'They Say That Good Things Take Time' – Chapter 8
A host of brown curls spilled over the pillow and shuffled slightly when Miley turned her head from side to side gradually as she stirred into waking. Before she had opened her eyes, her left hand reached out subconsciously and patted the area of the bed next to her, but she only found it cold and empty. Her fingers clutched the sheets, as if in defeat, and her eyes fluttered open, staring at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom. She released a slight groan as she remembered what day it was and threw an arm up over her eyes as if to shield herself from the dread of it.
"No. Not today, not today…" she muttered, her voice trailing off into nothing as she shook her head slowly.
After rubbing her eyes thoroughly with both hands, she found the nerve to open them once more and face the difficulties of her life. Looking to her right, she cast her eyes over the small table next to her bed until they rested upon the photograph she always sought after every morning since her return from London. Miley's lips curled into the saddest of smiles as she leaned over to take the frame into her hands. She caressed the image of the blonde girl who shared the captured moment with her with the lightest of touches. Her eyes completely focused on the angelic face, the perfect smile and the bright blue eyes which never seemed to grow dull. She then looked at herself, behind the thin layer of glass, and sighed. The Miley in the photograph was smiling brilliantly, obviously holding the camera up in the hand which was not wrapped around Lilly's waist. The picture was taken in front of the most perfect sunset over the beach the previous summer and Miley had framed it at once.
"Lilly." Miley sighed as she did every morning that she had woken up with the absence of her best friend in her bed. She lowered the picture back onto the table and gradually sat up in bed. Miley slowly raised her legs until she was able to hug them into her chest and rest her head on top of her knees to stare unseeingly at the wall opposite her. This was the day that she had been dreading; it was the last full day that she would see Lilly as she was flying to St Louis the following morning. Miley's heart already felt heavy, she could sense each tugging beat of it almost hurting her in some way. It seemed to the young brunette that her love for Lilly ran through her veins, the fact that she would now have to adjust to life without her felt as if someone had injected her with the cruelest slow poison.
A knock on the door brought Miley back to reality with a slight jump and without needing to grant him access, her father's head appeared around her door.
"Morning bud." He said softly as he looked concernedly at his daughter. Since their return from London, Miley seemed to have deflated and she had lost her sparkle. Her normally expressive eyes had dulled and dark shadows now lurked underneath as she worried and cried late into each night, whilst her pyjamas were noticeably looser on her already narrow frame.
"Morning daddy." Miley quietly replied.
"I just thought I'd check to see if you were up already to sort things out for today. Oh, and I also wanted to tell you that breakfast's on the table."
"Thanks." Miley mumbled.
Her father nodded his head gently as he closed the door, allowing it to click softly into place behind him. Miley waited for a moment before she slipped out of bed and went to take a look at herself in the tall mirror across the room. She instantly hated her reflection, the pale skin and dark eyes that greeted her only served to remind her further of her unrelenting grief. She traced the shadows under her eyes lightly with her fingertips and sighed angrily at herself for her inability to calm her restless mind every night. She particularly hated her hair as it hung lank and unfriendly over her shoulders and the pale complexion of her skin had spread to dull her normally luscious lips. She felt gaunt and unappealing, as if she were the shadow that lurked in the corner of the room instead of the brilliant bulb which drew all attention toward it.
As she grew more uneasy, Miley turned around sharply and, keeping her eyes cast downward as if in defeat, she made her way downstairs.
"Good morning Miles, you're looking lovely today." Jackson called towards her in such an uplifting and abnormally friendly voice that Miley almost fell off the last step. She looked up in surprise to see him seated at the breakfast bar, his own meal only half-eaten, and a glass of orange juice in his hand.
"Brother say what?" Miley asked quirking an eyebrow into the hair that was falling across one half of her face. She swept it away with an irritated gesture as she took her seat next to him, pulled a plate of pancakes toward her and mentally battled to will herself to eat. Her stomach did not call out for food and had not for the past week, this was not aided by the fact that whenever a small morsel passed through her lips, she felt a surge of sickness that was difficult to control.
