Well, this is it. The final chapter… finally! After almost a year. Sheesh. Thank you, everyone, for sticking with this story and continuing to review! Your reviews are what really compelled me to finish this story, even though I had every intention of abandoning it a long while ago. So, see? Reviews do matter.
But, honestly… did ya think I was gonna leave you guys hanging? I wouldn't abandon this story just before the last chapter. I'm not that cruel ;)
So here it is. For the poll, anyone who voted usually voted for Oliver, and everyone else didn't care, or read my author's notes xD I had initially intended for Oliver's POV to be for the last chapter, so yeah. And, it took me a long, long, long time to finally decide on a final chapter. I had it written out… then I kept rewriting it every time I went to edit it. An ending I had considered was WAY open ended, and… well, you'll see what I chose for the ending, soon, so read on. Oh - and keep in the mind that the timeline is all screwy. As I began the fic a while ago, and certain canon things have come up since then, I decided to use them, so try not to pay notice to the scrambley timeline.
Now, please enjoy the final chapter of Anything.
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Anything
Chapter 10: Turn
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The sun dropped into the water slowly as I dug my hands into my pockets.
Letting out a shuddering breath, I dragged my bare feet along the sand, walking closer to the water.
I know. Anyone who saw me would think I'd finally cracked, because, I've always posed a… strong dislike of water.
Then again, this was the way I'd been hiding from reporters and stuff all this week. Everyone knew what happened, and I kinda got tired of the spotlight – and I didn't even know that was possible for a guy like me.
The week had been quite eventful. I'd gone on a few short dates with girls that'd seen me on the news, and in newspapers and stuff. Then I'd usually end up leaving early because I finally start looking past how pretty they are. Other than that, I'd been interviewed so much that I pretended to have laryngitis so I wouldn't have to speak anymore – and that was only halfway through the fifth day.
Anyways, I'd spent most of my evenings here at the beach. People were still getting over the wave, so kids and their families came and left early. Obviously couples didn't have the same mindset, because I'd just passed a couple that had been going at it under an umbrella…
So, after I walked really far away from them, I went close to the water – not too close – and I laid back and stared at the darkening sky.
Everything was so peaceful. There was only the quiet sound of small waves lapping up against the shoreline, and the soft breeze blowing every now and then.
In fact, it was so peaceful, that I closed my eyes, and actually ended up drifting off to sleep.
When I finally woke up, it was because someone was calling my name over and over again.
I blinked my eyes open, a pair of blue eyes staring down into my own. It was a lot colder than it had been earlier. That didn't matter though, because I felt all warm and tingly inside anyways.
"What are you doing here?" Miley's voice rang, and I almost sighed in relief.
She was kneeling behind my head, and looking down at me. I was right. She was even more beautiful upside down.
"Sleeping," I said, remembering to answer.
"… here?" she asked, looking away and around at the deserted area. The sky was already a deep shade of blue, and the stars were slowly starting to appear. Afterwards, she looked back at me.
"Yeah."
"I – uh – thought you hated water," she said, and I rolled over, and leant my head against my hand as I looked up at her. She looked as if she'd touched a sore spot. I'm glad she didn't address the whole 'jumping into crazy waves to save her when I was afraid of water' thing.
"Oh, I do. I just wanted to get away from the reporters and stuff," I said. Before she could raise her eyebrows in that adorable way she always did, I spoke. "I was here earlier. I just fell asleep."
She rolled her eyes, looking sort of amused.
"Dang boy, you could fall asleep anywhere…" she said with a fond smile, and I had to rise, and sit up on my knees and look directly into her face.
I wasn't supposed to like her right now. She had Jake, and she was happy, which made me happy. But, it was just too hard not to feel all weird inside because of the way the moonlight was hitting her…
"What time is it anyways?" I broke my own thoughts before I could get too carried away.
I just realized she'd been looking back into my eyes for however long I'd been staring at her, cause, in a very flustered way, she pulled up her sweater sleeve, and checked her watch.
