, please don't have a hairy back," I whispered hopefully. Even if he does have a hairy back, my feelings for him won't change in the slightest. Besides, it won't really matter because I'm going to bring him to one of those beauty parlors and ask for a back wax for him. Jake turned towards me and I smiled innocently.

"My real name is Leslie."

I stared at him and then started laughing. That's one of the things I loved about Jake---he always found ways to make me laugh.

"Leslie, right. That's good," I managed to say while I was laughing. "Seriously, what's the secret?" I turned towards Jake and I saw that he wasn't laughing.

"That is the secret."

I stopped laughing.

I woke up with a start when something on me started vibrating. I panicked for a few seconds, not fully comprehending where I was. I blinked a couple of times and I realized that I was in my living room. I must have slept on the couch last night the moment I got home because I was still in the clothes from the night before.

I took out my cellphone from my pocket and answered it. I didn't even bother checking who was calling this late at night.

"Miley! Where are you?" Miranda yelled through the phone. I put the phone away from my ear for a second and then I put it back against my ear. "I have great news to tell you, and how am I supposed to tell you if you aren't here?"

"Sweet niblets. Why are you calling so late?" I snapped at her and yawned.

"The question is why are you so late?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused. I looked around and the room was still dark.

"Miley, it is 10:30! You were supposed to be here an hour and a half ago," she shrieked.

"What?!" I exclaimed. I got up and drew back the curtains. I shielded my eyes from the bright sunlight and gasped. I was late! I have only been late a couple of times before, but I had a good excuse then.

"Sweet niblets. Uh, did Magwood notice?" I asked and put the phone on speaker. Magwood liked to check on people constantly if they are doing their jobs. I ran to my closet and quickly picked what to wear.

"No." Miranda sighed and I put on a white-collared work shirt and a black jacket. "Leslie said that she left for a meeting in San Francisco and that she won't be back until tomorrow."

"Leslie?" I paused for a second and then put on my skirt.

"Leslie? Who's Leslie?"

"Didn't you say 'Leslie said'---"

"Miley, I said Janice," Miranda said slowly.

"Oh." I shook my head and told Miranda that I'd meet her in fifteen minutes. After washing my face, brushing my teeth, and put on some mascara, I got my keys and ran out the door.

Half an hour later, I unlocked the door to my office and collapsed on the couch.

"Where have you been? You know how worried sick I was? I thought that something awful happened to you!" I turned my head and saw Miranda at the door with her arms crossed. She was glaring at me and tapping her foot.

"Sorry," I muttered. "Busy night and ran out of gas."

"Oh, it's okay," she said and her facial expression softened. She walked towards me and sat on the armchair to the right.

"It's a good thing Magwood isn't here or else you'll be in big trouble. Well, anyways, that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about." I looked at her and raised my eyebrow.

"You know how Drew was sent to Florida to coordinate Mikayla's wedding?" She asked and I nodded with a small frown on my face, remembering the witch. Drew Krushbane was one of the best wedding planners in our office. He is the main reason why we keep on getting more and more clients each day.

"And you know how he was working on the Bloom wedding, right?" She asked excitedly and I nodded again.

"Guess who's in charge now? You and me!" She screamed and started jumping up and down in her seat. I grabbed her shoulders and looked at her, shocked.

"Are you serious? Why didn't Magwood tell me? I'm already really busy with Jake's wedding, I can't possibly---"

"Actually, I was set in charge," she said, calming down a little from her excitement. "I just want you to help me because I haven't done a wedding this big before. Drew already took care of everything except for the music and catering. All you need to do is to look for a D.J. and I can take care of the food. Will you please help me? I already asked Magwood and she said that it was fine. Please, oh please, oh please, oh please, oh please?" She put her hands together, pouted, and did the puppy-eyed look. I gave her a look then giggled.

"Sure, Millie. Of course I'll help you."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said and hugged me. "Since Drew did most of the work, he gets fifty percent of the money; Magwood gets fifteen, I get twenty, and you get fifteen."