Jackson, who was watching Miley's prolonged pause and internal debate over her food, shared a secret glance with their father discreetly monitoring the situation from the refrigerator. Robbie Ray merely shrugged whilst Jackson slightly shook his head in response. They were both fearful for Miley's health, during the occasional talks they shared about her, but had decided not to take action unless it continued after Lilly left.
"Miles, you gonna just stare at those pancakes all day, or are you gonna eat them?" Jackson asked before suggestively wiggling his eyebrows at her breakfast and threateningly looming his fork over them.
"Woah, oh no you don't brother." Miley reproached and drew the plate even closer toward her. She did not want to give either male any reason to suspect that her appetite was playing up and resolutely stuck her fork into the top layer and uncharacteristically shoveled a load into her mouth. Chewing the doughy material was a surprisingly difficult feat and Miley had to summon the willpower to swallow. Fortunately she did not gag and, although the food felt alien in her belly, she prepared herself for the next mouthful.
Jackson smiled as he returned to inhaling his own breakfast, totally oblivious to the crumbs which lined the corners of his mouth and to the disturbing noises which he omitted.
"Ew, Jackson, please!" Miley gasped with a look of disdain.
"Wh-what?" Jackson mumbled through the food which was still churning in his mouth.
Miley could only make another disgusted noise before turning her whole body away and continuing to delicately nibble at the rest of her breakfast. Robbie Ray merely sighed in the corner in despair at Jackson, no wonder the boy never kept the girl after a date.
"Hey Miles," Robbie Ray began as Miley loaded the dishwasher with her empty plate, "what's the plan for today?"
"Well," Miley began as she straightened up slowly, "Lilly's spending the morning with Oliver and some guy friends at the skate park," Miley said, bitterness edging her voice as she talked about Oliver and Lilly's mutual male skater friends, "and then she's coming here after lunch. I think we're just gonna head to the beach and hang out together, then we'll come back and watch movies." Miley shrugged and tried to give her father the appearance that everything was normal.
Robbie Ray surveyed his daughter closely, the tense body and the paling skin was doing nothing to ease his concerns. "Alright then. I've planned one of Lilly's favourites for dinner tonight, just so you know bud."
"Thanks daddy." Miley said softly. She met her father's eyes and noticed that they were filled with sorrow, she understood that he was going to miss the cheerful blonde that called their house her second home. She walked forward towards her father and he opened his arms expectantly to wrap her up in one of his famous hugs.
"Lord knows I'm gonna miss that girl." He muttered over the top of his daughter's head after a moment.
Hearing her father grow so sentimental caused tears to line Miley's eyes and her throat tightened. She sniffed as she raised a shaking hand to dry her eyes, half-annoyed that she was getting so obviously upset in front of her father when she knew she should be braver. How she wished she could tell someone just how much Lilly meant to her and how much her heart was breaking over her, more than any boy that had ever hurt her in the past, yet she was too afraid of the consequences to confess anything.
"I'm gonna miss her so much daddy," Miley said, her voice was trembling and she was relying on her father to take most of her weight in his arms, which he did only too willingly.
"I know." Robbie Ray replied. It was all that he knew he could say without disturbing his daughter. In his opinion, the ball was in Miley's court for when she would talk, if ever, about the extent to which she felt about Lilly. He kissed the top of her head before brushing her tears away with a surprisingly soft hand and smiled comfortingly into his daughter's face.
"Thanks." Miley said and managed a small smile up at her father. "Well, I suppose I'd better go wash."
"Darn right," Robbie Ray replied with a teasing twinkle in his eye, "girl, you smell worse than Uncle Earl when he fell into the pig poop trying to impress Aunt Pearl with his wall walking skills."
"Ew daddy, I never smell that gross."
"That's what you think darlin'. Now go get clean and scrub yourself extra hard."