"Oh, um…" she mumbled, her face lighting up a little. Maybe the cold was starting to make her cheeks pink. "It's eight-thirty," she said, as she pulled the grey sleeve back down her wrist.
She hugged her sweater closer, as another gust of wind blew. The fact that we were right next to the ocean did not make things any warmer – most especially for her.
"Oh. I guess I should be heading back, I guess," I said. Agh, I'm such a dork. I said "I guess" twice. Oh well. She's used to my being an idiot anyways.
I stood up first, and brushed some sand off of my knees quickly. Then, I extended a hand out to her.
She looked at it for a minute, as she bit her bottom lip. I wondered why she was even hesitating. Was my hand not clean enough or something? She extended her hand a little, then, seeming impatient, I grabbed her wrist and tugged her up and onto her feet as gently as I could.
She stared at me for a little longer. My hair must've been messed up or something. I shrugged off the hopes that she might've been interested in me – she had Jake, remember? – ran a hand through my hair, turned, and began to walk way, expecting her to walk along beside me.
I was a few feet away when I noticed no one was following me.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw Miley get all flustered looking again.
"You're not really planning to stay here are you? It's late… plus, when I last remembered there was a couple down here going at it. If you're not careful they might ask you to join in," I teased, and instead of rolling her eyes, she jogged up alongside me.
I expected a remark about my perverse mind, but instead got silence.
Whoa. What the hell did Jake do to her? If anything, he was probably responsible for Miley's odd attitude.
I shrugged the thought off.
As long as she was… happy being changed like that… I guess I could roll with it.
After a few minutes of walking along the sand in silence, it'd just occurred to me that this had been the first time in a week that we'd seen each other. She was nowhere to be found… and Lilly was too busy flirting with Jackson to inform me of her whereabouts. I hadn't even had time to swing by the Stewarts' to check up on her… so I guess the fact that we hadn't talked for that long was my fault. Plus, I never thought to call her…
"So, how was your week?" I started.
"Hmm?
"We haven't talked or even looked at each other for that long, so, yeah. And don't ask how my week was – you already know how it is when you're the center of attention for the media," I said, a little boastfully, so I wouldn't seem too sentimental.
"I… nothing really happened," she said, swinging her arms absentmindedly. I thought it was cute. Heck, she could get into a catfight and pull out some girl's hair and I'd still think it was cute – or really, really hot.
"Have you been doin' okay?" I asked, remembering the reason for my "fame".
She paused, her eyes widening just a little, as if she just remembered something awful for just a moment.
"Oh, yeah. It wasn't too hard to get over it… I stopped dreaming about it," she said, and somehow that sentence tugged at my heart, so much so that I wanted to hug her. "I've been alright. I should be asking you though – you're the one who's deathly afraid of water."
I smiled silently, and we both looked ahead.
"And you're the one who saved my life," she added nonchalantly. I looked at her, and she was smiling, her cheeks still rosy.
I blinked once, then breathed out, and looked back ahead.
"My week was pretty eventful, I guess," she continued. "I've been doing a lot more things than just being saved by my best friend and having nightmares."
Ah, talkative Miley. Just the way I always liked her.
"Oh? What else did you do?" I asked, listening as we neared the staircase.
"Well… I got into an argument with Lilly," she said.
So that's why Lilly went all pissy at the mention of Miley's name earlier today…
I was about to ask why, but she went on.
"And after that, I broke up with Jake."
And from that point forward, I decided I'd only ever drink decaff again, because my heart was racing as fast as it would have if I'd drank ninety thousand cups of Starbucks.
"Oh…?" I asked, my voice shaky.
I wasn't supposed to be this excited.
I wasn't supposed to be this damn happy.
But hell, I felt like throwing confetti into the air and doing 'the hustle'.
"Yeah. Turns out he's not that great of a guy anyways," she continued.
