Prerequisite: Hannah Montana and all related characters belong to Disney© and I am using them solely for entertainment purposes and not for any monetary or non-monetary gain on my behalf. I do own the characters and places created by myself for this fan fiction, i.e. Owen Othello (this chapter: Olisa Oken), and without strict permission from myself, I do not wish for you to use them in fan fictions of your own conception. If you take notice, any lyrics used for Owen Othello's songs are really quotes from the Shakespearean play Othello. I do not own the rights to them, they belong to the late William Shakespeare.

Author's annotation: Observe that the quote above each chapter clues you into what is about to happen during the chapter. Please read this chapter with courtesy. I would ask that you would review it and provide me as much feedback as viable.

"To be direct and honest is not safe." (Othello III.III)

"'I can't help but continue to apologize---'" Owen Othello was being interviewed on the local news channel, "'---because I hate that I have to postpone my concert at the House of Blues.'" There was a cough behind the camera lens and Owen rectified himself, "'I have to cancel my concert at the House of Blues.'" Lily was watching the television set and, as a reflex, she called Miley.

As soon as Lily heard Miley's voice, she panicked. She had to stop having an impulse to call Miley all of the time. Why was she, in no way, calling Oliver quite as often? "Lily?" Miley's voice came across the line as quivering. Lily nodded, but realized that Miley couldn't see her head move up and down.

There was a thirty-second pause prior to Lily finding her voice. "Owen is on the---" Lily swallowed, "---on the news." Miley thanked her and both Miley and Lily hung up their phones with no farewell on either end. Lily fell back onto her bed in her bedroom and let out a sigh. She wanted to talk to Oliver right then and there. "Oliver?" Lily asked, calling her best friend.

From the other end of the line, Lily sensed that Oliver was smiling by the way he said, "Hey." His voice was out of breath, but he was still in high spirits to hear from her. "Look, I'm grounded until after our final exams," Oliver informed Lily and Lily's mood plummeted. He sounded just as distressed over it. To Lily, she was going to be lonesome for no less than a week with no one to talk to. "My parents want me to do well, wait---" Oliver put the receiver down and went into the living room. Lily sat in her room, drumming her fingers on her jeans, killing time unwearyingly.

"I know that it's a long shot," Oliver began, talking to his mother. She looked at him and away from her book. Her nod allowed Oliver to continue. "What would you say if Lily and I studied together for our final assessments," Oliver suggested, sounding optimistic. His mother looked back down to her book as she thought and then marked her page, closed her book and set it to the side.

Striding back to the phone, Oliver had a wide smile plastered upon his face. "Lily?" He said into the phone. Lily's ears perked up and listened in. She sat up straighter, waiting for Oliver to speak again. "Would you like to study with me?" Lily beamed so broadly that her face was soon in pain.

Realizing that she hadn't responded his question, she said, "Yes, oh, yes!" into the receiver and Oliver snickered politely on the other end. Before too much time had passed, Lily found herself getting dressed to go over to Oliver's house. Every other time that she had gone over to Oliver's house, she didn't much care what she was wearing or how her hair looked and about half the time, she didn't wear makeup. But, Lily stood in front the mirror for a more lengthy amount of time than she typically would on other mornings such as this.

Miley was busying herself that afternoon, struggling not to think about the song that she was performing with Owen Othello in two days. She tried not to think about her costume, though it did itch horribly every time she put it on. Frazzled and unable to relief herself of this stress, Miley took to the balcony to think things out. Jackson was reading a magazine out on the terrace when Miley walked out onto it. "Jackson, leave," Miley said, drearily.

Jackson stood, throwing his magazine down and was about to say something in his defense but, then he kept in mind all that Miley was going through and stormed off the patio without a word to her. Miley looked out and saw the wind blowing the treetops. She heard the seagulls twittering and when Miley took a deep breath, she smelled the salt of the ocean. Everything around her felt in harmony with everything else but, Miley couldn't help but feel dissonance from the world.

Turning to the chair that Jackson had been sitting in, Miley stooped to pick up the magazine that Jackson was reading. "Disgusting!" Miley screamed, seeing that the magazine was a little degrading to women. "Jackson!" Miley shouted to her brother. Jackson, without more ado, knew the problem and ran out onto the porch to grab the magazine from Miley's hands sooner than she had the chance to cry out to their father.

Miley looked away from the house and saw, without delay, Lily toddling past her house on the way to Oliver's abode. "Lily, wait," Miley said and took to the stairs to descend down to the road. Getting to Lily, Miley seized her own wrist and unclasped her bracelet. "You gave this to me," she explained, "So you can have it back." Miley dropped the bracelet into Lily's hand.

Lily, out of surprise, dropped it into the rocks below her feet. Leaning down and picking it up, Lily returned it to Miley's wrist, "You're right, I gave it to you," Lily told her. Miley played with the bracelet on her wrist. "And I still want you to keep it," she said. Miley looked at her eyes and saw the truth behind the words. Without saying anything Miley brought Lily into an embrace. The two became watery eyed and laughed as they saw that the other one was crying, too.

"Oliver!" Lily screamed, running up to Oliver's front door. "Oliver---" Lily muttered to herself as she repetitively rang the Oken's doorbell. Oliver came and opened the door, smiling far and wide as he saw her standing there. Lily promptly pulled him into a hug. "Miley and I made up," Lily said happily, her face pressed against his. She, at once, noticed that Oliver had shaved his face that morning.

Oliver had taken notice to her breath as it touched his ear. She must have had a mint before she came over to his house because her breath was cool. Pulling away from the embrace, Oliver looked at Lily and she looked at him. Their arms were still holding each other. His head was still present with the thought of her chilly breath on his earlobe. Lily looked away from his eyes and her gaze went to his lips. Realizing what was about to happen, Oliver, awkwardly, pulled Lily into a second, rough, hug. "Oliver?" she said, uncomfortable all of a sudden.

The moment that had passed was too ill at ease for both Lily and Oliver. Neither knew what had just come about and, neither felt the need to verbalize. And not to make the situation worse, Lily and Oliver played the fool of the occasion. In Oliver's bedroom, Lily and Oliver studied for an a little over an hour. The room was tense for the complete hour.

After Lily left, with no more than a lackluster "Tell Miley that I apologize as well," from Oliver, Olisa turned up in the doorframe of Oliver's bedroom. Oliver sensed the presence of someone staring at him and looked up to see her there. "Hmm?" Oliver hummed, lying on his bed over his school book.

Olisa laughed and went to sit down in Oliver's computer chair. She slid the chair over to his bed side and said, "When are you going to confess to Lily that---" Oliver leaned forward and covered Olisa's mouth with his hand. She shook off his hand from her face and tried to continue with what she was saying.

The moment Olisa opened her mouth again to speak, Oliver beat her to it and said, "Never because I don't." He knew unerringly what she was going to ask him. As soon as he answered Olisa's question, she laughed, loud and obnoxiously. Oliver focused back in on his reading. It was tiresome and agonizing to do, but he had to do it.

"The garage has an especially nice view of the front door," Olisa said, and winked as Oliver looked back up at her. Pushing his hair to get it out of his eyes, Olisa laughed again and left Oliver to his studying. She later claimed that she could also sense the tension between himself and Lily all of the way out in the garage. Oliver didn't believe her when she said so.