Miley rolled her eyes at her father's lame attempt in cheering her up before running upstairs. She hated to admit that he had not done a bad job; she was smiling, even though she still insisted to herself that most of his jokes came from bubblegum wrappers.
A few irritatingly long hours later, Miley's phone was buzzing with the ring tone that she had reserved for Lilly.
"Hello?" Miley answered, all too quickly and keenly for a normal person and she inwardly cursed herself at her readiness.
"Lilly landing in ten!" was the shrill response from the other end of the phone.
With lightening reflexes of four years' worth of practices, Miley hurled herself down the stairs to the front door, which she reached in perfect time, swinging it open and admitting the blurred image of a blonde girl on wheels. Lilly came to a stop in the middle of the living room and flipped her board up into her hands.
"And she sticks the landing!" Both girls coined one of Lilly's favourite catchphrases before Lilly rushed into Miley's waiting arms for a hasty embrace.
"Hey you." Miley muttered into the cascade of blonde hair which smelled so good that her stomach erupted with butterflies and colour finally flushed back into her face.
Robbie Ray chose this moment to appear from the yard and at once was happy with the change that had come over his daughter. Miley's eyes were sparkling as she studied Lilly's face and a smile was fixed so naturally and brilliantly to her lips that he smiled himself to see his daughter so happy.
"Hey Mr S!" Lilly chirped as she turned around and noticed his presence in the room.
"Afternoon Lilly," Robbie Ray grunted back, "I s'pose you've come to raid the fridge?"
"Maybe later, I've just finished having lunch with the guys."
Miley felt a twinge of jealousy and her eyes narrowed as she thought about Lilly laughing with a group of adolescent boys, causing her lunch to churn nastily in her belly. She hastened to change the subject back to the two of them, "So, you ready to hit the beach?"
Lilly's attention flicked round to focus on Miley instantly and smiled as she nodded, "But of course Miss Smiley, I'm even all costumed up underneath."
Miley gulped as the image of Lilly in her bikini flashed across her mind and she had to blink a few times to drive the picture from her head.
"Alrighty then," Miley stumbled, "let's get going!"
Fortunately for the girls the beach was not crowded as the last few days of the summer had enticed people to the mall for some sales put on by favourite retailers. They were able to find their own quiet spot and mark the territory with their towels. Lilly, keen as ever to dive straight into the ocean, hastily began to strip away her layers. Miley could only stand to watch open mouthed and surreptitiously pause her own undressing to watch the blonde in action. Her lips parted slightly when she first noticed the exposure of Lilly's smooth, flat stomach and she cast her eyes over the delicate cleavage. She trailed lingering glances further down Lilly's body as the flawlessly curving thighs were revealed and Miley could not help but tilt back slightly to subtly record in her mind the perfection of Lilly's bottom.
Miley leaned back too far, however, and with an unintentional "Ooof", she hit the sand. Lilly quickly turned round to spot her blushing friend on the ground and cackled mercilessly.
"Miley, what the hell are you doing down there?"
Miley cringed inwardly, hoping that Lilly would not notice that she had been checking her out, "I fell?" She winced again at the lame response.
Giggling Lilly extended a hand and helped Miley to her feet before looking at her questioningly, "Are you sure you're going to be alright out there?" She waved her arm in the direction of the waves, "I can hold your hand and help you, if you like."
Yes please! Miley thought before shaking her head and restraining herself, "Ha. Ha. I'll be just fine, thank you very much Miss Perfectly-Balanced-Skater-Chick." She replied huffily and she stuck out her tongue for good measure.
Lilly just chuckled and returned her gaze to the breaking surf as Miley pulled off her clothes ungracefully behind her, whilst half-longing that Lilly would desire to watch Miley undress just as much as the brunette haunted Lilly's own de-clothing. Once Miley had finally folded her shirt neatly on top of her organized pile of clothes, Lilly grabbed her hand and dragged her laughing into the surf.