I nodded, still a little shaken at the good news.
And Miley said he 'wasn't that great of a guy'! SCORE!
We climbed up the stairs and reached the bridge going back to Rico's.
"I figured, there are better guys out there. You know? Guys who will look after you, and always be there when you need them – no matter how stupid the male species can be most of the time."
I gulped and walked alongside her, as we reached the end of the bridge. This was where I could make the escape. Her house was one way, mine was the other. She wouldn't have to finish her sentence, and I wouldn't have to be this hopeful.
So, as we walked past Rico's, and bunch of night customers who were watching some game on the small TV and drinking, I opened my mouth to interrupt Miley, and began to walk backwards towards my house.
I didn't get the chance to, because she grabbed my hand, and pulled me towards her house.
"Yeah. Lilly reminded me those kinds of guys are closer than you think," she said, dragging my along.
"Oh…?" I said for the second time tonight.
"Mmhmm. Then I remembered some guy I met a while ago. So, I spent a whole day thinking about him, and stuff. That's what I did yesterday. I thought all about him," Miley said, and I sucked in a deep breath, not knowing what to think anymore.
"After that, I wrote a song."
"…Miley, I think I should be heading home," I said stupidly. Oy. Why couldn't I be brave? I could be a wall that could swim, and I could be secretly emo for a long time, but I couldn't listen to her rave about some guy she wrote a song about?
"You don't wanna hear my song?" she asked, as we slowed down walking. We were now walking at a slow pace, side by side, hand in hand, in front of Miley's house, right in front of her picket fence.
"Oh, I'd love to, but…"
…
I couldn't think of anything. There was no denying that face. What happened?! I was the one who was confident earlier… she was the one that was all frozen and flustered. Not. Me. Now I'm all frozen and flustered.
"You wanted to hear about my day, didn't you?" she asked me, with some look on her face that wasn't quite the puppy dog face. It was a much milder version. Or maybe it was just her normal face working its mysterious magic on me again.
"But, I – my mom –"
Before I could formulate an excuse that didn't make any sense, she dragged me past her picket fence, and around to her backyard, which was facing a different part of the beach.
I looked out at the stars, and the moon shining above the water, and how peaceful and beautiful, and kind of eerie, the ocean was at night, until Miley let go of my hand. I had a sudden sense of loss, as I turned to watch her.
She plucked Lucky Lulu out of the guitar stand sitting next to the sliding doors, and took a seat on the bench.
She gave me a look that said, "Sit".
I pulled a picnic chair from the table and turned it to face her. Taking a seat, I watched her as she played a happy sounding chord, then cleared her throat.
She looked up at me and began to play.
It's
not so pretty all the time
but you don't mind
To you it's
alright
Gonna
stay in bed today It's not so pretty all the time As I am
Cuz I can't stand the light
Don't know why I
get so down
I won't be much fun tonight
And I can't believe you
still wanna hang around me
but
you don't mind
To you it's alright
Is
how you take me
Never try to push or
Make me different
When
I talk you listen to me
As I am is how you want me and
I know
I've found the pieces missing
I'm looking at him
Her strumming faltered and stopped at the last lyric, and she held my gaze.
I never knew how much I loved Hannah Montana until I lived without hearing her voice for a week.
Then again, I could've done without the song for some random guy I didn't know – some guy I'd lost to again.
I smiled at her, and nodded.
"It's great Miles. I'm sure he'll love it," and I stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get home before all the dinner gets emptied into my brothers' stomachs."
I turned away, and heard a slight disarray of strings, which was the sound of Miley putting the guitar back in its place.
"That's it?" she asked me.
I turned around.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Yes, that was it. I was happy she was happy, but I didn't want to think about it… and I didn't want her rubbing his song on my face.
"I mean – Oliver, I – It's - the song is –" she seemed at a loss for words, looking everywhere but me as she searched for some sort of explanation. "Dang flabitt Oliver, I wrote the song for you," she let out, stomping her foot into the patio floor. She only seemed to realize her words afterwards, since only then did a blush come to her face.
