So I finally stopped playing Minesweeper long enough to get this chapter done. And it's not the way I imagined it, but it's good enough for me. But the real question -- is it good enough for you? I decided something -- there will be a small epilogue on the tail end of this story, and a sequel when I have the time to write it properly. If there's something you want to see in either, just make a request via review. The epilogue is going to be Christmas with the Stewarts but I'm not saying anything about the sequel.

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The character of a man is known from his conversations. - Menander

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Lilly found that she enjoyed Japanese food much more than French food, though Miley wasn't sure if she was fond of it. The walk home after eating was pleasant. Since it was a little later in the evening, there were fewer people on the streets and Miley didn't have to be as covert. It also helped that the lighting was dim; therefore, people wouldn't be as quick to recognize Hannah Montana.

Miley kept her hand around Lilly's waist, holding Lilly as close to her as possible. She wasn't feeling very talkative but she didn't think there was much to talk about. The evening had gone well, the stars were out, and she had Lilly pressed against her. It was as close to perfect as it could get. Lilly's mood was slightly less enthusiastic, but content all the same. She half-wished they could be this close without hiding behind Hannah and Lola.

The lights were still on when Miley reached her house. She tugged Lilly inside with her and pulled her wig off.

"Miles, I should get home!" Lilly had already removed her wig.

"Come say hi to Aunt Dolly." Miley insisted. "She was asking about my current relationship last night and I didn't really want to explain without you."

Lilly hesitated further, "Can't this wait? I mean, I'll see her on Tuesday…"

"If you really want to put it off." Miley nuzzled Lilly softly. "I won't make you."

Lilly checked her watch, "It's not that I don't want to tell her, it's just my mom is expecting me home in like five minutes, and I don't want to rush this conversation."

"Good thinking." Miley agreed, "So… Should I walk you home?"

Lilly shook her head, "No, I'm okay. You should go visit with your family."

After a short goodnight kiss, Lilly strolled home. Her thoughts were incredibly preoccupied – Miley could be so open about their relationship at times but so closed whenever it suited her. It was driving Lilly crazy. Either they were together or they weren't. It wasn't something that Miley could control on a whim.

She sighed as she stepped into her house. Miley would loosen up, she was sure of it. Winter break was coming and they would be able to settle into their relationship then. Soon enough, Lilly decided, she'd want less physical contact in public, not more. All they needed was a long break from other people.

During lunch the next day, Miley bought two tickets to the dance – each ticket came with a blank black mask. It was up to the wearer to decorate it if color was desired. Oliver also bought two and received his masks. They returned to where the lunch table where Lilly was waiting. Miley threw Lilly one of the masks.

"I think we should leave them black and bland." Miley took her seat, "The less noticeable we are the better."

Oliver's wistful sigh broke into her sentences. "I wonder what Mickey's going to wear."

"I thought you weren't supposed to call her that." Lilly interjected.

"What else am I supposed to call her?" Oliver asked, digging into his meal.

"Isn't her fake name Fay?" Miley chuckled; it was a silly fake name.

"Yeah, Fay Key." Oliver's eyes widened considerably, "I just got it! Fakie! That's really funny! She's so smart. And wonderful. And pretty."

Miley shoved his shoulder, "Can you put a stopper in your gob?"

Lilly resisted the urge to reach under the table and set her hand on Miley's leg. "Miley, let him gush. You know how it feels to be a girl in love."

"Yeah!" Oliver agreed. Moments later his eyebrows furrowed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Miley couldn't hold in her loud guffaws, "You got him, Lilly! You got him good!"

Lilly smiled smugly, "Don't worry, Oliver. We won't joke like this around her."

Oliver crossed his arms defensively. "You better not… I really like her."

"We won't… So, you gave her directions for tomorrow?" Miley asked.

"Yeah." Oliver returned to consuming his meal.

"And you're sure she's trustworthy?" Miley bit onto her lower lip. It was a big thing for her, letting her rival know her secret.

"She already told me she wasn't going to spill to anybody." Oliver reassured her as he slurped up a long strand of mystery meat.

Lilly grimaced in disgust, "How can you eat that stuff?"

Oliver grinned, "I'm a guy. It's food. You do the math."