Miley flinched slightly and released Lilly's hand as the water flew up past her bellybutton and Goosebumps erupted from the slight shock of the cooler water as her body hastened to adjust. Lilly was already plunging into the waves to emerge like a mermaid from the depths, the blonde was completely in her element and Miley watched with her usual awe from her subdued position a few feet away.
"Hurry up, slow-poke!" Lilly shouted at her friend.
"Alright, don't get your panties in a bunch!" Miley hollered back as she tentatively took a step forward.
Lilly rolled her eyes at Miley's caution when it came to the ocean and dipped underneath once more to torture her friend.
Unable to see the blonde, Miley grew anxious with anticipation of one of Lilly's pranks. Sure enough she was soon squealing as a hand squeezed a sensitive area of her thigh before her legs were bucked from underneath her and she was sent head first into the spray. Miley came up gasping to the sound of Lilly's uncontained laughter ringing in her ears as the blonde did a happy dance which taunted her further.
"You. Are. So. Dead." Miley spluttered and threateningly advanced towards Lilly.
Lilly was doubled up with laughter as she watched her bedraggled friend approaching and did not even bother to defend herself from Miley's onslaught as she was pushed briefly under the surface. She came up splashing and Miley soon got a face full of salty water, which only playfully enraged her further and soon their laughter was filling the air as they attempted to drench one another pointlessly.
After a while Miley tired of the sea and her fingertips were taking on the appearance of dried fruit. She waded slowly out of the waves next to her friend, applied some more sunscreen to last the rest of the afternoon and gladly lay back on her towel. Lilly took the opportunity to fill the rest of their time at the beach with the last surfing of the summer and in Malibu for the year. She was filled with sadness temporarily as she journeyed back toward the waves, until she threw herself into the surf and all other emotion, apart from the sheer delight she felt whilst surfing, fled her.
Miley watched her blonde friend for only a few short moments until she grew tired of propping herself up on her elbow. She slowly lowered herself back onto the sand with a pleasant sigh and closed her eyes against the sun. Without meaning to, her mind gradually became muddled as her body relaxed after her swim as she was finally content now as she lay with the knowledge that Lilly was nearby, and she drifted to sleep.
A drip of cold water on her cheek brought Miley abruptly into wakefulness and as she opened her eyes she was momentarily paralysed with the vision in front of her. Lilly was standing over Miley, her body glistening with thousands of tiny droplets which trickled slowly over the curves that Miley eternally lusted after. From her position on the floor, Miley's view of Lilly's smiling face was slightly obscured by the slight swell of Lilly's breasts and Miley unintentionally gasped as she hastened to look away and shuffled into a sitting position.
"How long was I asleep for?" She stuttered at the blonde whilst trying to force her eyes to remain glued to Lilly's face and nowhere else.
"Only about an hour," Lilly replied with a shrug, "oh and don't worry, I didn't let you get burnt, I checked up on you a couple of times."
"Really?" Miley asked, her insides warming at the consideration of her friend.
"Course." Lilly said with a smile, "Sorry I didn't wake you, but you've just looked like you haven't been sleeping much lately and you looked so peaceful just now."
"Thanks. I haven't been sleeping very well," Miley said whilst failing to meet Lilly's eyes, "but I feel loads better after that nap." She finished with a smile.
"Good." Lilly replied shortly. She offered her hand to Miley who took it and helped her to stand up. "So…what's for dinner then?" She asked with a cheeky grin.
Miley let out a short laugh before raising her eyebrow, "Is that all you can think about right now?"
Lilly pouted, "Miley," she whined, "you know that the sea makes me hungry."
"Honey, everything makes you hungry." Miley quipped, "Now come on, let's get Pig Girl some grub." She said and picked up her neat pile of clothes.
"Yay!" Lilly said before pausing, "That nickname just had to stick, didn't it?"
