'They Say That Good Things Take Time' – Chapter 6
"You ready to do this bud?"
"Yep." Miley sighed and took the microphone that a stage-hand passed to her. After sharing a quick smile with her father and led by another attendant, she walked down some steps towards the underground platform that would raise her up to centre stage where she would make her debut in Wembley Arena.
She crouched down and took a deep breath before looking up towards the trap-door and saying clearly: "Let's go."
A blaze of flashing lights and screams hit Miley in a senseless wave as she rose slowly into the spotlight in the centre of the stage. She beamed out brightly at the crowds as all nervousness left her and adrenaline pumped almost violently throughout her entire body. Time seemed to pass slowly as Miley adjusted to the tumultuous applause, standing rigidly in her position with one arm stretched up towards the ceiling and the other, clutching the microphone, in front of her stomach. She gradually raised the microphone as her pulse leveled out and her mind reached a stage of clarity. Miley held the microphone to her lips, took a deep breath, and cried out, "Hello London!"
From her view backstage, Lilly smiled as she watched her friend from behind. Miley was a naturally born performer and she slipped right into her first song, Best of Both Worlds, without an error. The concert went by smoothly and Lilly had a smile permanently fixed to her face as the electric energy her friend was charged with passed throughout the endless audience and into Lilly. Without realizing it, Lilly's lips were forming the words of the songs and her body was moving involuntarily with the melodies of Hannah's music. She was overcome with an unknown power which seeped out of Miley and into herself, it was almost as if they were connected and Lilly was riding on a sense of jubilation that almost matched Miley's exactly, although she did not know this, and would not realise for quite a while.
During the performance Miley ran off stage for a costume change. She did not have long as the band played an intermission song and images of her alter-ego were flashed up on the giant screens. Her eyes were filled with a bright light and she laughed as she ran towards her friend, engulfing her in a brief, but very tight, hug before she had to move on. Their chests pressed together for an instant and Lilly was sure she felt their hearts were synchronized, both beating with an intensity which shook their bodies and threatened to overcome them. She was laughing also as she gently pushed her friend away and told her to get changed. Miley's eyes connected with her own for a second, and as Lilly gazed into them, she saw an expression that she had not ever registered in Miley before. Miley looked giddy and happier than Lilly had seen her in a long time, her eyes were clouded by some unfamiliar feeling which Lilly had never noticed directed toward her before. She suddenly felt puzzled when she saw this unknown emotion and internally frowned in confusion at her friend and at herself. Miley did not notice this and, giggling, she shook aside the feelings of love which she had not thought to closely guard whilst riding out her emotional wave. Miley rushed into the changing room where a tense attendant was already holding out a white leather jacket. Lilly also shook her head and forgot about this the second Miley ran past her again and took the stage. Lilly cupped her hands to her mouth and breathlessly cheered Hannah from behind as she was overcome once more by the boundless electricity of Miley's own making.
A blinding flash of cameras hit the girls' eyes as they stumbled outside at the end of the night. It was the early hours of Saturday morning and the press were having a good time. Consumed by a maniacal desire to photograph the young star after her highly successful concert, the media world was in a lust to devour everything about Hannah and it took so much for Miley to keep herself locked away from their gazing eyes. It was at moments like this, now that she felt so frail and tired at the end of the show that she was at her most vulnerable from the paparazzi. Lilly recognised the sudden weakness in her friend's disposition from the slight slumping forward of her shoulders and Miley's growing disability at keeping her head held high. She was becoming slowly more inclined to gaze towards her feet as exhaustion took its toll on her both mentally and physically. It was at a moment when Miley stumbled ever so slightly, only enough for Lilly, glued to her side, to register, that she wrapped her arm around her friend's and mentally urged the other girl to keep it together for only another minute. Miley felt the warmth that emanated from her best friend's touch and looked up at this moment. She gazed into Lilly's face and the tenderness that she was met with caused her to smile and her heart to soar. With Lilly there to support her, Miley felt invincible, and after tearing her eyes away from her best friend's face, she turned to meet the paparazzi once more.
Friday -3am
It's the end of the night and Miley's just drifted off to sleep. Well actually, it was more like she was asleep before she even got to bed. I've never seen her so drained after a concert, I know that she was giving it her all tonight and I'm so glad she did, London loved her! There's only tomorrow night to get through and then we'll be alright for the rest of the week I think. She can sleep in late tomorrow, she doesn't need to rehearse or anything, just make it to the arena again in the afternoon…
Lilly's pen began to droop in her hand as she looked up and gazed at her reflection in the mirror in front of the desk. She looked exhausted and her blonde hair kept falling obnoxiously into her face as she tried to complete her entry. Shadows were beginning to form under her tired eyes, which looked dull in the yellow light of the single lamp she had switched on so as not to disturb her friend. She put the pen down as she used both of her hands to rub her sore eyes and coax some moisture into them. She glanced upwards at the ceiling and blinked the tired tears throughout her blue eyes and found some small relief in this. Lilly then moved her hands down towards her lower back where she massaged the area gently. She was aching from exhaustion and, after a long sigh, decided that it would be best for her to go to bed.
