A/N: Wow! I passed 50 reviews! That's pretty flippin' amazing if you ask me. Woot! Maybe we can make it to 60 this time?

I've already got Chapter 10 planned out, so review lots and it'll come up soon!


Carley's eyes fluttered slightly as her body slowly began to wake up. She finally opened them, rubbing softly before blinking a few times to get them focused. Glancing at the clock, she threw off her covers and groaned lightly as she moved her tense muscles, trying to loosen them up. Getting up early wasn't new for Carley; she always made sure to wake up before her family so she could get the shower before Jake. He always took forever, not to mention taking up all the hot water. She yawned, shuffling toward her window to open her curtains to let in the warm sunlight, and let out a loud shriek.

Millions of flashes went off as reporters shoved each other out of the way, trying to get a glimpse of the famous Jake Ryan. Carley hastily slammed the curtains closed and leaned against the nearest wall, trying to calm her racing heart. This was not what she needed at six a.m., or at any time, for that matter. It was times like these that she wished she was an only child, or that her brother was an adopted genius from Malaysia, instead of the stupid actor her mom gave birth to.

'I'm going to kill him…'

At that moment, Mr. Ryan burst into the room clutching a baseball bat, closely followed by Mrs. Ryan, who had a vase, and Jake, wielding a golf club. They searched around frantically for the intruder, before resting their eyes on Carley, who was shocked at their entrance. When they saw she wasn't harmed and that there was no one else in the room, they lowered their weapons and Mr. Ryan sighed at his daughter.

"Carley, what's going on? You nearly scared us to death with that scream of yours." Carley narrowed her eyes, her anger returning when her eyes landed on Jake.

"You want to know what's wrong?" She thrust open the curtains, showing them the ridiculous display of the fighting reporters, and pointed a finger in their direction. "This is what's wrong!" She shut the curtains again and crossed her arms, fuming. "Can somebody please tell me why I have crazy paparazzi outside of my window?" She made sure to look pointedly at Jake, who frowned.

"How the hell should I know?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Maybe because you're the only celebrity in the house!" Jake only stared at her, a slightly bored look on his face.

"And?" Carley was really getting angry now, and it was starting to show.

"And I could have been naked, you idiot!" Jake smirked lightly at her before smoothly responding.

"Well, if that were the case, the whole world would finally believe me when I say you're an extra-terrestrial."

Carley let out an angry roar and lunged at Jake, but was caught around the waist by her father and lifted off the ground, kicking and screaming. Jake had taken a defensive stance, ready to fight off his sister when she tried attacking, but was now being held back by his mother. They continued yelling at each other, trying to break free from their parents' grasps so that they could pummel the other, but neither parent let go. Finally, unable to take the noise, Mr. Ryan shouted at his children.

"That is enough! I will not have you two acting like animals in my house!" Ashamed, the siblings quieted and stopped struggling, not able to face each other. "We are a family and we sure as hell are going to act like one!" He turned to his wife and addressed her. "Can you call the police? We need to get these reporters off the property. I will not have my family be harassed like this."

Mrs. Ryan nodded and cautiously let go of Jake, not sure if he was going to start fighting again. When she saw he wasn't going to, she quickly left the room to dial the police. Mr. Ryan gently put Carley down and glanced sternly at his children.

"Hurry up and get dressed – you still have school today. And I swear, if I hear a word out of either of you, be prepared to look at the inside of your room for the next two weeks," and with that, he strode out of the room.

The two siblings glared at each other, and without a word, Jake stalked out the door. Carley let out a deep breath and sat on her bed, trying to figure out what she was going to do. There was no way she could shower now – not with all those paparazzi hanging around each window. She got up and went to her dresser, grumbling about Jake and his stupid acting, before getting dressed and making her way downstairs, a thunderstorm ready to break loose.

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Miley, Lily, and Oliver walked toward Seaview High School, laughing about yesterday's fiasco. The girls had forgiven Oliver for ruining their day, but he didn't escape without a nasty-looking bruise, courtesy of one Lily Truscott. As they trotted through the parking lot, they noticed a large gathering outside the main entrance and many flashing lights. Coming closer, they realized it was actually a large gathering of paparazzi, and they all seemed to be looking for someone. Curious, Miley tapped one the reporters, who swiveled around to face her with a raised eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" Miley glanced at her friends before looking back at him.

"Um, sorry, but what's going on?" The reporter looked around, as if on the lookout for someone.

"Looking for Miley Stewart; you seen her?" Miley's eyes widened and she glanced nervously at her friends.

"Uh, nope, I don't think she goes here. Maybe you should try…Oceanview…yeah, maybe she's down there-" She was cut off by Amber, who sneered at her.