"How do you know she's telling the truth?" Miley demanded.

"I just do. Miles, I know her really well." Oliver set his fork down. "If you don't trust her, just trust me."

Miley sunk down in her seat and cast her eyes to the floor. She felt slightly guilty for grilling Oliver like that. But… this was her secret they were talking about. If it got out, the life of Miley Stewart would be ruined. She'd be stuck as Hannah Montana. It's not like she just went out and told people for the fun of it.

Lilly rubbed Miley's arm – she wasn't sure if Miley would approve of this public gestures but it was something that friends did, right? Miley smiled at her gratefully.

"Ollie, put yourself in her shoes, will you?" Lilly whispered. "If someone finds out and even accidentally says something, her life as we know it is over."

Oliver's bright mood dimmed slightly, "I get it. I know what's at stake, but I trust her."

Miley waved a hand at him, "Let's just move on, okay?"

"So are we still okay with her coming?" Oliver questioned nervously.

"Yeah, yeah. But know this… If she says anything, I'm holding you responsible." Miley threatened.

He smiled weakly, "Good thing she won't say anything."

Miley shrugged. If he trusted Mikayla that much, she might as well give the girl a little credit. Lilly scooted her chair a little closer and tried to lay her leg next to Miley's. Miley shot her a warning glance and that killed any hope she had of physical contact in the lunch room. She completely withdrew and scooted more towards Oliver.

After school, Miley left Lilly with Oliver on the grounds that she had some family business to take care of. Lilly watched her run off with a heavy heart. Oliver took note of her long face and was very confused.

"Lils, what's up?" They walked slowly down the sidewalk. Her eyes were glued everywhere but on him.

"It's silly…" Lilly chuckled sadly. "I just… Miley just shuts us off whenever she wants… and I don't think that's fair."

Oliver nodded, "I saw that in the cafeteria."

"It's not even just that!" Lilly threw her hands into the air, "She pretty much decides when we're dating and when we're not allowed to been even touching."

"That's not good." Oliver agreed. "Have you tried talking to her?"

"No… I'm waiting for winter break. I was hoping that we'd be able to work something out then. It's just in the mean time, I don't know what I'm going to do. Is it so wrong to want to hold her hand? Or let our legs touch?" Although she asked the questions, Lilly wasn't really looking for answers. It was just nice to let someone else know her pain.

"It's not wrong at all." Oliver commiserated. "But at least you go to school with your girlfriend. I have no idea where Mickey is, what's she's doing, who she's with…"

Lilly giggled. "Sounds like we've both got it bad."

"We should write a blues song for Hannah Montana." Oliver chuckled.

Lilly linked arms with him. "Thanks for being a good listener, Ol."

"No problem, Lil." He returned.

Meanwhile, Miley barreled into her house, nearly knocking Robby Ray over as she pounded upstairs and threw her backpack to the floor. Once again nearly toppling her dad, she ran back down and flung herself onto the couch.

"Hey there, bud, what's the rush?" Robby put his hand on his head, possibly to stop the spinning of the room.

"Where's Aunt Dolly?" Miley glanced around, "I wanted to talk to her."

"Without Lilly?"

"Yeah." Miley sighed, "Sometimes I think she doesn't want anybody to know about us. It's so frustrating. I tried to get her to come in last night but she wouldn't. So I figure I should tell Aunt Dolly before the barbeque, even if Lilly won't."

Robby wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Things involving the couple should be done by the couple, not one half of said couple. But he had already decided that he wasn't going to butt into his daughter's relationship with Lilly.

"She's down on the beach."

Miley shot off the couch and raced down to the beach. She was excited to find her aunt. Dolly would understand no matter what. For Miley this was the last person on her list of people she wanted to know about the relationship.

"Aunt Dolly!" Miley yelled when she was about fifteen feet away. She gave one last burst of energy to get her to her aunt's side.

"Hey there kiddo." Dolly greeted her with a wide smile.

Miley hugged her tightly. "I wanted to talk to you. It's about who I'm dating."

"I knew you were dating!" Dolly cried. "Is it that Jake Ryan boy? He was a cutie."

Miley shook her head, "That's kind of what I wanted to tell you… It's not a boy."

