Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for the very sweet reviews so far! I promise, you'll all be pleased by the time this story is over. This chapter gives us the mini-concert and the climax with Amber's meddling. After this, things really pick up speed as we hit the two big events!
For my list of disclaimers, please see Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Also, please exercise some common sense when reading this or any other story. If you don't like it, then stop reading it!
As I Am, I Take Thee
by Jo P.
Chapter 4: The Big Payback
Like Transformers, girl,
There's more than meets the eye
--Velvet Revolver;"Get Out the Door"
American Lit seemed to drag on for hours instead of minutes. The lack of an impending quiz made it quite difficult for Miley to motivate herself regarding any reading at the moment. Lilly, however, seemed to find something rather interesting to read in her textbook, which amazed Miley. When about fifteen minutes remained in class, a runner came to the classroom and spoke briefly with the teacher, Mr. Ken Harris.
"Miley and Lilly!" Mr. Harris said firmly, startling a few people who had been engrossed in their readings. "Come here, please."
Miley looked at Lilly. They each stood and walked quickly to his desk.
"You two are needed in the main office. Get your things and go ahead," he said.
With shared smiles, Miley and Lilly quickly got their books and purses and made their way out the door. As they walked down the hall to the office, Lilly said, "This is going to be great." She turned to look at Miley. "You really think Amber's going to risk getting herself expelled?"
Miley glanced back at Lilly. "You kidding me?" she said with disbelief. "As far gone as she is, I think Amber's gonna go down in flames this time."
Lilly frowned. "Well," she said finally, "she's doing it to herself. We're not making her do anything."
Miley stopped suddenly. Lilly was three steps down the hall before she likewise stopped; she then turned and quickly strode back to Miley's side. "Oh, no!" Miley said as Lilly stood beside her. She gently reached up and placed her right hand on the side of Lilly's head, running her fingers through Lilly's hair one time before settling her hand against Lilly's cheek. "You are not going to feel guilty about any of this, Lilly." She lowered her voice, then continued. "If we didn't do anything, then eventually Amber would get lucky, and then our secret would be out, and what would that get us?" Lilly glanced away briefly, then she looked back, connecting with Miley's gaze. "It'd get us complete craziness for the rest of our lives. We'd never have any time to just be us again, where we could go to the beach, or hang out, or go shopping in peace." She smiled as she looked at Lilly. Oh, Lilly, I love you so, so much. "And when we add to our family, our children would never have any peace either. Look at how crazy everyone is over Tom Cruise's daughter. Or poor Britney and her kids. Do we want that for our children?"
"No," Lilly said softly. "But some of that's going to happen anyway. I mean, we're probably still going to be in the spotlight for a while, Miley."
"Right, but now we can choose when to be in it and when not to be in it. That's what we're fighting for, Lilly. Our private time. As a family." She paused, looking deeply into Lilly's caring blue eyes. "I'm not letting Amber take that from us. And I know you're not going to let her either."
Lilly smiled again. "No, I'm not," she said. "I just hope Amber knows what she's going to do to herself."
As they reached the office, Miley softly said to Lilly, "Whether she knows it or not, she's going to have to live with whatever she does."
Lilly opened the door to the main office, letting Miley walk in first. As they entered, Ms. Keller, the school secretary, looked up and said, "Oh girls, you're here! Have a seat and I'll call Ms. Montana's security and have them escort you to her dressing room."
Miley and Lilly looked at each other and grinned. The "dressing room" was one of the classrooms adjacent to the gym, where a small amount of furniture had been moved in by the Hannah crew for today. The classroom being used was one of the larger multipurpose classrooms, and it had its own bathroom inside. After a few minutes, Roxy came into the main office and smiled at Miley and Lilly, giving them a sly wink when she was turned so Ms. Keller couldn't see her eyes. "Alright little ladies, you two just come with me!" Roxy said cheerily. Miley and Lilly dutifully stood and followed Roxy out of the office and down the hall toward the gym.