Oh, and me?
Yeah.
It took all I had not to faint in front of her... again.
"Huh?" I managed to let out.
"Uh, yeah. I wrote it for you. I thought you'd've gotten it when I sang, I know I've found the pieces missing, I'm looking at him," she sang in a rush, her face red as she rubbed the inside of her arm with her other hand. She looked away from me, and seemed to be looking at the patio railing behind me.
"Me?" I asked, pointing at myself.
She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah… I was talking about you the whole time, you donut," she said, and I felt some feeling seep back. "I… you've just always been there for me. You saved my life and that didn't even open my eyes. It took Lilly's lecture to –"
"Wait, what? She didn't tell you that I had a crush on you all through sixth grade and started liking you again this year and that I've been insanely and secretively jealous of Jake the whole time, did she?"
I awaited her answer, though she just stood still, staring at me awkwardly.
I bit my tongue, realizing that I'd just said everything about… everything. Just now – and really fast.
"Huh?"
"…Nothing."
Miley shook her head, and stepped closer to me.
I paused and waited for her to say or do something.
Did she really like me? Or did she just feel bad for me now? I mean… she wrote a song for me, so I guess that counted for something. A big something to me.
While I was in deep thought about the situation, she suddenly looked up, looking very determined.
The next thing I knew, her hand was balled into a fist, grasping at the front of my shirt, and I was pulled down, forced to kiss her – though I couldn't really complain…
The kiss was short, but the feeling of her warm, soft lips against mine was already emblazoned in my mind. I was frozen against her, as she pulled away and released my shirt, smoothing the wrinkles against my chest.
Yeah, this was way better than dinner.
I was at a loss for words, as I looked down and watched her every move.
Then, Miley looked back up at me, with a face I couldn't exactly read. She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't angry. She just looked into my eyes, and I couldn't look away. I felt her arms close around my waist, and her face press up against my chest, and I stood there.
But at that moment, I felt like everything I had done for her had become worth it. Not that it hadn't been worth it before, but, this was… well, it was nice to have something good happen to me for once – good things that involved Miley.
So, finally getting my head on right, I pulled back and put a hand on her face, and gave her a quick, soft kiss.
Afterwards, she looked at me, her face suddenly turning a bright shade of pink.
I guess that meant she didn't mind.
I felt my own face get hot, and withheld a laugh at how awkward and… right things felt. Being daring again, I brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.
Then she smiled widely at me.
And I smiled back.
She put her arms around me and sighed into my chest, and I couldn't help but smile really widely too. Things were finally going my way.
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The End
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There ya have it.
No big make out scenes there (not to say there won't be in a certain other multi-chapter fic of mine. Heheh).
My next project is completing NEWIW, which is a much happier fic, so please feel free to take a look if you're interested – but beware of multiple love interests (of course my heart rests with Moliver though, so you know that means there'll be some Moliver goodness in there).
Also, if you're a Moliver fan, don't forget to join the forum. You can find the link on my profile. There, we're currently discussing how we will express our rage of the lack of Moliver to the public, as well as how we're planning on letting everyone know of our existence (because in the public eye and magazines, Loliver is the strong standing couple… and, yeah, that has to change), and how we're trying to buffer the deluge of Loliver and Jiley fics around here.
And if anyone's wondering what song that was it's "As I Am" by... Hannah Montana! Don't it just annoy you that there are so many songs that are perfect for Moliver, by Hannah herself, yet the writers refuse to utilize them? Oy.
Well, now all I can do is continue to write on about the Moliver that the Hannah Montana writers (ARGH!!!) won't write… and thank my loyal readers and reviewers for sticking with me for so long with this particular fic. So, thank you, thank you, thank you, and I'll see you guys soon in another Miley/Oliver-filled adventure.