Hey everybody! Sorry it took me so long to update last time! I really didn't mean to take so long. I would like to thank lilerin91, NCooper, AlwaysxAddicted, thecreative1, and Garden Spade for reviewing! Here's chappie number 9!
"Lilly! Lilly, wait!" Miley shouted, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the door.
"What?" She asked harshly. She was in tears.
"Lilly, it's okay. Don't let him spoil your whole night."
"I know I shouldn't even have these feelings for him, Miley, but I do, and I can't stop them from coming."
"It's okay that you have feelings for Oliver, but you shouldn't let those feelings ruin this pageant for you. Come on, Lilly. Just forget about him."
"That's just it! I can't forget about him, Miley! I just can't…" She began sobbing quietly.
"You really like him, don't you?" Miley understood Lilly's feelings.
"Yeah. I thought he liked me too, but I guess not." She looked at her feet.
"How about this; we do the pageant tonight, and then we can ask Oliver who that girl is when it's over." Miley suggested hopefully. She still couldn't figure out where she had seen that girl before.
"Yeah, okay." Lilly agreed. She seemed more self conscious now. She tightly held her robe over her body as they walked over to a mirror and began fixing their hair. Soon the rest of the girls arrived along with the stage manager.
"Alright!" The stage manager said, walking to the center of the room. "It is almost time for you al to go on stage. In this event, you will walk in one circle around the stage, and then finish next to Ms. Livingston. Got it, everyone?" She directed as the girls all nodded their heads. "Okay, you will all go on at the same time for this event, so line up here, please. Any order will be fine." She stepped aside so they could line up. Miley and Lilly lined up near the very back. In a few short minutes, Miley and Lilly were prancing across the stage in nothing but bikinis.
Lilly tried her hardest not to look at Oliver, but she couldn't help herself. She watched him closely. His eyes were on her, although he was still talking to his female companion. She was giggling at his words, and Oliver was laughing as well, which really annoyed Lilly. She wanted to be the only one to make Oliver laugh.
Miley was looking at Oliver and his "so-called friend" as well. She thought about the girl. She thought and thought and thought, and finally came to a conclusion. The girl sitting next to Oliver was Zoey, Hannah Montana's "#1 Fan." She came to every concert and always found a way to sneak backstage into Hannah's dressing room. She was always taking pictures and asking for autographs. Miley smiled as she remembered how she handled Zoey; she actually took off her wig and changed clothes before letting her into her dressing room. So that when Zoey opened the door, all she found was Miley Stewart sitting on the couch. At the sound of Jacinda's voice, Miley came back from her stroll down memory lane.
"Here they are: The 15 remaining contestants of the Sparkly Spirits Beauty pageant! Don't they look lovely in their summer swimwear?" Jacinda's voice rang out through the theater as she clapped for the girls. The audience clapped along as the girls walked in another circle around the stage. "Let's introduce these ladies one more time!' Jacinda went on as the girls lined up next to her. "We have Ms Kimberly Gier," The audience applauded. "Ms. Rachel Martin," More applause, "Ms. Elizabeth Montgomery," The audience applauded at the sound of each girl's name. "Ms. Amber Matthews, Ms. Ashley Christianson, Ms. Emma Santino, Ms. Mary Grace Roberts, Ms. Natalie Cole, Ms. Chloe Sanders, Ms. Sydney Riocotti, Ms. Julia Adelson, Ms. Savannah Telodini, Ms. Jasmine Markez, Ms. Lilly Truscott and Ms. Miley Stewart!" Miley and Lilly heard Jackson whooping at the sound of their names. They smiled at each other as they heard several "Shh's" from those in the audience. "And that concludes the swimsuit portion of the competition. We'll call you back on stage in a few minutes for the judging." Jacinda said to the girls.
Once Lilly was backstage, she let out a loud sigh and tears came back to her eyes. Many girls huddled around Lilly, asking her what was wrong. Lilly looked at them all, and then at Miley, who stood across from her. She nodded and Lilly told them all about Oliver and her mom interrupting their kiss and then this new girl that was giggling and making him laugh. They all agreed that Oliver was being a real jerk for doing this to Lilly.
"I can't believe him!" Savannah shouted.
"What a pig!" Jasmine agreed.
"How could he do this to you?" Mary Grace questioned.
"You must feel horrible!" Emma concluded. Lilly nodded her head slowly as the girls comforted her and told her how rude Oliver was being. Suddenly, the stage manager called to them and broke up their little comfort circle.