As they went down the hall, the bell dismissing the current period rang, and chaos followed it closely. Today that bell meant that classes were over and the students were dismissed to assemble in the gym. Within seconds students were hurrying down the halls, jockeying for prime position inside the gymnasium where Hannah's smaller stage had been set up.
As Miley, Lilly and Roxy entered the gym, a general roar rose up as Luanne, still dressed as Hannah, stepped onto the stage and waved to the student body. "Hey everybody!" she said loudly, eliciting even louder cheering. "The concert's gonna start in just a few minutes, but first I have to care of something real quick. Be right back!" She waved as she stepped off the stage and began walking toward the dressing room that Miley, Lilly and Roxy had just arrived at.
Suddenly, Amber appeared at the edge of the crowd, a look of pure hatred in her eyes as she locked gazes with Miley. "You haven't gotten away with this yet, Stewart!" she yelled. "You're gonna screw up this time, and I'm gonna be the one who catches you!"
"That's her, Roxy," Miley said to her bodyguard. "That's Amber."
"Boy, she does sound crazy," Roxy said as she assessed this new threat. "You think she's got something up her sleeve?"
Lilly crossed her arms and looked long and hard at Amber. "We better assume she does," she said finally. "But she might just be planning on trying to hurt Miley or me. Not that that's much better."
"Well, you just let ol' Roxy handle that one," said Roxy as she opened the door to the dressing room for Miley and Lilly, escorting them in as she continued to watch Amber. In less than a minute, Luanne had reached the dressing room, and Roxy closed the door after stepping aside to let Luanne pass.
"Wow, was that loudmouth out there Amber?" Luanne said as she sat down on the soft pink Hannah chair moved into the room for the concert today.
"Oh yeah," Lilly said with a grimace. She looked over to the bathroom, where Miley's pants came flying out the door and landed on the classroom floor. "No rush, sweetheart," she called out to Miley, who was furiously changing clothes inside the bathroom.
Luanne shivered momentarily. "She's dangerous," she said to Lilly, the low tone of her voice adding weight to her analysis. "She reminds me of... of who I used to be. Someone who's so far gone that she's willing to do whatever it takes to prove herself right."
"Well, it ain't gonna happen today." Everyone turned to look as Hannah, not Miley, stepped out of the bathroom. Her outfit was an exact duplicate of Luanne's, an extra precaution the girls had taken today in case Amber made a move so quickly that Miley and Luanne wouldn't have time to exchange clothes. She stopped by Lilly, who looked at her with a grin on her face.
"Is my fiancée still in the bathroom sick?" Lilly asked teasingly.
Miley nodded, a similar mischievous smile on her face as she answered, "Yeah, I think meeting a real celebrity made her nervous or something."
Lilly closed the remaining distance between the two of them as she slipped her arms around Miley's waist. "Well, don't tell her about this," she said as she kissed Miley warmly.
After a few seconds, they broke the kiss. "I think I already know about your crush on Hannah Montana," Miley said with a laugh.
"Yeah, good thing she and Lola are understanding about it!" Lilly said, getting a laugh from Luanne but not from Roxy. "Okay Hannah, go out and rock out," she said as she released Miley and gently pushed her toward the door. "I'll stay here and keep an eye on my poor sweetie with the nervous tummy," she added with a baby pout at the end of her sentence.
"Thank you for staying in here," Miley said, pausing with her hand resting on the door handle. "That's one less thing I have to worry about now that you're going to be safe in here."
"I know," Lilly said with a smile. "Just don't do too many encores without me!"
"I won't," Miley promised. "I'll give the school a good show, then I'll hurry back here to make sure you're okay. Roxy'll take good care of me out there." She gave a wave, then she and Roxy were gone, the door closing behind them.
Lilly sat down on the yellow puffy couch that had also been brought in by Hannah's crew for the show. "Man, I wish I could see the show," she said dejectedly. "But as soon as Amber saw me out there, she'd know something was up."