"Okay, no problem," I shrugged. I didn't care how much money I will be earning because I already had more than enough for my children's' children's' children's' college and retirement funds---thanks to Hannah. Miranda kissed my cheek and skipped out the door, closing it on the way. I sighed and went towards my desk to start on some paperwork. Right when I sat down, my office phone rang. I got the phone, held down Line 1, and put it against my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bud."

"Hey, Daddy!" I greeted enthusiastically. I haven't spoken to my dad since last week, which made me feel bad. I have been so caught up with work that I barely had any time to call him. My dad and I have a really special father-daughter relationship that surprises a lot of people. I really am a daddy's girl and Jackson always used to make fun of me for it.

"How's work?"

"It's…fine," I lied. "Is Jackson home?"

"No. I forgot to tell you that he left yesterday for Las Vegas with some friends. Hopefully he doesn't end up getting married because I'm going to make sure that they're getting a divorce quicker than you can say 'Cha-ching!'" We both laughed and I was thinking about telling Dad about Jake.

"Bud, I have to go. I just wanted to remind you that Hannah's doing a concert tomorrow night in Anaheim to help raise awareness for animal abuse. So you have to be here at home by three so that you can change into Hannah. Then we are going to leave for the concert at five and the concert itself starts at seven."

"Okay, Dad. Take care."

"Love you, Miles."

"Love you too. Bye!" I smiled and closed the phone. Right when I closed it, it rang again. I picked it up, held down Line 2, and answered it.

"Ms. Stewart, I just wanted to remind you that you have an appointment with Mr. Ryan and Ms. Brewart at 1, which is in half an hour."

"Okay, thanks, Mandy." I hung up and sighed. Soon, my stomach started to growl and I glared at it. I came in late, I didn't get any work done, and I skipped breakfast. I sighed again, grabbed my purse and walked to Taco Bell. When I was done eating, I walked back to the building and saw that Jake and Shirley were just getting out of their car. They saw me and waved, so I waved back at them.

"Hey! Since we are already out here, let's go over what we are going to do. We are going to look for the places where you want your reception, rehearsal dinner, and wedding to be held at. Do you have any places in mind?" I asked them.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we do!" Shirley said cheerfully. "There's this resort called Endless about two blocks away from our hotel. It has a beautiful garden with a small lake right next to it. We can do the priest-marriage stuff in the gazebo while everyone else sits behind us. Then for the reception place, we are going to hold it at the same place except it will be inside. And as for the rehearsal dinner, we want it at his parents' house. It's big enough to fit everyone and I'm sure his parents won't mind."

I raised my eyebrow and smiled. "Wow! It seems as if you have given this some thought."

Shirley smiled. "Well, maybe just a little bit." She giggled, grabbed Jake's hand, and started swinging it. I raised my eyebrow at him, silently questioning why she's in a very good mood. He just shrugged in response and put his other hand in his pocket.

"Well…that's great!" It came out more of like a question. "Let's get in my car and we'll drive to Endless and talk to them about it. Then we have to ask Dianna if we can use her house for the rehearsal dinner." They nodded their heads and I lead them to my car.

"I can't wait to see your parents again, Jake. I haven't seen them in forever," I told him honestly. Jake smiled at me and I returned it. Shirley saw this and her smile twitched. She grabbed his head with one hand and pulled his tie to her with her other. She smiled wickedly and kissed Jake long and hard. I pretended as if I was looking for my keys in my bag so that I wouldn't have to watch the swapping of spit between the two.

When they finally pulled apart, Jake asked, "What was that for?"

"It's because you look so hot right now," Shirley purred and ran her hands through his hair. I gagged and started to cough loudly. I wasn't sure what was more uncomfortable: Jake and Shirley making out or the way Shirley talked to Jake. Jake heard me cough and quickly glanced in my direction. He took Shirley's hands out of his hair and kissed her cheek. Shirley giggled and laced her hand with his. I couldn't help but think that when she laughed, it seemed a little forced.

When we got into my car, I unlocked it and hopped into the driver's seat. We finally arrived at Endless, and I must say, it was beautiful. After you go through the French doors leading into their waiting room, you go down the hallway and out through another pair of French door and into the garden and lake, which was set like the beach: grass leading into the lake. There was a small walkway, which was outlined with colorful flowers. That was where Shirley was going to walk down and meet Jake in the gazebo.

