Note: this takes place one month later, so both Hannah and Mile have settled in a little more. Hannah had gotten closer with Lilly and Oliver and Nick. Miley has gotten closer to Jake and Lola.

Just to clear things up, Nick and Hannah are not still connected…I believe it has been more than 3-5 business days…yes, because it's

One Month Later

Malibu

The Jonas house is always open. If there's one thing that Hannah's learned, that would be it. The numerous times when she would go over to hang out, to get Jackson, to stay for dinner, to tell someone something, or to just be around Nick, Hannah had been told to not ring the doorbell or knock. At the Jonas residence, you just walk in.

So on that fine July morning, Hannah walked into their house. She found Oliver had already arrived, and Lilly soon walked in after her.

"We're all here, so let's go!" The four friends were about to leave when Denise Jonas abruptly stopped them.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Hannah looked at Lilly, who looked at Oliver, who looked at Nick, who looked back at Hannah. "…uh, we're going to the movies?"

"Oh, no you're not," she said.

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Nick asked.

"You guys are going to the Soul Touching program that's being held at you school today."

"What's Soul Touching?" Lilly asked.

"Since when did we sign up?" Oliver questioned.

Denise just shook her head, "You will find out about it when you get there. It's a great program. I did it when I was your age, and so did your parents, and so did Kevin and Joe and Jackson."

"But-"

"No buts," she tossed Nick the car keys. "Just go, you'll thank me later."

--

Hannah, Lilly, Nick and Oliver sat down on the gym floor with twenty other confused teens. There was small talk before a young woman (probably in her late twenties) walked to the front of the room.

"Hello everyone! My name is Laura and I am the coordinator for Soul Touching. Now, how many of you have absolutely no idea what is going on and are here because your parents forced you?"

Every hand went up.

Laura laughed, "Well let me explain some things. Soul Touching is a program that was founded by my mother. It takes place once year in the summertime. And you probably won't believe me now, but after this, every one of you will leave as changed people."

A few snickers were heard around the gym.

"Here's how it works. You will all have a glow in the dark bracelet," Laura explained whiled passing them out. "When we begin, the gym lights will be shut off and the bracelets will be your only light source. When I say go, you will raise your hand with the bracelet and try to find a partner in the dark. Once you have found someone, you will put your hand down and wrap you arms around him or her.

"Then, you just hold that person for two minutes."

"Two minutes?!" someone cried. "Why hug that long?"

Laura seemed shocked, "Long? Why, it's a short time. And you aren't just hugging, you are touching souls!"

There were some laughs; no one was taking her seriously.

"You will laugh now, but you will see what I mean later."

Oliver raised his hand, and when Laura nodded, he asked, "How exactly do we touch souls?"

"Good question. It's actually easier than you think. Here, let's being, I'll explain as we go."

Laura ran off to the gym closet, and before anyone could have time to process what was going on, the lights were shut off. Suddenly, Hannah was with her friends and twenty-six other people in a dark room filled with thin bright lights.

It was actually quite beautiful.

"Come on guys, find a partner." And the lights scrambled and found partners to touch souls with. Thirty teenagers stood hugging some random other teenager in the dark and soft calm music started playing. To say it was awkward would be an understatement.

"Just be yourself," Laura's voice rang out in the bright darkness, "Don't be who you are pretending to be, don't be who everyone else wants you to be, don't be anyone but yourself. Just be yourself."

Hannah felt guilt creep all around her. Be yourself. Something Hannah hasn't been doing this whole summer. In fact, besides Lilly, Miley, and Roxie, no one else knew that this brown haired, Malibu teen was actually a blonde, Hollywood popstar. That isn't being yourself.

It's the exact opposite.

And the trees grow so thick, you can barely see through.

"You see," Laura continued, "Young teenagers like you build up walls that hide your true personality. We all do, I did it when I was your age too. But what you don't understand is that it's okay to not be perfect, to not meet everyone's expectations. Because the longer time you spend pretending, the more time you waste not being you."

It felt like Laura was speaking directly to her. Hannah felt her knee shake and she had to lean on the other person so she didn't fall. Everything that Laura was saying was making perfect sense and it applied completely to Hannah's situation.