…Well, it's time to hit the hay. Or go to Bedfordshire as I heard some guy backstage say. These Brits sure are strange. Until tomorrow!
Lilly shut the book with a small smile on her face and stumbled wearily over to the bed. The air conditioning was on quite strong and she shivered, prompted by tiredness, as she clambered gratefully into the bed. She pulled the covers up around her and shifted ever so slightly closer to the warm brunette who was mumbling slightly in her sleep. Lilly smiled as she listened to Miley's wordless sounds. She lay looking at her friend for a while, only just able to make out her features in the dark room. Lilly was filled with such warmth and feelings of devotion towards the other girl and her chest was overflowing with a bright love which burned stronger than ever before. She smiled openly and her eyes glistened with happy tears as affection spread throughout her veins and her heart beat gradually increased.
Lilly reached across and softly entwined her fingers into a section of Miley's hair. She relished in the feel of the sweet-smelling strands and slowly began to stroke her hair into place away from her face. In the small light that Lilly had to see by, she took in Miley's peaceful expression that she adopted in her sleep. Lilly had not seen her look so calm in days, and she noted that Miley was almost angelic in her flawless skin and perfect cheek bones. Her full lips were softly pressed together in an expressionless state and her long eyelashes fluttered slightly. Lilly had always thought of her friend as beautiful but tonight she had seemed to glow brighter than any of the lights which were constantly trained on her. Here in the dark, away from the glare of the media and public attention, whilst she slept, Lilly saw her friend in her truest sense. She suddenly felt protective as Miley looked so vulnerable and crept even closer to her best friend. Lilly lowered her hand from Miley's hair to rest gently on her waist as she settled herself down to get ready to sleep. Feelings of guilt were threatening to rise up within her once more as she gradually began to think about how she was going to let her best friend down before the week had passed.
Lilly closed her eyes against more tears, this time out of sadness, as she tried to create a wall to prevent them from falling, but she failed miserably. Lilly inhaled slowly as her cheeks gradually became wetter with the running of her soundless cry. She never relinquished her hold on her friend and she was afraid that if she did then Miley would know and despise her for letting go. Drained by her sadness and from the long night's activities, Lilly began to feel her body release and sleep slowly overcame her.
The following morning Lilly awoke unhurriedly and groggily long before Miley who was sleeping soundly beside her. As her body gradually sensitized itself to the surroundings, Lilly became aware of Miley's closeness. Her body was curled up in a fetal position, with her lower back intimately snuggled against Lilly's stomach and had kept the blonde warm throughout the night. Lilly was beginning to feel hot and her cheeks had suddenly become quite flushed once she had realized their close proximity and the heavy heat which was radiating purely from Miley. It was a disgruntled sigh that Lilly pushed her section of the covers away to air her beside the conditioning fans. It took an even greater effort to heave her weary body up from the bed but she managed to coax herself away from the comfortable nest with the promise of a shower. Within the cooling confines of the cold water, Lilly felt her body calm down and the redness left her cheeks. Goosebumps spread across her skin like a wind ripples the wild field grasses in summer and she sighed shakily before shivering and then turning up the temperature.
Miley was soon awake and at once noticed the lack of her Lilly in their bed. She pouted as she looked towards the empty space which had once been filled with the luxurious body of her secret love, closely wrapped around her own. Miley had only been too aware of Lilly's nearness to her in the night and had turned her own body craftily around to snuggle closer into the safety of Lilly's self. She had smiled secretly and drowsily as Lilly's sleeping arm had draped itself not deliberately down over Miley's waist due to the brunette's actions and Miley had found it harder to sleep with Lilly's heated being pressed into her back. This was especially owing to the fact that her hand had fallen precariously low and close to a part of Miley which had started throbbing dangerously.
Miley sat up in bed and hauled her knees up towards her chest where she buried her face in her hands. She rubbed her forehead and her eyes, attempting to draw sensibility and wakefulness into her being. She pushed her hair backwards and away from her eyes and shook her head free from sleep before releasing a heavy yawn. Worry began to grip at her slowly as she puzzled over the reason why Lilly had left the bed. Miley had not known when Lilly had fallen asleep last night only that it was after her so technically the blonde should still be sleeping. In an attempt to throw off her troubles, Miley scrambled out of bed and into the lounge. She was greeted by the bright smile of her best friend who was sitting in an armchair, happily clad in a complementary bathrobe and flicking through a magazine.
"Morning Miles! Did you sleep well?" Lilly greeted her cheerily and warmly.