"Why would paparazzi be looking for you, Stewart?" The reporter's eyes lit up at her name.

"You're Miley Stewart?" This seemed to have caught the other reporters' attentions, because suddenly she was swarmed by paparazzi and lights were flashing in her face.

"Why the big secret?"

"How long has this been going on?"

"What do you think everyone will say?"

Panicking, Miley backed up, her eyes frantically darting everywhere. Microphones were being shoved in her face, all asking for her comments, but she was so shell-shocked that she couldn't reply. How had they found out? She was so careful, and she knew no one had told. What was she going to do now that the world knew she was Hannah Montana?

Lily and Oliver watched helplessly as Miley was attacked with questions. They knew they had to do something, but nothing seemed to distract these reporters. Oliver suddenly got an idea and told Lily to follow his lead and that she'd know what to do when the time came. He hopped onto a bench and cried out, pointing at the parking lot.

"Holy crap! It's Jay-Z!"

All the reporters turned, trying to find the celebrity, desperate to get the inside scoop before anyone else. Lily snaked through the crowd and grabbed Miley's arm, quickly pulling her through the mob and into the school before the reporters realized what was happening. Oliver jumped off the bench and ran inside, nearly getting run over by the paparazzi in their attempt to locate Miley.

Once inside, Miley leaned against one of the lockers and buried her face in her hands. Her life, as she knew it, was now over and everything would be different. Everyone knew she was Hannah Montana and they were going to treat her like Hannah all the time. She didn't want this – she didn't want any of this. This was all stupid Hannah's fault…

Lily, noticing her friend's distress, quickly told her that she was going to find out what was going on and why Miley was being interviewed. Before Miley could tell her that she already knew, Lily had torn down the hallway and around the corner. Sighing, Miley slumped down the wall and onto the floor, bringing her knees up to her chest. She could hear all of the students whispering around her; pointing at her; staring at her.

Oliver leaned down and gave her a hand, which she gladly accepted, and gently led her to her locker, afraid that she might burst into tears at any second. He was not good at comforting girls, so he would take any safety precaution he could to ensure that Miley would not turn into a bumbling mess of tears. Knowing that Miley was still a bit out of it, he hit a certain spot on her locker, causing it to pop open for her, and took out her Geometry book.

Lily suddenly skidded in front of them, panting lightly as if she'd just finished a marathon. Noticing the strange looks she was receiving from her friends, she quickly explained.

"Ok, so I found out from Amy, who heard from Camille, who heard from Tanya, who heard from Brittney, who heard from Sam, who heard from David, who heard from his sister Lindsey-" both Oliver and Miley knew this would go on for some time, so they both cut in.

"LILY!" Startled, Lily stared at them, then got to the point.

"Cassie overheard us at the food court yesterday talking about how you and Jake are dating!" Miley stared blankly at her, blinking a few times.

"How Jake and I are…dating…" Suddenly understanding, she pumped her fist in the air, to the shock of the others. "So this isn't about," she quickly glanced around and whispered, "Hannah?" Lily shook her head.

"No, it's not. You and Jake are just the big celebrity couple right now. Most of the school knows, but those who don't are sure to find out by lunch."

Miley's smile faltered. Now the whole world knew about her and Jake, and they probably weren't going to be left alone. Although not as bad as her Hannah secret getting out, their secret relationship was still going to get her unwanted publicity and absolutely no privacy. She wondered how Jake was going to handle it when he found out everyone knew. The main doors opened and Jake walked in, his back toward them, still addressing the press.

"Guys, guys, there's plenty of Jake Ryan to go around. I'll answer your questions when school gets out. Right now, I've got to see my girl," he threw them a wink for good measure and closed the door.

'Of course, he'd handle it like a pro,' Miley thought darkly.

Jake approached them, acknowledging Lily and Oliver briefly before focusing on Miley. He smiled his camera smile at her and leaned down to kiss her, but was surprised when she pulled away.

"Jake, what are you doing?" she glanced around at all the eyes watching them. "There are people watching." He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Miles, everyone knows about us already – there's no need to hide anymore." He tried to kiss her again, but she pushed him off.

"Stop it! And don't call me Miles. Why are you acting like this? You know I don't like public attention."

She stared at him, wondering where the boy she knew had gone. This wasn't her same Jake – this was ego-Jake, the one she used to hate. She shook her head sadly at him, took the book from Oliver's hands, and turned to go to class. A hand grasped her wrist lightly, telling her to stay, and she turned around to face its owner. Jake was looking at the ground, slightly ashamed at his behavior.

"I'm sorry, Miley. I just don't want to have to hide my feelings for you anymore," he slipped his hand into hers and intertwined their fingers, "Can we start off slow? Hold hands, maybe?" He gazed into her clear, blue eyes, and she couldn't help but agree.