After looking at the area in awe, we looked for the manager to schedule a reservation for the place. When we went into his office, the manager's eyes widened when he saw Jake and Shirley. He excitedly rushed over to them and shook their hands animatedly. We talked for a couple of minutes and explained that they wanted to hold their wedding here.

"I assure you, this is the perfect place to hold a wedding," Joe, the manager, said and Shirley smiled and took Jake's hand.

"I know. This is the perfect place," she gushed and looked at the ceiling, which was painting of angels. Joe just smiled in response, looked at me and winked. I smiled back at him, even though I was cringing on the inside.

"So, what date would you like to prefer to hold this fine event?" Joe asked and took out an expensive-looking calendar.

"November 17," Shirley practically shouted and I had a small frown on my face. "It's the day Jake and I first met. You know, we met at Nick Jonas's 23rd birthday party in his backyard. I remember it like it was yesterday: he was sitting on the fountain with daisies in his hands looking at the stars. I introduced myself and we talked for a bit. Then he gave me the daisies and he asked me out," she sighed. I looked at Jake and he had an unreadable expression on his face.

I, on the other hand, was frowning deeply. I was biting my lip to keep myself from crying. The memories that took so many years to tuck away suddenly resurfaced after each word that Shirley said. A particular memory came to my mind, which happened nine years ago during my sophomore year of high school…

Even though Jake broadcasted his love for me, I was still waiting for him to actually say those three little words to my face. As time flew by, we became closer than ever. Although our relationship was slowly progressing, I started to doubt if what he said on TV was true.

What if he just said that because he was in the moment?

What if he doesn't see me as something more than a crush?

What if he's just staying with me because he doesn't want to hurt our friendship?

After shaking my head of these thoughts, I went upstairs and changed into a white tunic, jeans, and white sandals. I was meeting Jake at the beach tonight, which gave me the perfect opportunity to ask him where our relationship was going. After brushing my teeth and fixing my hair, I walked downstairs and told Jackson that I was going to the beach.

"Okay. Have fun, be safe, and be home before 12," Jackson said from the couch. Usually, I wouldn't even bother telling Jackson about my dates, but Dad was on a three-day business trip in New York.

I walked out the patio and went through a little gate that leads to the beach. When I got there, I saw Jake instantly because he was the only person on the beach. He was looking at the water, lost in thought, and the moonlight made his face glow, which made my heart skip a beat. I didn't feel like yelling, so I took off my sandals and walked towards him. He must have heard me because he turned and waved.

"Hi," I said softly and gave him a hug.

"Hi."

"So, was there something you wanted to tell me?" I asked, pulling out of the embrace. He didn't say anything; instead, he grabbed my hands and pulled me towards him again. We just stayed like that for a few moments, enjoying each other's presence. I wondered why he was so much in-need of a hug. Maybe something was bothering him…or worse, what if he was going to tell me that he was going away again to shoot another movie? I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away from me a little.

"Jake, what's wrong?" I asked, looking into his deep green eyes.

"Nothing's wrong," he smiled at me and I gave him a look.

"Are you going away again?" I asked quietly.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. Jake grabbed my hand and we walked down the beach. It was cold so I pulled my hand from his and wrapped them around his waist. He must have sensed that I was cold because he took of his jacket and put it around me. I kissed his cheek in thanks and wrapped my arms around him again. It was times like these that I realized that I am so thankful that Jake is in my life…even though the burning question of his true feelings still remained in my head.

I realized that he was leading me towards our special spot on the beach. We found it a couple of weeks ago during one of our dates. We reached the familiar dead end---a cliff. We climbed on the big rocks and went to the other side, which was a small sandy spot with a large rock in the middle of it with trees circling it in a U-shape.

When we got there, I smiled at Jake and he kissed my forehead. On the rock, there was a large bouquet of white daisies---my favorite. I put the flowers to my face and smelled it, closing my eyes.

"Miley?" I turned towards the trees and saw Jake smiling at me. I put the daisies back down and walked towards him.