Miley felt her cheeks begin to loosen up as a smile dressed her features and she replied with a similar tenderness in her voice, "I slept really well thanks Lils. I hope you enjoyed the show last night?"
"Loved it! I will never grow tired of watching you shake your thang up on that stage."
"My thang? Now what thang would that be Miss Lilly?" Miley replied cheekily and she could not resist the slight degree of flirtation which had risen up in her voice.
Lilly giggled, "I wasn't talking about your bottom Miss Miley," she stated, ensuring that "bottom" was pronounced as ridiculously Britishly as possible, "I was talking about your groove."
"Yeah, but of course you were." Miley kept her cheeky smile glued to her face as she winked good humouredly at Lilly who threw her head back and released a very loud burst of laughter which sent shivers through Miley's being.
"You're only thinking like that because you happen to check me out all the time. It's the only logical explanation for it. So you're trying to cover up your own misdeeds through creating them in me."
"Yeah sure, I just can't help getting my perve on when I'm around you Lillypad. You are simply divine." Miley replied sarcastically.
"You know Miles they say that seventy percent of joking is actually the truth?" Lilly quipped with an evil glint in her eye.
Miley gulped subconsciously before internally cursing herself and trying drastically to turn the conversation around again. "Then why are you joking on me?"
"Huh? Now I'm confused." Lilly suddenly looked bewildered and Miley began to try to work out what she had just remarked, but could not really get her head around her own terrible comeback. She was beginning to feel slightly feverish again, mock-flirting with Lilly was too difficult and if she was not careful then the normally dippy girl would begin to catch on.
"Meh. Me too!" Miley laughed nervously, "Now, how about we get room-service to bring us up some good ol' pancakeage?"
"Mmm… Lilly likey!"
Twenty minutes later and now comfortably dressed in sweats and t-shirts, the two young girls were helping themselves to extra syrup as they tucked into their long-awaited brunch. It was the middle of the day and their hearts were soaring after a good night's sleep. Miley was beginning to get the occasional tremor of nerves and excitement for the evening's performance and Lilly was catching on to her friend's emotions.
A knock on the door saw the arrival of Robbie Ray who greeted the girls with a smile as he watched them scoff the rest of their meal.
"Morning girls. Boy you sure inhaled those sweet cakes faster than Uncle Earl and Aunt Pearl in their annual pie-eating contest. Also known as Tuesdays… Did I just say annual? I meant weekly. And by contest I mean dinner."
Lilly laughed whilst her mouth was still full of her last bite of pancake causing Miley to roll her eyes but smile appreciatively.
"So, how are you feeling today bud?" Robbie Ray concernedly questioned his daughter.
"I'm alright thanks daddy." Miley smiled up at her father.
"Good. I was just popping in to remind you of the agenda. Basically no press stuff today, just make sure that we hit the arena again at about five so need to be ready at half four okay?"
"Yep that's fine."
"Great. So, what do you girls think you'll do this afternoon?"
Miley and Lilly exchanged a look and a pair of shrugged shoulders before Miley turned around to address her father once again, "Well, if it's up to me then we're not gonna leave the hotel room until I have to go. I just wanna conserve my energy for tonight."
"Yeah, me too." Lilly brightly agreed. The idea of staying in with Miley and keeping her calm and not stressed was very appealing. Also, she knew that the time was drawing near her when she would have to tell her of her fateful family plans of moving states, not yet though Lilly reassured herself silently.
Robbie Ray beamed to the young women as he left the room taking their plates to leave outside for room service. The idea that they were not going to be disturbed for a few hours made Miley feel excited and she had to strongly repress the urge to stare at Lilly or she was convinced that she might try to kiss her.
Miley leapt up and switched on the television to flick through the channels for a movie. Luckily for them the weather outside had turned for the worst and it was raining so they had a brilliant excuse to stay inside.
Lilly was moping next to the window as she stared out at the rain. It was times like these when she thought unbearably of how much she was going to miss her home in Malibu. It never rained as hard there as it did in London and she knew that moving to Missouri increased the amount of rainfall she was going to see in her new life. Lilly sadly watched the trickles creep their way down the window pane and, closer than the streets of London, she gazed into her blue-eyed reflection who was staring morosely back at her. This was her English teacher's dream of the perfect pathetic fallacy and the slow movements of the drops on the glass seemed to mirror the steady drip of anxiety that was welling up within her.
Miley's clear-cut southern voice struck Lilly hard when she barked out an order for Lilly to sit and watch the film. "Truscott! Get your butt over here and sit with me. There's nothing to see out there today, the weather's crappy."
Lilly sighed and walked over to Miley with sad eyes.
"Lilly, are you okay?" Miley began to feel Lilly's sorrow cross over into her own mind as she felt concern rise up within her and overcome all other feelings. She nervously patted the space on the couch beside her and waited for Lilly to sit down and explain.
