Disclaimer. I own nothing except my imagination.
Chapter 7 : Find Yourself in You
This would be the longest and most uncomfortable plane ride of Miley's life. That fact alone she was 100 sure of. And nothing would make it better. She had a cast on her right arm. No one would talk to her, but the silence of her area compared to that of surrounding people would make it feel eerie and awkward. But she wasn't traveling alone. Oh no, this was much worse. She was traveling with Jackson.
The two hadn't been able to say a polite word to each other since she'd gotten her cast on. But that didn't mean impolite words weren't being exchanged. Many, in fact, had, just simply on the ride to the airport.
Angrily, Miley crumpled her doctor's note more firmly in her fist. The last couple of weeks she'd expanded a whole lot, and the attendants hadn't wanted to let her on. But Dr. Reed assured her it was safe if she followed the guidelines they'd work out. She had to drink a lot of water and get up to walk every hour or so, but it was worth it to see her family.
She uncrumpled the note and read it over. Then re-crumpled the note and stuffed it in her pocket. She leaned forward to grab her iPod, but found her way blocked. She didn't have trouble reaching things yet, but this was a problem. With the tiny space airline seats provided and the narrow path to her properly-stored back pack, she was going to have trouble reaching it throughout the entire flight.
"Let me get that for you sweetie." Her neighbor offered. She was a kind woman, older than her father, but not elderly. Her kids probably were in college, maybe married. She was possibly a grandmother, but the kids would be no older than 5. She had soft, graying blonde hair and a face that smiled easily. She didn't dress as if she thought she knew style, but her outfits weren't the classic grandparents ones either. Miley took an instant liking to her.
The women grabbed the pink flowery pack easily and placed it on Miley's knees. "that's cute." She commented, pointing to a keychain. It had come with the pack, and she'd stuffed a picture of her and Lilly in when she was bored one day.
"thanks". Miley held the photo up, examining it closely. It had been two weeks since she'd seen any of her school friends. She didn't realize how much she missed them until now. She'd been so busy packing and planning, not letting herself dwell. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered all the fun they'd had. All the fun they'd never have again. She missed them now more than ever.
"What's wrong honey?" the lady asked kindly, pulling a tissue from her pocket. It was such a motherly gesture. Her mother had always had a pack of pink tissues in her purse. It'd been a while since she'd let herself think of her mother. At the beginning of her pregnancy it had been a constant worry. What would she think? How would she have reacted? Would everything have gone differently? Maybe she wouldn't even be pregnant if her mother had lived. She needed her now more than ever. She needed someone to talk to things about, and she wanted that someone to be her mother, not her step-mother. And not some random woman on a plane to Nashville.
"It's okay." The woman whispered kindly, handing her more tissues as the tears came faster, but still silent. "Everything's going to be okay."
"How do you know?"
"Because I do. I'm a mother, and mothers know these things. I don't need to be your mother to know it." The tears were lessening now. Nearly gone.
"Come on, let's get your mind off of it." She offered, handing Miley a set of airplane headphones. "There's this show my niece is obsessed with and I just don't get it. Have you heard of Zombie High?"
Miley nodded.
"Well her favorite episode's on here, and I want to impress her when I get home. Can you explain it?"
"Sure." Miley answered, focusing on the screen. The dramatic yet goofy theme song played, and over it was the lady's chatter. Her name was Mary Ann, and her niece, Kristy, was thirteen and obsessed with Jake Ryan. She was also a huge Hannah fan, but Mary didn't understand the show's premise.
"So…" Miley finished explaining, "this in this episode the princess of the undead comes back to Earth because she's trying to run away from all of these criminals. But they follow her, and Cody helps save her from the criminals."
"So who play Zarelda?" Mary Ann asked, pointing to the small purple blob on the screen.
"Hannah Montana." Miley answered shortly, examining her younger self. She saw how she'd changed in that picture. She'd grown only an inch or two, but she'd also gotten a lot skinnier in her face especially. The Hannah wig had changed a lot. Now it was a mess of short curls with sparkles scattered in. It looked like a sparkly, blonde version of Vanessa Hudgen's hair in High School Musical 2. But more obvious was her change in character. Then her only worries were school and boys. She relaxed and goofed off a lot, knowing that people would be there to catch her if she fell. Now, she'd fallen, and was just starting to get back on her feet, but with a lot of help. And although she wished she could say Jake's love supported her, she knew it was a lie. She still turned to her father, not Jake. She could only hope that it would change in time.
The flight lasted for hours, Miley fought with Jackson twice, once so loudly a flight attendant had to intervene for the sake of other passengers. After that she'd moodily taken out her iPod and set it to her playlist of soft, soothing music. She fell asleep to Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry". The playlist had long ended by the time she woke.
"Come on sweetie. Wake up." Miley woke to her shoulder being shaken gently. Looking around blearily she tried to recognize her surroundings. People thronged towards the exit, the aisles were blocked for rows back. Sighing, she slung her pack over her shoulder, adjusted her iPod, and checked her seat pocket for any misplaced items. It took twenty minutes to leave the plane. As she entered the terminal a shot of cool air shocked her. Frustrated and annoyed, she went to the baggage claim, but before she could reach the metal carousel, a loud cheer arose. People were calling her name. At the other end was a crowd of relatives, all anxious to see her. The only one who wasn't was Jackson, he was sitting moodily on a nearby bench, reading a book.
Miley ran happily towards her family, hugging her Aunt Dolly first, her mamaw second, and Luanne last.
"Look how big you are" her mamaw exclaimed, placing her hands on Miley's shoulders. "I'm surprised you were allowed on the plane."
"I nearly wasn't." Miley admitted.
"Aw, but you're still cute as a button!" Aunt Pearl exclaimed, pinching Miley's cheeks as if she were a baby.
Miley blushed.
"Miwey?" a small voice asked. Looking down, she saw one of her smallest cousins, Melody. "Miwey awe we gonna meet Jake?
Miley laughed sweetly, "if you come to the wedding, then yea Mel, he'll be there."
"YAY!' cheers erupted through everyone between 5 and twenty.
"I missed ya darling!" Aunt Dolly exclaimed, hugging her goddaughter tightly.
"I missed you too!" Miley agreed.
"Don't worry, he'll get used to it Miles." She whispered as they broke apart. Everyone started to leave. No one would let Miley carry luggage, so she simply talked with Jenny, a cousin just over a year older then her. They also looked alike, because Jen was Luann's nicer older sister.
Just as they left the airport, Miley's cell went off. Opening the device, she saw a text.
"Staying at hotel. Shooting movie. In Nashville." Read the text. It was from Jake.
Author's Note. So…interesting? I hope so! Keep reading!
Click the button. If you don't know what to say, tell me what you think about the song "Concrete Angel".
Author's Rant. I loved the performance! I thought that the dance, while beautiful, didn't really go with the song all that well. The song was amazing, and my sis is killing me because she doesn't like it.