Luanne came over and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Lilly. "Because she knows you'd never leave Miley while she was sick," she said knowingly.
Lilly nodded. "Yeah."
"Then don't."
Lilly looked up at Luanne, who was smiling. "Say what?"
Luanne pointed to the door. "Watch her from right there, silly. I'll stay here in case Amber tries to pull something with you."
Lilly stood, then turned around to look back at Luanne. "But, um, you can't pass for Miley now. Not with your hair as short as it is."
Luanne grinned. "That, my dear soon-to-be sister-in-law, that remains to be seen."
As Miley started the concert, Lilly had to admit that Luanne did indeed have a good idea. She had a good view of the stage from the side, which is what she was used to seeing anyway, even if she was farther away than she normally stood during Hannah concerts. But she could see Miley, which was really all she was interested in to begin with. Yeah, it would have been nice to be out there with their friends dancing and singing to the songs, but it probably was safer to avoid that situation. There would just be too many chances for her to get caught up in the moment and let something slip out she shouldn't.
True to form, Miley burned up the concert. She started by telling the crowd that Lola couldn't be there today, but that she had sent her best wishes to the school and to Miley and Lilly. Miley then led off with "Start All Over," one of her favorite songs, getting everyone excited and dancing. Her next two songs were "Nobody's Perfect" and then her cover of U2's "Ultraviolet," from the album of love songs she had done for Lilly last Christmas. They had indeed released that album, at Lilly's insistence, in early February. As with all Hannah's albums, it shot to Number One for its debut, where it stayed for eight weeks and was still in the Top 10 nearly a year later. With that album's debut, Hannah Montana also became the first artist in the history of the Billboard system to have four consecutive albums in the Top 100 at once. However, she had gone a step further, as all four albums were in the Top 50 for months. Even now her first album still held solidly in the Top 100, firmly establishing her as one of the most successful pop artists ever—at the age of seventeen.
As Lilly listened to the singing of her best friend and partner, she found herself getting caught up in the music and tuning out things around her. Consequently, she was so surprised that she nearly fell when she heard Amber's cold voice behind her. "Oh, this is too good!"
Lilly gasped and gripped the door handle more tightly to keep from falling as she stumbled. She heard Luanne call out from inside the room, but Lilly regained her footing as she turned around and steeled herself. "What do you want, Amber?" Lilly said, her voice cold.
"Oh, I think you know what I want, Truscott," Amber said as she held her cellphone up, recording Lilly blocking the doorway. "I want to show everyone that your little dyke isn't in here with you like everyone thinks, because she's really out there on that stage!"
"Back off, Amber!" Lilly said, obstructing the doorway. "Miley is sick, and she doesn't need to put up with your shit right now!" She went to slam the door in Amber's face, but Amber's arm shot out and blocked the door, keeping it from closing.
"What is it you're not wanting me to see in here, Truscott?" Amber said, her grin positively evil in its smugness. She braced her legs and shoved the door open, forcing Lilly backwards as she walked into the room. "Is your little girlfriend not—" She stopped in mid-sentence, making Lilly spin to see what damning evidence Amber had seen.
Lilly was as surprised as Amber when she turned and saw Luanne lying on the couch, her body completely covered by a large blanket and her hair wrapped in a large towel, completely hiding Hannah's wig and clothes.
"Lilly, what's going on?" Luanne said weakly, doing a good job of acting sick. As her eyes locked onto Amber, Luanne felt a surge of anger build in her. Not now, she told herself. This one deserves every bit of it, but I have to protect Miley's and Lilly's secret. "Amber. Decided to try your luck while I'm sick?" Luanne didn't bother to try and hide the venom in her voice as she spoke.
"Stewart?" Amber said, her voice suddenly lacking in conviction. "But.. How are you in here, when you're supposed to be--"
"When I'm supposed to be Hannah Montana?" Luanne said angrily. "Because I'm NOT Hannah Montana, you stupid bitch!" She held her position on the couch, carefully concealing what was hidden underneath the blanket and towel, but right then Luanne wanted nothing more than to soundly thrash Amber.