"Miley, I'm fine, I was just feeling a little bit depressed about the rain. That's all." Lilly looked at Miley gently and attempted to form a smile as she sat down next to her friend.
"I don't think I can buy that reason." Miley said slowly.
Lilly looked at Miley and was astonished at how enraptured she would always be in the other girl's welfare. Throughout the time that they had known one another Miley had never ceased to amaze Lilly with her empathetic and selfless feelings towards her. Lilly knew that Miley was the highest maintenance of the two in terms of their friendship as Lilly was more laid back, but it was times like these when Miley put her to shame. Lilly had to fight the prickly sensation in her throat which was always an indicator for tears as she thought about her betrayal to Miley. She had not even bothered to fight her parents for any possible way to stay in Malibu with Miley and Oliver and her beloved beaches and other family. Yet Lilly knew that she gave up that will to fight for the sake of her own family's peace and sometimes the safety of her family unit had to come above all else.
"Seriously, I'm just fine."
Miley's brow furrowed as she looked deeper into Lilly's eyes in a futile attempt to read the other girl's mind. On noticing this, Lilly looked away and stared at the recently muted television screen.
"Is this because you're not in Malibu?" Miley questioned tentatively.
Lilly's eyes widened in shock as she heard the response and jerked her head round to look at Miley. It seemed impossible to her that Miley would know about the move, had Oliver told her?
"I mean," Miley continued, "I'm really sorry. If this is the weather, that is, but I should have thought about Malibu and the sun and stuff. I should have warned you about Britain and the way it rains practically all the time. I knew their summers were pretty hopeless and prone to rain, even snow once I heard." Miley was trailing off and she too had to avert her eyes away, unsure of what to say to placate her dearest friend.
Lilly felt somewhat relieved that Miley thought that this was something to do with her own weird obsession with the beach. She surreptitiously drew in a long breath and released it slowly, the action worked to calm her down somewhat and she was ready to face Miley again.
"Miley, don't be so silly. I've always wanted to come on tour with you, and London is the coolest place ever! The weather isn't bothering me at all." Lilly looked into Miley's eyes deeply and saw a slight sense of relief run through them briefly before her concern returned again.
"Then what is it?" Miley spoke so softly, almost in a whisper, that Lilly felt a slight quiver of pained shock as she knew that she could not tell Miley her affliction just yet. It hurt so much to know that she was betraying her best friend's trust, who she had known for so long, and who she would normally give everything to. To withhold this one piece of information, this fatal aspect of Lilly's life, was torture.
"I don't really know. I'm going to put it down to emotions. Also girl times are probably coming up soon and I get a little bit sad around then, don't know why really." Lilly smiled in Miley's direction, "Sorry for worrying you Miles. I'm just not sure what it is bothering me either."
Miley seemed to be more alleviated by this answer than the previous and paused for a moment before she steadily and thoughtfully replied, "I think I see where you're coming from. I mean, after shows I'm just kinda all over the place like you are. It's alright, I understand." Lilly felt her body begin to ease slightly and she sank lower onto the couch. "But, Lilly? If there is anything bothering you, you know, no matter what it is, you can always tell me right?"
Lilly nodded at Miley and noticed the sad undertone running through her voice. As she looked briefly into Miley's eyes, she once again caught a glimpse at that same powerful emotion she had seen the previous night, which she had not understood. When she turned back to face Miley, the brunette's attention was turned towards the television screen and Lilly had no chance to look any deeper.
Miley stared unseeingly at the monitor as her mind waged a terrifying war concealed behind her eyes. A great guilt was sweeping through her as she thought of her own most guarded secret that she had kept from Lilly, which made her certain that Lilly was actually hiding something from her. She had no idea what secret Lilly was keeping, but perhaps it was something that Miley should know. A strange, despairing hope took hold of Miley as her body tensed up in response to a small thought her mind produced: what if Lilly was hiding similar feelings for Miley? Yet, that was a preposterous thought, it would be impossible for her best friend to feel in that way for her. Things like this only happened in the movies and Lilly was most certainly not, well, that way inclined, as far as Miley was aware. However, Miley had kept that side of her nature hidden from Lilly, why would Lilly not keep it hidden from her? Miley was truly baffled as she pondered over all of the relationships and crushes that Lilly had ever owned up to. She knew that her best friend did not fall for people easily; did that mean she was confused? Confused about herself, the same way that Miley was? Miley often mused over what she was exactly and found it nearly impossible to label as she had a whole spectrum of different desires and concerns. One thing, however, would always remain stable and that was that she was in love with Lilly. Not because she was particularly a girl, but because she was Lilly, her own, perfectly unique and flawed, inescapably beautiful and haunting Lilly. The love of her life.