"Yup." Miley replied before scooping up Lilly's clothes too and leading the way back to the house.
Dinner passed by in the usual tormenting of Miley by Lilly and Robbie Ray who considered her their favourite subject for embarrassment. Miley, however, held out for as long as possible before reacting to each playful insult, as she were savouring the texture of their teases and trying to record the sound of Lilly's laughter in her mind. Fortunately she was spared as her own nemesis returned home from work slightly later than he had planned, a smug smile lingering across his tanned features as he strutted into the kitchen.
"Son," Robbie Ray began, "you're late for dinner."
Jackson took a moment to pause over his father's words before nodding briefly and replying ,"I know dad." as he sauntered over to the refrigerator to fetch a bottle of water.
Robbie Ray raised an eyebrow before sharing a look with Miley who only shrugged as she turned back to her favourite blonde and rolled her eyes.
"Well?"
"Well what dad?" Jackson asked innocently.
"Who is she?" Robbie Ray asked with a slight trace of amusement playing underneath his apparent indifference.
"I don't know what you're talking about dad." Jackson replied, although he could not prevent a smile from stretching his lips across his face and slight colour rose up in his cheeks.
Robbie Ray did not have to wait long as Miley scoffed over her ice-cream in the background and Lilly giggled into her bowl before Jackson gave way in a sudden burst of honesty.
"Okay, okay, who is she? Only the most perfect girl that I have ever seen. She's got the most beautiful big brown eyes, long, dark, curly hair, a totally gorgeous smile and the most perfect a-" he paused, "personality." Jackson's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly as he gazed heavenward toward the ceiling in contemplation. "And we've got a date tomorrow night. Score!" He said as he curled his hand into a fist and excitedly punched the air.
"Hmm…" Lilly cut in quietly, "sounds kinda familiar."
"Yeah," Miley said as she began to agree with her best friend, "I remember the last brown eyed, dark haired, girl you met at work. Wasn't that Rico's cousin?"
Lilly laughed brightly, "I knew it! That's right! And she totally screwed you over."
Miley caught on to Lilly's excitement quickly as the pair took delight in mocking Miley's hopeless brother.
"Hey," Jackson cut in, "she was still a babe, even if she did turn out to be related to the spawn of Satan." He said whilst shuddering at the image of his child employer.
"And now another girl, totally gorgeous, and looking a lot like one of Rico's many relations, has just turned up and taken interest in you?" Miley teasingly glanced her brother up and down, "Well. You'd think you'd learn your lesson the first time round."
Jackson failed to be put down by the two teenage girls who found such pleasure in tormenting him and his love life. He turned to his father who was failing in hiding his amusement, "She's a total babe dad. And she's not related to Rico at all," he hastily added.
"I'm sure she's not son. Well done. I guess I'm proud of you."
"Thanks dad," Jackson replied with a superior look over at his sister who was stifling giggles with mouthfuls of desert. "Did I mention what a kind, magnanimous father you are?"
"No money Jackson." Robbie Ray replied curtly.
"Aw shoot." Jackson sighed. "Oh well, it was worth a try."
Miley laughed at her family as she ferried the pudding bowls to the dishwasher before throwing a quick glance back over at Lilly. "Let's get out of this loony farm."
"Couldn't agree with you more Miles." Lilly relied with a cheeky grin before she waved cheerily at the Stuart males, "See ya later guys."
Robbie Ray nodded at the girls as he sank into his familiar dent on the couch whilst his starry-eyed son took a seat next to him, hugging a cushion and dreaming of his new lady as his father switched on the television. Miley shook her head in despair and shared a smile with Lilly as they headed upstairs.