"It's all gonna be okay. Don't worry." Natalie told her as they lined up to go back on stage for the judging. Amber and Ashley, who had been eavesdropping from outside the circle, came up to Lilly.
"Your boyfriend dumped you for someone better?" Ashley said in a cruel baby voice.
"How sad!" Amber backed her up and pretended to cry.
"Oh, what a poor little baby." They said together. "Oooo, sssss." Their fingers came together as they did their trademark move.
"Leave her alone." Miley commanded.
"She didn't do anything to you." Sydney agreed.
"Whatever." Amber and Ashley replied as they walked away.
"What jerks." Julia said from her place in line.
"Thanks guys; for having my back, you know? You're all great friends." Lilly smiled at the girls in line next to her. Just then the line started moving towards the stage. The girls stood before the judges and awaited their marks. Lacey spoke first.
"You were all quite promising tonight, girls, bit I'm afraid some of you came up just a bit short." She indicated a small space with her fingers. Lilly took Natalie's and Miley's hands, and Miley took Julia's, Julia took Emma's and so on and so forth. The only girls that weren't holding hands were Amber, Ashley, and Rachel. They were all too stubborn.
"When I call your name, you may go and stand next to Ms. Jacinda." Tracey instructed. "Miley Stewart, you are in." Miley jumped up at the sound of her name. She hopped over to Jacinda and stood still only when Lacey began to speak.
"Natalie Cole, you are in." Natalie smiled and stood next to Miley. They smiled at each other and looked over at the remaining 13 girls.
"Savannah Telodini, you are in." Keith called as Savannah smiled and excitedly walked over to her friends.
"Kimberly Gier, you are in."
"Elizabeth Montgomery, you are in."
"Emma Santino, you are in."
"Amber Matthews, you are in."
"Ashley Christianson, you are in." At the sound of their names, Amber and Ashley squealed excitedly and hurried over to the line of happy girls. Miley and Lilly rolled their eyes.
"Jasmine Markez, you are in!"
Meanwhile, Lilly was silently awaiting one of the judges to announce her name. Wasn't I good enough? She thought sadly. It's all because of stupid Oliver. Why did I have to have that stupid crush on that stupid Oliver in the stupid first place? This is so stupid! Then a voice interrupted her thoughts about her "stupid crush".
"Lilly Truscott, you are in". Tracey said happily. Lilly stood there for a moment, dumbstruck. It was only when Julia shoved her gently that she realized what was going on. She swiftly moved across the stage and took her place next to Jasmine.
"And there you have it, folks, our top 10!" Jacinda announced to much applause. Miley saw her brother whistling and looking at Elizabeth. Miley rolled her eyes, but Elizabeth smiled sweetly in his direction. The girls walked backstage, smiling to themselves. Once they were all off the stage, they burst out laughing.
"I thought I was gone for sure!" Natalie announced.
"I know, I was so scared!" Jasmine agreed.
"I was the last one picked!" Lilly said to the others. "I thought I was gonna be out!"
The other girls took sympathy on her.
"So, how are you and that guy, um, Oliver?" Elizabeth asked hesitantly.
"I can't stop thinking about him. I really, really like him." Lilly said, avoiding her friends' eyes.
"Aww, it's okay, Lilly. He's probably not worth it anyway." Emma said, rubbing her shoulder soothingly.
"You don't know Oliver. If he doesn't want to be my boyfriend," She shivered. "I at least still want his friendship."
"He'll come around." Kimberly said. "Once he sees you win this pageant!"
"Oh, please, I'll never make it into the top 5."
"Yes, you will, Lilly!" Elizabeth agreed with Kim. "You're gorgeous, and you seem really great. You're way better than me. I hardly stand a chance."
"No! No! You're all so beautiful, and you all deserve to win." Lilly said as they all hugged. After they said their goodbyes, Miley and Lilly walked outside to meet Jackson at the car. Just then, Oliver walked out with his arm around Zoey's shoulders. Miley saw them, and shoved Lilly with her elbow to get her attention.
"Lilly! Look, it's Oliver!" She whispered. He was heading towards them.
"Hey guys! You were both great tonight!" He called.
"Hey, Oliver." Miley said, smiling. She shoved her silent friend.
"Hey." Lilly mumbled. She avoided Oliver's eyes.
Zoey spoke next.
"Aren't you gonna introduce me to your friends, Oliver?" She said playfully.
"Oh yeah, sorry, I totally spaced out." Oliver said, looking right at Lilly. "This is my…"
Cliffee! Yay! Tell me what you thought of this chapter! I hope you all liked it.