Lilly cleared her throat and Miley's body convulsed slightly as the sound jarred with her thoughts and dragged her out of her contemplation. Lilly snaked an arm around Miley's shoulders and drew her best friend closer to her as they settled to watch the movie.
"Don't worry Miley I'm alright." Lilly said quietly with her mouth near to Miley's ear.
Miley hummed a response and nestled her head onto Lilly's shoulder. It was so comfortable being with Lilly in this way and Miley knew that the transition to girlfriend, if Lilly ever felt that way, would be the most natural thing in the world for the two of them. Close contact was what, in Miley's opinion, they did best, and she knew that if their love would change, unable to say the same, then the only way Miley would say it, is better.
After a hurried knocking on the door from Mr Stuart, and the last shuffling of the two teenage bodies along with the straightening of wigs and a hectic limousine drive across the country's capital, make-up and beauty treatments, voice exercises and warm-ups, Miley was once again on stage and in full flow. Lilly was standing slightly to one side offstage for a second time, quietly dancing to the ebbing and surging of Miley's music and enjoying everything about that night.
Towards the end of the evening, feeling hot from the hundreds of lights directed on her and under the full gaze of her audience, Miley's eyes twinkled mischievously as she thought of her surprise announcement. She blasted through the last few lines of Nobody's Perfect before coming to a slightly breathless standstill in front of the magnificent wave of her audience's applause. A smile was fixated permanently to her face and her heart was pounding, almost bruising her ribcage as, fuelled with adrenaline, she dominated the stage. Miley turned quickly to nod at one of the dancers who smiled in response before running offstage quickly. She then turned to face her audience.
"Good evening London!" she shouted, and the crowd responded with a mandatory, overly excited uproar whilst Miley beamed all the brighter, "I hope you've all had a good night?" she attempted to call out over the commotion and laughed as she heard an even greater returning cry from tens of thousands of exhausted throats.
Her dancer returned with a brief whisper into Miley's ear. Miley turned and checked on the status of her other dancers who were trembling in excitement as they prepared to dance. This particular one had not been practiced much and as they took their positions, all eyes were on Hannah Montana.
"We're just going to do a few last songs for y'all," Miley said, her hands were on her hips and she spoke friendlily out to her audience, "This one is a very special number of mine and I wrote it after being inspired by someone very close to me."
On this note, Miley raised her right arm and indicated to one of the giant screens behind her. Upon the screen, materializing after a few seconds was the photograph of herself and Lilly, fully disguised as Lola, which she had taken in their hotel room only a few days before.
"This is my best friend in the entire world and I just wanted y'all to know that. Now, if she would kindly come out and join me onstage, then I can sing to her."
Lilly had no idea what was going on as she could not see the screens, it was not until she heard Hannah finishing her address to her fans that she realized what Miley was intending on doing. A sudden fear gripped her and her legs began to buckle as two attractive male dancers confidently strode backstage and led her out in front of the masses. She felt her brow begin to moisten with sweat underneath the heat of the coloured lights which all seemed to bear down on her at once. Standing rigidly, Lilly had completely paralyzed from fear as she noticed the endless rows of faceless individuals, which were now solely captivated with the pink-haired girl onstage. It was not until Miley stepped in front of her startled gaze that she managed to twitch some reality back into herself. She looked only at Miley as her distraction from the endless masses. Miley, whose face was glowing with pride and whose temporarily golden hair was lit from behind by a brilliant light, with the disposition of an angel.
"Come on Lilly, don't be silly," Miley managed to whisper just loudly enough for Lilly to hear as she slipped an arm casually around her shoulders.
Lilly looked into her best friend's eyes and was amazed at the tranquility she saw in them. It was a truly bizarre moment which Lilly never forgot, that there, in front of thousands of watching eyes, she could be so calm. To Miley it was just as if only she and Lilly were in the room and it was this sense of clarity and focus which stilled Lilly's outraged heart into an almost normal pulse pattern.
Slowly taking a few steps back and away from her friend as the guitar began to count Miley in, she began her song.
We sign our cards and letters BFF
You got a million ways to make me laugh…
And gradually photographs of the two together began to flicker across the screens. They were obviously in their disguises but Lilly now realized why Miley had been so friendly with the camera whilst they had been together at concerts. At this moment Lilly was pulling a strange face; scrunching up her nose and her eyes were squinted as she stood in the very pink wig that she was wearing that night, the effect was that she looked like a piglet. She could not help but smile embarrassedly and she mocked a glare at Miley who grinned back.
… You know the secrets I could never tell
And when I'm quiet you break through my shell…
Now there was a more sedated image of the two of them, still dressed up, after a show that Miley did in Texas. They were seated on her tour bus, feeling very tired and Miley had drifted off to sleep on Lilly's shoulder. Thousands of voices raised an almighty "Aaaaw…" blended in with the blurry sound of further thousands trying to maintain their consistent singing in time with Hannah.