"I mean, why even bother to hide? With the walls that you build around yourselves, and your heart, you only leave a small gap. Only that tiny little hole to let others see who you really are.

"I'm not asking you to knock that wall down right away," Laura's voice was amazingly soothing right now. "Tearing down what you spent so long to build up takes time. But as for now, just open up. It's dark; no one can tell who you are. Not even your best friends.

"This is what Soul Touching is all about. It's an opportunity to let you soul out from it's walled in prison."

At that moment, Hannah promised herself she would tell all her friends and "family" her secret as soon as possible.

Laura called for switches and continued her lecture. At the first couple of rounds, there were still a few giggles and snickers that could be heard. But soon enough, the I'm-cool-so-I-have-to-think-this-is-lame attitude was thrown away and everyone was opening up.

But the forest bestows all the simplest of truths.

On the fifth rotation, Laura said, "And it doesn't matter if you get a partner you've already had in an earlier switch. There are so many secrets that are bottled up inside all of you, it would never hurt to share and listen more. Okay, I'll stop talking now, but you keep thinking. You keep telling with your souls."

At the end of that round, the first little sniffle could be heard. By the tenth rotation, it was obvious that some people were crying by their uneven breathing and occasional hiccups.

And that is what really got to Hannah. Every time she wrapped her arms around someone new, she would silently tell them everything that was going on in her life. But then, she would listen to the other person and realize just how easy she had it.

Hannah thought being a famous celebrity was so hard. She thought the situation she was in was some soap opera. She thought having a mom that would leave (but always come back) was the worst.

She was wrong.

By the seventeenth switch, there were more crying, some even bawling. Even though no one said anything, the way they held onto Hannah like their was no tomorrow told her everything. Broken hearts. Abuse. Loved ones that passed away. Family members who were alcoholics, drug addicts, or had a fatal disease. Disabilities. Financial problems. Divorced parents. Teen pregnancy. It was all thought of.

And by the twenty-first round, Hannah was crying herself. Not because of her own "miserable" life, but for others. It isn't fair that she is so fortunate while others suffer.

With tears running down her cheeks, Hannah raised her hand when Laura called 'switch' for the thirtieth time. She watched all the colorful bracelets go down when people started to hug until there was only one left. As she made her way over, Hannah did her best to avoid the other people, but it was pitch black. She accidentally tripped on someone's foot…but lucky for her, her partner caught her just in time. They wrapped their arms around each other and held each other tight.

And you think you'll be happy if granted one more wish.

"This is the last switch," Laura called out, "Make it count."

As Hannah hugged that thirtieth partner, she felt this deep connection. It made her shiver, which only made her partner hug her even tighter. Hannah realized that he was a boy…unless she was a girl who wore that hot new guy's cologne.

And his hug was really comforting. It was soul touching. Hannah finally understood why it was called this. She felt happy, this guy was making her happy. Hannah wished he would be some hot guy who…she quickly stopped herself. Stop wishing! Her life is great as it is. Hannah needs to learn to stop wanting.

But the truth is you'll never need more,

Everything she had ever wanted, Hannah had gotten. A record deal, an acting career, countless awards, expensive outfits, and now, friends, family, and people who care. She won't need anything in a while.

You'll never need more,

"Okay, I'm turning on the lights," Laura warned. "We're done, but feel free to hug everyone again since you can actually see them now…"

Hannah pulled away, anxious to find out who this soul-connecting, nice smelling, comfort hugging boy was…

…the lights flickered on…

…it was Nick Jonas.


You'll never need more,

Nick pulled away, anxious to find out who this soul-connection, nice-smelling, comfort hugging girl was…

…the lights flickered on…

…it was Miley Stewart.

Nick's eyes widened and his heart pounded loudly. His thirtieth partner had been Miley?! So he knew her hugs were warm and loving, and he knew her perfume had a really nice fruity smell to it, but the soul-connecting part?

Nick and Miley were just friends. Best friends, but friends nonetheless. Even though everyone else predicts they will end up getting married, Nick and Miley had always proven otherwise.