Lilly finally recovered her voice and stepped back in front of Amber, interposing herself between Amber and Luanne. "Okay Amber, are you happy now? You've got your proof that neither Miley or me is Hannah Montana, now get out!" She held up her own cell phone and flipped it open. "I'm calling the front office right now, and I'm telling them you're back here threatening us. Hopefully they'll arrest you at the same time they expel you!" Before she could hit the first digit, Amber spun and rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Lilly turned to look at Luanne. "Okay, that was too close," she said as she fell onto the couch, relief evident on her face.
On stage, Miley felt her stomach suddenly grow queasy, but she masterfully hid that while performing. She did take a glance down the corridor toward the dressing room, though, and she saw Amber storming out of the room, a look of hatred on her face as she bolted the other way down the hall. Immediately afterward, Miley saw Lilly step out of the room and flash her a thumbs-up sign, instantly quelling the anxiety surging through her body. Now relieved, Miley refocused her energy on her performance, doing several more songs for the excited crowd before finally bringing the mini-concert to an end. "Okay Seaview, you've all been great! I'm going to leave several free passes for some upcoming concerts with the main office, so keep up your good grades and good behavior so you can earn one! Love you all!" She began waving to the crowd, then she added, "And congratulations to Miley Stewart and Lilly Truscott on getting married this weekend! Like I said at the start of the concert, Miley was feeling a bit sick, so she and Lilly had to sit this one out back in my dressing room, but I know they could hear all of you!"
As the crowd applauded and cheered, Miley stepped down off the stage and began walking back to the dressing room, where Lilly was still standing in the doorway cheering. Suddenly Lilly pointed past Miley and yelled, "Hannah, look out!" Miley spun to see Amber coming toward her at a run. Somehow she had gotten between Miley and Roxy, and it appeared from the look in Amber's eyes that this time she wasn't interested in trying to prove anything other than how badly she could hurt them. Miley broke into a run, moving as fast as her boots would let her. "Hurry! Hurry!" Lilly yelled, adding more urgency to Miley's sprint
Despite her exertion, Amber felt her lips curl into a feral smile. She might not catch Hannah Montana before she made it to the dressing room, but she was close, too close for Lilly to close the door behind Hannah in time to keep Amber out. She could hear Hannah's bodyguard's heavy footsteps behind her, but Amber had run track her freshman year, and she was still fast in a sprint.
She saw Hannah reach the door and run into Truscott; it looks like Truscott absorbed some of the impact of them colliding as she pulled Hannah inside, but that took both of them out of the doorway. Now there was no chance of them closing the door and keeping her out. Amber swung wide, then turned into the doorway. But suddenly she was met by a furious blonde-haired blur that slammed into her hard enough to negate all of Amber's momentum and propel both of them across the hall into the wall on the other side.
Miley was in the dressing room trying to catch her breath as Lilly dragged her to the bathroom. "Miles, get changed now!" she hissed quietly. "Hurry! We can't have two Hannahs in the same place at the same time!" Miley nodded as she hurried into the bathroom, where she found her clothes folded and waiting on her. Lilly turned to assess the fight outside, but she already knew how it was going to end. I just hope Luanne doesn't hurt her too badly. Well, not TOO too badly, she mentally corrected. She moved to the doorway, where she saw Luanne turn and slam Amber face first into the wall, rattling her teeth.
"You are crazy!" Luanne yelled loudly as she then threw Amber to the floor. "And crazy people," she said as she straddled Amber's thrashing form," need HELP!" She soundly punched Amber in the jaw, stunning the taller girl momentarily as Luanne landed another solid punch, this time with her left hand. Amber twisted and shoved Luanne to the side, but Luanne was able to brace her legs against the wall and launch herself up into Amber's stomach as Amber stood, knocking the breath out of the taller girl and stopped her from grabbing a handful of hair. Before Amber could catch her breath, Luanne landed a withering uppercut, sending a small spurt of blood into the air from Amber's now bloody mouth. She then grabbed Amber's shirt and spun again, throwing her fiercely against the wall with a resounding smack. Luanne paused to catch her breath as Amber crumpled to the floor.