You're a true friend, You're here till the end,
You pull me aside when something ain't right
Talk with me now and into the night
Til it's alright again,
You're a true friend.
Lilly was filled with a sense of euphoria as she watched Miley and her dancers practically improvise a slightly shaky dance routine which she knew that Miley had invented sporadically throughout the trip as the perfect surprise for Lilly. She had been correct; this was the perfect surprise, especially now that Lilly had gotten over her original stage-fright. She was finding it almost normal to stand awkwardly on stage and watch her best friend fool around with her dancers in front of thousands of hungry fans. These external factors did not matter to Lilly though, and as she saw the images flash up on the screens and the happiness in Miley's face that she could finally sing openly to her best friend, she knew that, in reality, it was only ever the two of them.
The song finally ended to the tumultuous cheers from Hannah Montana's audiences and Lilly found herself giddily grinning and clapping her friend from her side of the stage. Luckily for her, Miley had vaguely planned out what was going to happen and one of the female dancers gracefully led the still startled Lilly off the stage.
Robbie Ray was the first person to greet Lilly and smiled warmly at her flushed features and stunned look of happiness that seemed to be glued to her expression.
"You alright there bud?" he inquired softly, gently breaking his presence into the young woman.
"Hmmm?" Lilly only just seemed to realise that he was there and that there were other people around. Other backstage attendants were distracting themselves from their chores in turn to look at her; it was quite a surprise to everyone that Hannah had changed her show's schedule for this, slightly peculiar looking girl.
Robbie Ray chuckled at Lilly's disposition, she was far away somewhere in her own mind, obviously in a minor state of shock at what Miley had just done for her. Robbie Ray himself had only known for a short period of time, the few brief moments when Lilly was not in their company, his daughter had cared to divulge her father in her plans.
"Daddy, I'm going to play images across the screens of Lola and me so I need you to flick through these pictures," she said whilst shoveling handfuls of photographs into his briefcase, "and please select the ones which will be most appropriate? Obviously I'm going to go through them but I need you to really think here and choose the best ones to go with the song. I need one per line okay?"
"Erm, sure thing bud. Hey, why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"I guess I hadn't really thought about it before. But I took a really nice picture of Lilly, I mean us, together last night and I think this would be a really nice surprise."
Robbie Ray gazed at his flustered daughter as she manically piled the images of her and Lola up, whilst becoming once again torn between happiness and confusion over Miley's secret obsession with her best friend. He frowned slightly as he pondered whether it was normal for a teenage girl to devote herself to a friend as much as she would a lover. This was the type of romantic gesture he would use to do when he would woo Miley's mother when they were younger. But maybe that was it, he thought to himself, maybe it was because her mother had died that she had formed such a close connection with a female friend. This intense companionship was strictly a familial association, yet Robbie Ray could not help but continuously notice the loving glitter in his daughter's eyes whenever Lilly entered the room. Robbie Ray had used to consider himself slightly crazy when he noticed his daughter's eyes raking up and down the blonde girl's body, not only fully absorbing the outfit the other girl was wearing, but most importantly, what was in the outfit. Robbie Ray had found himself consciously looking away on further occasions for fear that his daughter would begin to become paranoid, although there was no way to deny it now, Miley did love Lilly, and it was not completely platonic.
"Yeah Miles, it will be a really nice surprise, Lilly is going to love it." Robbie Ray had responded in a quiet voice as he sympathetically looked at his daughter. She was becoming more frantic in her actions as she feared Lilly would return from the snack machine sooner than they thought. Her cheeks were stained by a hot blush and after a final snap shut of the briefcase catch, Lola had re-emerged in the room and Miley looked suddenly more drained that after a thirty minute workout.
"Everyone alright?" Lilly had asked brightly.
Robbie Ray watched Miley's eyes twinkle whilst her cheeks did not get any cooler as she nudged her friend gently in the shoulder, stood even closer to her and muttered something under her breath, undoubtedly for Lilly's ears only. Lilly's own face remained pleasantly friendly and Robbie Ray felt exasperated that she could be so oblivious to his daughter's emotions towards her. Yet this was probably for the best. Robbie Ray despised the thought that his daughter could be hurt from love and in this situation it was inevitable.
"Mr Stuart?" Lilly's timid voice disturbed his train of thought and he realized that he must have looked strange. He turned his attention towards her and nodded for her to continue. "Was that really all for me?"
Robbie Ray smiled, "Well, I don't know what other best friends Miley had that she brought all the way to London with her."
"Oh." Lilly's face had a vague look settled upon it, yet underneath all of her happiness after such a pleasant surprise, Robbie Ray had known her for long enough to know when something was bothering the normally chirpy blonde.
"Is everything alright Lilly?"