Aunt Dolly paused and narrowed her eyebrows, "Not a boy? What is he, then? A dolphin?"

"No, she's not a he," Miley tried to explain, "Aunt Dolly, I'm dating a girl."

"Oh, well that makes more sense." Dolly sighed, "I was hoping you weren't goin' inter-species."

Miley relaxed considerably, "It's Lilly."

Dolly beamed, "I knew you had good taste, sweet pea. Is she treatin' you right?"

Miley nodded, "The best."

"So why isn't she here tellin' me with you?" Dolly raised her eyebrows.

Miley let her hands fall to the sand. Her fingers sifted until they hit upon something hard – either a shell or a chunk of driftwood. "She didn't want to tell you yesterday, so I figured she wouldn't want to tell you ever."

"Did she have a reason?"

"She said she had to be home in like five minutes," Miley explained, "but I don't know if that's the truth."

"Seems like a good excuse, though, hun." Dolly dusted the sand off her Capri pants.

"But you're okay with her, right?"

"Of course, Miley. As long as she doesn't hurt you, that is."

Miley shook her head, "Lilly would never do that."

"Then you have my blessing." Dolly got up and extended a hand down to Miley. When they were both standing they turned and walked placidly up to the house.

Tuesday afternoon came quickly – Miley had been watching the clock all day. She couldn't wait to have everybody together having a good time. Robby Ray had fired up the barbeque, Lilly and her parents had arrived, though Oliver and his family hadn't shown up yet.

Mr. Truscott was very anxious looking. He was uncomfortable when Miley and Lilly were even standing close to each other and had to look away if they actually touched. Miley hoped Lilly didn't notice his behavior; Lilly, of course, saw the way he was acting and tried to distance herself from Miley.

Robby Ray also saw something fishy going on with the other man. "Hey, Ed, want to help me grill a moment?"

Ed sighed – he knew something like this was going to happen. He hadn't wanted to go to this barbeque in the first place but Ellen was a very persuasive woman. Disgruntled, he walked over to the grill and waited for Robby to start harassing him.

"I know what you're going to say, Rob." Ed muttered.

"You do? That makes my job a little easier." Robby held out a long brush expectantly. Ed stared at it.

"Aren't you going to tell me to relax? That I need to accept my daughter's relationship because it makes her happy?" He questioned, quite confused.

Robby laughed. "No sir. I figured you get that on your own. I was going to ask if you could marinate the steak."

Ed cleared his throat, "Is it so wrong of me? To want her to date males?"

Robby shrugged, "It's not my place to tell you how to father your children. I'm supportin' Miley because I love her and being with Lilly isn't hurting anybody."

Scowling darkly, Ed splashed some of the teriyaki marinate on the waiting steaks. He turned and walked bitterly away. For someone who didn't want to tell him he was a bad father, Robby sure knew how to lace his words with poison.

"Ellen, I'm going home." He spat out. He didn't need to stay here and get berated for his beliefs.

"Ed! Don't do this!" She whispered fiercely back.

"Do what?" Lilly had approached, overhearing the heated words. Miley was a few steps behind her looking worried.

"Nothing, Lilly. Your father isn't feeling well."

Ed shook his head, "I can't watch you two together. It's disgusting! I'm not going to stay and stand by while my daughter is immoral."

Miley took a step back, completely blown away by his attitude. "Mr. Truscott, please…"

"I won't hear it." He shook a finger at her, "You're the one who lead Lilly down this path. It's your fault she's wrong."

Lilly narrowed her eyes. "Take that back, dad."

"No! I won't!" He gazed at her, "Lilly, why are you doing this to me?"

"This isn't about you! This about me and Miley and how we're happy together." She hurled her words at him like spears.

"How can you be happy?" He returned. "Sinning only provides momentary happiness. In the long run you'll be miserable!"

Mikayla, Oliver, and his family chose this moment to enter the backyard. They were all smiling pleasantly; Mikayla, for one, seemed particularly in a good mood. Oliver had his arm wrapped around her waist. They stopped dead in their tracks, however, after seeing the argument that had bubbled over.

"Did we come at a bad time?" Mikayla questioned.