Miley shut her bedroom door softly behind her and as she turned back to the blonde in her room, she was suddenly filled with nerves at the thought of spending the evening alone with her. Lilly was stepping out of the doors onto Miley's balcony to cast her eyes over the orange sunset over the sea. She sighed to herself as she realised that this was the last evening she would spend in Malibu and the uncertainty of when the next one would be, caught her with a tug of despair. Miley came to stand next to her friend and sensed the anxiety welling up within the blonde in the same way as she felt the warm rays from the setting sun tingle her skin. She did not need to say anything as she stood closer to Lilly and allowed their arms to brush together as they silently watched the sun sink slowly toward the sea.
As darkness fell over the ocean and the only sound that fell in the night air was the gentle crush of the surf over the sand, Lilly turned her gaze away from the calm night and returned inside. Miley casually followed and switched on the lights, disrupting the darkness and setting Lilly's golden hair alight once more. Lilly perched on the edge of Miley's bed as she sat in contemplation whilst Miley fiddled with her hair as she watched her best friend, unsure of what her next move should be.
"So," she asked tentatively, "what do you want to do?"
Lilly only responded with a slight shrug of her shoulders as she appeared to be deep in thought. Miley swallowed and, for a rare moment in her life, suddenly felt unaware of what to do around her normally cheerful friend. She carefully made her way toward Lilly but sat down on the floor, leaning back against the bed near her friend and gently waited for her to speak.
Long minutes seemed to pass until Lilly gradually turned her head from side to side, as if to dislodge uncomfortable thoughts which had settled there, before getting to her feet. Miley turned her attention away from picking threads in the rug next to her bed and looked back up at her friend who was now standing in front of her with her hands outstretched toward Miley.
"Come on lazy bones." Lilly said with a smile.
The gesture and the expression alone was enough to make Miley's heart soar as she noticed Lilly's usual cheerful nature return. She was soon on her feet and standing opposite Lilly in the middle of her floor. As Miley noticed that they were still holding hands and gazing into one another's eyes, she could not prevent the slight increase in her heartbeat or the inevitable heat that rushed upwards and caused her cheeks to darken.
"Erm…Lilly? What's going on?"
Lilly merely giggled at her friend's confused look before she started to move her feet and body to some unknown rhythm and attempted to get her friend to do the same. Reluctantly, Miley began to shift her feet and tried to find the beat that Lilly was moving to, although it was difficult as Lilly was not famous for this kind of activity.
As Miley grew more and more confused and as she stepped on Lilly's toes for the third time, her curiosity grew stronger and she could not prevent herself from asking, "What are we doing?"
Lilly laughed brightly and caused Miley's stomach to swoop, "Duh. We're dancing silly, what does it look like?"
Miley blushed as she realised that she already knew the answer and allowed a slight pause before her next query.
"But there's no music playing."
Lilly chuckled softly as she spun Miley around underneath her arm and back again until their hands were linked once more and their pace increased slightly.
"I know. I just felt like dancing, it kind of shakes the blues away don't you think?"
Miley pondered and smiled back at her friend as she recognised the blood pumping slightly faster around her body as her feet moved quicker to the unknown rhythm and choreography that Lilly was leading them in.
"Yeah, you're right."
Lilly suddenly took her by surprise as she broke away from Miley and burst into an improvised solo which consisted of a lot of manic arm movement and attempts to perform contemporary moves by an inexperienced dancer. Miley was soon doubling over with laughter as she watched her friend enjoyably fail at something that Miley did best.
"Lilly," she gasped between sobs of laughter, "I didn't know you could pull shapes."
Lilly only increased her speed and frantically embarrassing routine in delight that she was making Miley laugh so much. During fragile spins, which threatened to topple Lilly over, and pointy finger thrusts, Lilly watched the brunette from the corner of her eye and secretly smiled at her face, which was contorted with laughter. She wanted to laugh herself as the musical twang of Miley's southern voice, tickled into brilliant delight, filled up the empty spaces of the room and overtook all other sounds around it, even the imaginary music in Lilly's head, and she soon came to a stand still as she was overcome herself.