Lilly's eyes were cast towards the floor as her mind tried to configure what had happened. Miley had sung to her, a song which she claimed to have adapted from a poem she wrote shortly after she and Lilly swore themselves best friends forever. Lilly had felt overjoyed and elated beyond her normal capacity whilst she had stood on the stage, but now that she was in the background and cast into the shadows once more, she had been severely grounded. She sighed heavily and angrily with herself and the situation that her parents had put her in mere weeks ago and turned to look at Mr Stuart once more.
"Not really, no." her voice cracked a little bit as she answered his question and she could feel a surge of tears which were threateningly blurring her vision.
The smile slowly faded from Robbie Ray's face as he watched Lilly's tearful reaction. He rarely saw her like this, and on the few occasions when he did Miley had been there to sweep her away and always made her feel better.
"Hey there kiddo, would you like me to get Miley for you?"
"No." Lilly's answer came out suddenly bluntly and she pressed her face in her hands as she tried to stop the thoughts chasing around her head. She shortly brought her eyes upwards to see a concerned looking Robbie Ray once more, "Please, please, don't tell Miley. I don't want to upset her tonight." Robbie Ray was standing and watching Lilly patiently and she suddenly felt a surge of trust in the dear man who she would always praise as her second father. "I've been keeping something from her, something bad, and I'm scared that if she comes to find me now, she'll be upset. I can't ruin her last week in London. She needs to be happy and excited for Hannah to do well here."
"Alright bud. Right, well Miley's still got two more songs to sing and then she'll be off so," he led her into a more secluded area, "let's go through this quickly."
Lilly nodded her head and breathed deeply for a few moments before she turned and quickly briefed Robbie Ray on everything that had happened between her parents and herself from the moment that she had walked home from school that fateful day at the beginning of the holidays. Robbie Ray watched her calmly and when all was said he drew her into his arms for a hug.
"I sure am gonna miss you kiddo." He said, somewhat gruffly, in a warm voice and Lilly could feel sadness in his southern tones and from the tightness of the embrace.
"I'm gonna miss you too Mr S. Who else is going to feed me so well?"
Robbie Ray chuckled gently before slowly letting Lilly go, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking softly into her eyes, "When are you planning on telling Miley?"
Lilly knew that he was doing his protective father routine over his daughter and she had been expecting a similar response. She gulped before meeting his eyes once more, "I think I'm going to tell her on the last night that we're here." Her eyes flickered backwards and forwards across his, desperate to decipher his opinion on this, but he stayed silent so she continued, "This is so hard Mr S and I know I have to tell her on vacation. If I don't then we'll get home and she'll see my house all packed up and panic. She's going to hate me for not having told her, for leaving it so late and for telling everyone else before her."
Lilly's voice had shrunk throughout their conversation and now she trailed off entirely, her eyes were about to spring out tears and she was looking desperately pale.
"Miley will never hate you Lilly." Robbie Ray said clearly and assuredly because he knew it was the truth. As much as Miley would despise the unwilling actions that Lilly was taking, which would inevitably wound their friendship, her love for Lilly was, at times, the greatest part of her.
Just as he thought this, their moment was interrupted with the final screams of Miley's avid fans as the last beats of One in a Million were played out and Miley was wishing them all a good night already. Robbie Ray turned back to Lilly who was looking hopefully up at him.
"I'm glad that you told me about this bud," he said as he looked sadly back into her eyes, "I wish you all the best with Miley. I'm gonna make sure she's well taken care of when you're gone. Though, Lord knows, no one will do as good a job as you do kid." Robbie Ray suddenly noticed that his sympathetic words had reduced Lilly to tears once more. "Woah there, we better save the crying for when you tell Miles okay? In about thirty seconds' time she's gonna hug you and she'll see what's wrong." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a very large polka dot handkerchief, "Here you are Lilly, now let's sort out those tears and get a grin back on your face for when my daughter hugs you into the ground."
Lilly smiled appreciatively as she wiped her eyes, gladly breathing in the fatherly smell mingled with the musty aroma of the insides of pockets. And, true to Robbie Ray's word, Miley shortly bounded forward, all sense of decorum pounded out of her by the shouts of her audience and the beat of the music which still surged through her, as she tackled her friend practically to the floor.
"Miley!" Lilly laughed brightly, "I can't breathe!"
Miley's laughter was so giddy and infectious that Lilly thought the soaring of the brunette's spirits would take her upwards and through the roof. She hugged her friend so tightly to herself that Lilly actually felt her breath being squeezed out of her, but she did not care and closed her own eyes to savour the feeling of nearly being hugged to death.
"Woah Miles," Robbie Ray interjected, "you better let up there bud, Lilly's going kinda purple."
"Oh!" Miley suddenly released her friend, "Sorry Lilly, I don't want you to clash with your hair now." She teased her friend and pushed her playfully.