He smiled brightly at her and brought their intertwined hands to his lips, kissing them gently. She blushed lightly and smiled softly at him, glad to see her Jake back. He walked her to her class, smiling at each other the whole way and ignoring the stares and whispers that followed in their wake. At the door, he gave her a small kiss on the cheek, squeezed her hand lightly to tell her it was going to be ok, and left for his class.

Miley took a seat and opened her books, trying to pay more attention to the teacher than to the whispering students. She glanced at the clock and saw that she had four more hours until she'd see Jake at lunch. She silently wished time would fly faster, since she knew she'd handle the rumors better if Jake were there with her.

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Lunch had finally arrived and Miley was ready to see her boyfriend, as well as get away from all the whispers and rumors surrounding her. She was pulling her afternoon books out of her locker when she felt a presence behind her. Smiling, she turned around, expecting to see Jake, but frowned when she realized it was Amber and Ashley.

"What do you want?" Amber looked at her with disdain before plastered an artificial smile on her face.

"Hey Hillbi- I mean, Miley. How are you and Jake?" Miley looked at them suspiciously.

"Like I said, what do you want?" Seeing that her previous tactic wasn't going to work, Amber's sneer returned to her face.

"Listen, Hillbilly, I need a picture of you and Jake kissing so I can get the reward from the press. Now pucker up, Stewart, and smile for the camera," Miley was outraged.

"There's a reward for a picture of us kissing? How sick can you people get?!" Jake, noticing the spat between the two girls, came and slid his arm around Miley's waist.

"What seems to be the problem, ladies?" Amber quickly put on a fake smile and gazed dreamily at Jake.

"Hi, Jake! You and Miley are such a cute couple, you know? Can you give us a kiss, so we can bask in your cuteness?"

The whole school heard Amber and saw the couple together. Most students knew of the reward and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get the famous kiss. They crowded around, all chanting "Kiss! Kiss!" and waiting to take pictures. Jake saw how uncomfortable Miley was, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the mob, breaking out into a run and dragging her behind him.

They ran into a classroom and slammed the door behind them, breathing heavily. The teacher looked at them strangely before hearing the screaming students outside. Taking pity on the couple, the teacher smiled at them and motioned them to hide behind the door before opening it and telling the students to go to lunch. Knowing Jake and Miley couldn't hide forever, the mob complied and went into the lunch room to wait.

After a while, the couple thanked the teacher and slowly exited the classroom, glancing around to make sure the coast was clear. Miley sighed and leaned against the wall, already dreading the hours left before it was time to go home. Jake looked at her and was saddened at how upset she was. When he saw someone leaving the cafeteria, he quickly took her by the hand and pulled her down the hallway before they could be seen.

Once again, they found themselves in front of the hidden roof door and they made their way up the stairs and into the bright sunlight. Glad to finally have peace, Miley sat against an air vent and closed her eyes, willing her tears of frustration to stay inside. Jake sat beside her and pulled her into his arms, trying to comfort her as much as he could. She let out a sad sob and buried her face in his neck, wishing nothing more than to be left alone with her boyfriend. He gently rubbed her back, murmuring soft words and continuously kissing her temple as she finally let out the tears she had been holding in all day.

Soon, Miley's sobs subsided and she pulled back from Jake's neck, wiping away any trace of her tears. Jake gently took her face in his hands and stared straight into her eyes, trying to tell her how much he cared for her without saying the words.

"It's going to be ok. It'll die down soon, and we'll stick together until it does." She smiled a small, watery smile at him.

"Thanks, Jake. I'll stick with you." She gave him a soft, lingering kiss, to which he responded just as softly.

Just then, the door burst open and a flash went off, signaling that someone had just taken a picture. The couple quickly broke apart and looked at the door, only to see Ashley waving her camera around and screaming down the stairs.

"I got it! I got the picture!" She turned back to the couple, grinning evilly. "This picture is going to make me rich! Not that I can be any richer, but now I'll be famous too!" Angry tears flowed down Miley's cheek and she screamed out in frustration.

"Just leave us alone!" She broke down again, unable to take the continuous harassment, and Jake gathered her into his arms, throwing Ashley a nasty glare.

"You got your damn picture – now get the hell out of here!"

Ashley huffed, not used to being dismissed, and stomped down the stairs, the door slamming behind her. Miley continued to cry, her sobs muffled by Jake's jacket, and with every sob, a piece of Jake's heart tore. He hated hearing her cry and swore to himself that he'd do everything he could to never let her cry again.

They just sat there, holding each other. She continued to sob and he gently rested his chin on her head, stroked her hair, and whispered "I'm sorry" over and over.