Neither of the girls could find the effort to dance further and, with a contented sigh, they flopped backward onto Miley's bed where they spent time staring at her ceiling. Occasionally one of them would be defeated by the gurgle of a giggle which rose up in their throat as they thought of their previous activity and once one of them was laughing, the other shortly followed. Memories came flooding back to them of similar times when they had not been short of laughs and soon they found themselves caught up in the grip of the past.
"Remember that time," Miley began whilst laughter ran through her voice, "when Jackson and I snuck out and you and Oliver pretended to be us so he'd never know? You made me look like such a freak!"
"What? Are you kidding me Miles? I was totally getting the part down."
"Uh-huh. Then how come daddy found y'all out?"
"Oliver. He was as hungry as your plumbing was broken." Lilly said and then giggled, "I know I did a good job."
"Sure you did Lilly." Miley replied and grabbed her stomach as she fought to breathe before she continued in an imitation of the skater's impression of her southern accent, "Don't come in y'all, I'm sicker than a possum… in a possum hospital, y'all."
Lilly nudged her friend playfully as she giggled at the memory, "Hey! It's the best I could do in such a short space of time. Besides, it's not like you've done much better. Remember that time when you got annoyed at me for picking you last at sports?"
"Yeah, well it was kinda mean. Apart from the embarrassment of being picked last, I ended up getting almost knocked unconscious several times!"
Lilly chuckled, "That's only because your hand-eye coordination skills are totally lame. But seriously, replacing me in your limo with a fichus? That's an all time low right there Miss Miley."
"Hey, it wasn't just a fichus Lillian. It was a fichus named Fearne."
"And that's what makes it more pathetic." Lilly laughed obnoxiously as Miley playfully huffed and folded her arms across her chest.
"You are so annoying, did you know that?" Miley warmly asked her friend with a fond twinkle in her eye.
"Yeah." Lilly said in a reminiscent tone. "So are you, that's why we compliment each other so well."
Lilly shifted on the bed next to Miley and gently propped herself up on her elbow to look down at her friend who remained resistant to her gaze and stared resolutely at the ceiling.
"I mean," Lilly continued, "think about all your guy dramas and Hannah problems, we've been through a lot together."
"Mmhmm." Miley sighed, hoping that Lilly would forget all of the issues that Miley had with boys in the past.
"Remember the time when I found out that you were actually Hannah Montana? I could have killed you for not telling me but then, after some gentle persuasion," Lilly conceded thoughtfully, "it was really for the best and it made our friendship stronger."
Miley smiled as she remembered the happiness that her life was granted when she was awarded more precious time to spend with her best friend and on all of the adventures that they went on in their teenage superstar disguises.
"Guh." Lilly continued with a subconscious noise as she pondered over her next string of thoughts, "And then there were all those boy dramas."
Miley felt her pulse increase slightly as Lilly adjusted her position on the bed next to her; she had been subtly reveling in the closeness of her friend's body, in the heated scent that illuminated from her and the comfort of her aura. She willed herself to be calm as she waited for Lilly to break out of her taunting thought process and quickly get through this uncomfortable subject.
"I mean, both of us liking Jake was an issue in itself. But then it turned out that the guy had the biggest ego in the world, probably to compensate for something else," Lilly continued after a breath, "and he totally messed you around by disappearing and then coming back. It's all just so confusing."
"Ha, ha, yeah sure were some tricky times there." Miley stumbled as she tried to block the memories which had taken so long to prevent from rearing into regular thought.
"But, even though the guy was a complete ass, he still was quite funny when he tried to act like a regular person," Lilly scoffed as she thought of the arrogant male's failings, "and it proved that no guy could get in the way of our friendship. The way that you chose me over him at the dance that night Miley," Lilly said softly, "made me feel so great in that you would think about my feelings before you even considered him, even though you looked a million dollars in that dress and every guy wanted you that night."