Suddenly Luanne was abruptly picked up and held two feet off the ground as Roxy finally reached the scuffle. Hot on her heels were two security officers and Mr. Young, the principal. As they struggled to get a grip on Amber, she leapt to her feet and swung a punch at Luanne, but it never connected. Roxy simply rotated and caught the blow on her back without so much as a flinch. She set Luanne down and turned to subdue Amber, but the school security officers had already pinned her arms behind her back and were lowering her to the ground.
Mr. Young's face wore an expression of pure horror as he looked at Roxy and Hannah, then at Lilly and Miley, who had just joined her partner in the hallway. He turned back to Luanne and said, "Oh, Ms. Montana, I am so, so sorry! Are you alright?" Luanne gave him a curt nod of her head, prompting him to turn back to look at Amber as he continued. "We had some warning that Ms. Adkins might try to cause trouble today, but we suspected she would try to do something to either Ms. Truscott or Ms. Stewart here, not to you!"
Luanne hotly looked back at him and said, "How did she get past security?"
"I truly don't know," Mr. Young said nervously. "Are any of you young ladies hurt?"
Luanne shrugged in Amber's direction. "Well, she's hurt, but I'm not she qualifies as a young lady." She looked at herself, then at Miley and Lilly. "I think we're all okay."
Lilly spoke up at that point. "Well, she got back to the dressing room earlier, because she charged in while Miley was on the couch, trying to recover from throwing up earlier. I got her to leave when I told her I was calling the front office to send security out here, but I never did once she left." Lilly looked down. "So I guess this is partly my fault. I should have called."
"Hey," Miley said as she put her arms around Lilly, tipping her fiancée's head up so she could look into her deep blue eyes. "Not a bit of this is your fault. It was Amber's. Maybe now something will be done about her threatening and attacking us permanently," she said, giving Mr. Young an angry Look.
The principal glanced away from Miley's Look. "I think we have definitely reached that point, Ms. Stewart. I offer you and Ms. Truscott my apologies for what Ms. Adkins has put you through." He turned to Luanne and Roxy next. "And Ms. Montana, I offer you my deepest apologies as well. I was a direct witness to you defending yourself as well as Ms. Stewart and Ms. Truscott. I assure all of you, Ms. Adkins will be dealt with swiftly and surely."
"She needs help of some kind," Luanne said. "I mean, she acts like she's gone over the edge."
Mr. Young weakly smiled at Luanne as she said, "Ms. Montana, I think a psychiatric evaluation will certainly be part of her arrest and detention for assault on you and your bodyguard. Are you both okay?"
Roxy smiled as she grabbed Miley, Lilly and Luanne all in her wide embrace, squeezing them all tightly. "I think they're all just fine, Mr. Principal," she said. She looked at Luanne as she added, "Plus I think that Adkins girl learned that Hannah Montana has a bit more fire in her than she had planned on!"
Author's Afterword: Yes, it's a bit shorter than my usual chapters, but the next chapter moves us into the main events, and I needed a solid divider between the pre-Thanksgiving concert and the post-Thanksgiving nuptials. There were a few grammatical errors in some of the characters' dialogue, but they're there because that's how I felt those particular characters would say what they did. I again apologize for this being a day later than my usual posting, but I was sick over the weekend and needed just a bit more time to get the words out. I know several of you wanted Amber to get a much more severe comeuppance, but taking things much farther didn't feel right with the rest of the story or with Miley and Lilly (who really are kind young ladies). I hope you can understand where I'm coming from in regards to that point. See you quite soon, and bring your wedding best for the next two chapters!
-- Jo --