"Happy six-month anniversary," he said and walked behind me. His fingers gently touched my neck, which sent shivers down my spine. I felt something cool wrap around my neck and my eyes widened at the beautiful heart necklace. I turned around and tightly hugged him.

"Thank you," I whispered in his ear. I already gave him his gift this morning at school: a small scrapbook of the things that we have been through together. Jake took my hands in his and pulled away. I gulped nervously and braced myself for what I was going to say next.

"Jake, I have something to tell you."

"No, Miley," he said seriously and looked deeply into my eyes, which made my knees weak. "I have something to tell you and if I don't say it know, I am going to regret it.

Miley, we have been together for six months; six amazing, wonderful, beautiful months. When I first met you three years ago, you were the one that stood out. You treated me like a normal person and I wasn't used to that. I had this weird feeling inside of me and I didn't know what it was. You made me curious, and I liked that. I liked you. I have never felt so rejected every time you turned me down. I thought that maybe if I dated other girls, I would get over my silly crush on you.

"After we first kissed, I had another feeling inside of me and I didn't know what it was. I was sad that I had to leave you to do a movie; but at the same time, I was kind of happy because I didn't understand what that feeling was and it scared me. Like how it usually goes, when you're scared of something and you don't know what it is, you hate it. It's kind of like math.

Anyways, when I came back and gave you that rose and chocolate on the beach, I was confused and hurt when you poured your drink on me. So, I didn't know what I hated more: that unknown feeling or feeling that you didn't like me anymore. I tried so hard to try to earn your respect and attention, but it didn't work out until you came to the Teen Gladiators premiere. When we kissed again, that unknown feeling came back and that's when I realized what it was."

Jake led me towards one of the trees and I gasped and felt tears come to my eyes.

Engraved on the tree, it said:

November 17, 2007
Leslie Ryan and Miley Stewart
I Love You

I blinked back tears and cleared my throat loudly.

"I-I'm sorry, but I have to g-go. I, uh, need to visit my m-mom," I stuttered, stood up, and started walking towards the exit.

"But what about our ride? How are we supposed to get back?" Shirley asked and I stopped walking.

"Here," I took my keys out of my bag and threw it behind me. I didn't have the courage to look at their faces, especially Jake's.

"I'll see you in three days," I said quietly and continued walking. Once I got out the door, I took off my heels and started running as fast as I could.

Anywhere.

It didn't matter.

If I escaped once, I could escape again, right?

What happened in the past should stay in the past. These little feelings for Jake are expected because he was my first love, and you never forget your first love. Plus, he's getting married, so these feelings need to be tucked away again like what I did so many years ago.

The next thing I knew, my side started to hurt. I slowed down and put my hands on my knees and looked down. I breathed heavily; I haven't run like that in a long time, so my body wasn't used to it.

I looked back up and saw a familiar place. I blinked my eyes when I thought of how far I ran. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and walked inside the cemetery. I walked towards the same tree that I have been going to ever since I was a little girl. I grabbed some of the flowers from a nearby bush and knelt on my mother's grave. I brushed my fingers against the cool granite plate and placed the flowers right next to the picture of her smiling face.

"Hi, Mom," I said quietly. I traced the letters of her name with my finger and I smiled. I couldn't help but think about the good times my mother and I had together. She was such a sweet, caring person. She would always think of others before herself, which made her so likeable. Sometimes I wish that she was here with me, but she is in a better place right now. She is my guardian angel and I thank God each and every day for blessing my life.

"I miss you
I miss your smile
And I still shed a tear
Every once in a while
And even though it's different now
You're still here somehow
My heart won't let you go
And I need you to know
I miss you
Sha la la la la
I miss you."

I felt a hand rub my back comfortingly and emotion took over me. I turned around and cried in the arms of my father, who rocked me back and forth telling me that everything was going to be okay.

For the first time today, I felt that it was going to be.

Author's Note: I would have gone more into detail with what the place where the wedding was going to be, but it just didn't come out right when I typed it, so I'm sorry if it was a little bland. Oh, and expect a one-shot from me soon! I made a Jiley music video called "What is Love?" that I'm going to be posting on Youtube, so be sure to check that out.