Miley was blushing furiously as she was complemented on her looks by the person who meant the most to her. Everyday she dressed well in an attempt to ease out precious words of endearment about her form from the lips of the blonde that she was devoted to, and every time her wishes came true she felt as if she could melt into a Miley-shaped puddle on the floor. In all truth, Miley had seen Jake as a tool in which she could get over her developing feelings for Lilly which were haunting her at the time. It did not seem right for her to feel so strongly for a girl and her belief was, instead of skipping meals and writing songs of unrequited love, that she should direct these emotions in the direction of a boyfriend. The actor had seemed the perfect answer to her problems as he was attractive and genuinely interested in Miley, which made it seem all the more reasonable for her to form a relationship with him. Unfortunately for Miley, she did not anticipate that, along with all of the other girls in America, Lilly had developed a small fondness for the boy herself. The skater's crushes were such a rare occasion, as she confessed to Miley that she found it hard to fall for people, that Miley had completely overlooked the fact that she would like him too. On hearing the news Miley had been devastated but had looked past it as she was able to spend the rest of the evening with the blonde girl temporarily in her arms. Miley secretly confessed to herself that it had been one of the best nights of her life.
"Earth to Miley," Lilly muttered as she waved her hand in front of Miley's face, "come in Miley, are you reading us? Over."
Miley blinked as she turned to face Lilly, "Say what? Oh sorry Lil. I guess I was just getting a bit caught up in my thoughts."
"I could see that." Lilly said with sparkling eyes, "What were you thinking about?"
"N-Nothing in particular." Miley stuttered, "Just old times spent together."
Lilly nodded and slid onto her back again as her elbow had grown numb from her weight. "Do you think we'll be friends forever Miley?" She asked, and then she cringed at her question, "I don't mean to sound all corny, I was just wondering if you think we will."
Miley listened to the sadness which lingered in Lilly's voice and thought of the difficulty of the long distance that lay ahead of them.
"Course we will Lillypad." She replied with a soft smile playing on her lips as she turned her head to gaze into her friend's wide eyes, which burned with sorrow, "We can make this work. You've still got family here and me and Oliver so I know you'll be coming back for visits. The time will fly by and who knows, we could end up at the same college?"
Lilly seemed to brighten at that idea and a smile flickered across her face as she thought about a time beyond the year of longing for Malibu and her old life. She and Miley were going to stay in touch and perhaps, after all, they would go to college together. Anything was possible and the darkness in which Lilly had been anticipating the time spent apart suddenly seemed to turn to grey when she thought of a future which she had temporarily turned away from. In the space of knowing that she was moving away, all that the blonde had fretted over was the near future and the struggles she was going to face in a new school and the hundreds of miles from her old life. Now that Miley had reminded her of the exciting future of college and living away from home, she realised that her life would come round once more in full circle, after living out a few difficult months first of course.
"You're right Miles. I hope we do end up together again." She said with a soft sigh.
Miley smiled at the thought of a future with Lilly but in her heart she knew that it would not be as simple as the two teenagers were hoping. Her own future had never been certain, especially with Hannah Montana in the equation, but after Lilly's announcement, Miley had been flung into the unknown.
As the two girls laid down for bed together for the last time in Malibu that year, Miley turned her back to the blonde beside her instead of lying face to face. She squeezed her eyes together gently as she coaxed out the few tears that lurked there as the blonde sank into slumber beside her. Miley hated not being able to gaze adoringly into the face of the one that she loved, yet it seemed better this way, almost as an attempt to wean herself off the sleeping blonde. As Miley desperately clung onto the final moments of the day, before midnight struck with eyes gripped to the second hand on her bedside clock, she turned desperately over in the bed and threw her arms over Lilly who was lying with her back to her. The blonde shuffled slightly in sleep and murmured gently, but after a grunt, Miley was reassured that she had not disturbed her.
Breathing deeply, Miley felt like someone who had emerged from water after being plunged under too long. Her heart began to slow down after her frenzy as she entered into the final hours with her best friend and her eyes dampened as she drove her face into the blonde hair, breathed in and awaited the inevitable.