Lilly tried to think up a witty comeback yet knew that she would fail, her head was feeling incredibly fuzzy and she was beginning to experience the initial pains of a headache. "Ha. Ha. You're so funny Miley. Just who was it that picked out this wig for me tonight anyway?"
"Aw Lilly, you know I love you best in hot pink." Miley whispered huskily as her father had moved away to arrange the escort with Hannah's bouncers.
"Miley Ray, you really need to stop flirting with me tonight or my face is going to be permanently the colour of this wig." Lilly replied.
Now it was Miley's turn to blush as she realised exactly what she was doing and mentally kicked herself for being so forward. It was high time that she learnt to rein in her emotions after a show because one day they were going to get her into serious trouble. Luckily her father came through for her and six muscular men formed a protective circle around the three of them as they left the building.
Hours later and Lilly's head was seriously pounding. The primary flashes of hundreds of paparazzi cameras had not done her condition any good when they attempted to leave the building. This was followed by Miley's insistence on streaming recent dance hits throughout the back of the limousine on their way to the after party. They then had to face more cameras as they crossed the short distance from their car to the club. Lilly's eyes were filled with the blinding lights of the dance floor, along with the now uncomfortable and disjointed sounds of the music which pained her sensitive eardrums. Yet she put on a brave face for her friend who was a smiling beacon in the middle of the dance floor, energised by the aftershocks of her performance and living life to the full. They had worn down the surface of the dance floor with their tiring feet and it was with a great sense of relief that the night had come to an end and Lilly could finally take the weight off her throbbing feet.
She was now sat in a chair which she had pulled up next to the window and she leaned her head against the cool glass. This provided temporary satisfaction for the pulsating vein in her forehead and she closed her eyes as she silently sought out the ailments of her body. Other than her head and her feet, her back was once again giving her sharp pains of exhaustion whenever she breathed too deeply. Her eyes were sore and dry and she had been finding it more and more difficult to keep them open as the night had progressed. She found solace in the silky feel of her real hair as, now fully released, it framed her face and ran down the back of her neck in soothing touches. Her thoughts slowly dripped incoherently through her as exhaustion took effect on her weary self. It was only the shuffling of Miley's feet and the hot sensation of her hand on Lilly's arm that the blonde managed to pull herself back into reality.
The room was dark yet Miley's outline was clearcut and her voice was gentle and alluring as she whispered to her friend, "Come to bed Lilly."
Miley ignored the tremble that ran through her body as she unashamedly formed the words that she had spoken most nights of the past week, yet this time there was a force in them which she had not intended. She guided her friend by the arm towards the bedroom. Lilly's feet were stumbling on the carpet and Miley could sense that every movement in her friend was forced and unnatural tonight. She carefully drew back the covers and watched as Lilly slid ungracefully into bed as she too climbed in on the other side. Without even pausing to ask, Miley moved down the bed until she had reached Lilly's feet. She gathered them up into her hands before she began her slow and methodical massage. Lilly groaned softly in the dark as she felt the strong tips of Miley's fingers probe into the soles of her broken feet. Miley handled Lilly's feet as if they were sacred and left no area uncovered in her attempt to make her friend feel better, while all the time, her ocean blue eyes were trained in the direction of Lilly's face as she despairingly called out silently through her actions: I love you.
Before long, when her touch became softer, Miley's ears soon pricked up to the change in her friend's breathing. Lilly's body had gradually relaxed and her chest was heaving slowly and evenly. The occasional twitch and mumble informed Miley that the blonde had lost consciousness and fallen asleep. Miley smiled as she crawled up next to Lilly and positioned the covers comfortably over them both. She settled down next to Lilly's side, propped up on one elbow and boldly watched her sleeping for a while. Lilly was flat on her back and her hair was splayed across both of their pillows. Her lips were slightly parted and from her expression Miley thought that Lilly had been sent straight down from heaven in the grey light of the bedroom.
Miley leaned in closely to Lilly's face and turned her head slightly so that Lilly's breath brushed her cheek, which turned pale in fearful anticipation of her next move. Miley turned back to look at Lilly once more before slowly closing the distance between their faces. With the gentlest of touches, Miley pressed her lips against the corner of Lilly's mouth, not daring to take the further step, yet too frustrated with anxiety for the blonde to only kiss her cheek. Miley remained in this position for a moment but it was all she needed before embarrassment prompted her to hurriedly draw away.
Gazing lovingly at the blonde, Miley settled into the crook of Lilly's arm, resting her head on her chest, listening to the even breathing and delighting in the sound of her heartbeat. She glided her arm across Lilly's chest until she could cup her other side, and snuggled herself up as closely as she could, resisting the urge to wind her legs around Lilly's. In this position, Miley became the closest that she had ever dared to be with her best friend and, with a smile upon her lips, she fell asleep.