Until today.

He didn't know if Miley had felt it too, but Nick had told himself that he had fallen in love with this girl in the course of two minutes. But I can't love Miley…can I?

It's not that there's anything wrong with Miley. She's a pretty girl (who almost won homecoming queen as a sophomore.) She's a nice girl (as long as you don't piss her off.) She's a funny girl (who has made Nick himself laugh so hard he peed in his pants.)

In fact, she's probably far better than all the girls Nick's dated before…so why not? Because 1, he has never thought of her like that (until now,) and 2, admitting that he loves her would be like telling everyone they were right and he was wrong (which Nick never does,) and 3, Miley has always gone through life in the fast lane, never slowing down to take to scenic route with him (except for this summer.)

But as a friend or as more than a friend, Nick felt his heart break seeing Miley all red eyed and teary. He couldn't help but reach over and wipe the tears away and pull her back into a bone-crushing hug.

"…Nick?" he heard Miley whisper into his ear.

"Yeah?"

"I need to tell you something."

There was something in the tone of her voice that told Nick this was some serious stuff. He pulled away and looked her in the eye, "Okay…"

But just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, her name was being called out. They turned to see a girl with curly hair and glasses wave to her.

She tried to ignore her and turned her attention back to Nick, but Sarah kept calling.

"You better go to Sarah, she looks like she could use a Miley Hug." Was it just me or did she cringe when I said her name?

"Sarah. Right. I'll tell you later," and with that she walked over to give Sarah and everyone else Super Miley Hugs. See, that's the problem with Miley.

You have to share her with the rest of the world.


Hannah has never seen so many mascara stained cheeks and puffy eyes in her life. But then again, she didn't have a mirror so she doesn't know how bad she had looked.

She thanked Laura and Laura's mom in her head. They had created the best summer program ever. If they could teach a self-centered popstar one of the most important life lessons, well, what can't they do?

"Miley!" Hannah turned to see Lilly run into her arms. There were still fresh tears running down her face.

"Oh Lilly," Hannah rubbed Lilly's back soothingly. "It's okay."

"I know, Hannah." It was the first time in a while that Hannah had heard her real name, "I know."

Suddenly, she felt another pair of arms wrapped around both her and Lilly. "Don't worry girls, the Oken Man is here."

They giggled, then another person joined their huddle. Nick stood behind Hannah and wrapped his arms around all three. The four resembled penguins huddling together to stay warm. And Hannah was the middle penguin.

That thought made her smile.

You'll never need more than this.


"So, how was Soul Touching?" Jackson asked as Hannah, Nick, and Oliver walked into the Stewart residence.

"I thought it was really weird at first," Oliver said, "but then I got really into it. It was so emotional, man."

Jackson just laughed. "Tell me about it, I was there a few summers ago."

Hannah realized they were missing someone. "Hey, where's Lilly?"

Just then, Lilly walked through the door. "The sweetest thing happened. That little girl across the street, she was playing outside. She saw me crying and she came over and gave me a hug."

"Aww, that's so…OH MY GOD! LILLY, YOUR FAC-"

"Shut up, Jackson."

Hannah decided this was a good time as any to tell them…her secret.

"Hey guys I need…"

Out of the blue, Joe walked into the house, "Nick! Kevin's calling, he wants to know what you want him to get you from France."

Nick stood up from where they were sitting on the couch, stepped over Hannah, and quickly made his way to his brother. Okay.

Since Hannah apparently didn't have anything "important" to say, Jackson grabbed the tissue box and walked over to Lilly.

Oliver gave Hannah a small pat on the back and walked over to the kitchen to raid their fridge.

"…to tell you something."

Nick was busy talking to his brother, Lilly and Jackson were busy hugging, and Oliver was busy stuffing his mouth with chips. They didn't hear a thing.

Hannah ran a hand through her fake brown hair. "Sweet niblets."

This is officially the longest chapter I have ever written (and I planned to make it short!) This was kind of intense...the next chapter will be more fun. Miley and Jake play tag :)

And after the next chapter, well, the revealing starts. But don't worry, this story is long from being over!